FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Cooper
Science Teacher, West Geauga High School
440-729-5950 | nataliecooper@westg.org
CHESTERLAND, OH -- A team of West Geauga High School students from 16 schools nationwide have qualified to participate in the Final Challenge, a national contest that encourages middle and high school students to develop and implement environmental programs that positively impact their communities. The team was awarded $10,000 in grants and scholarships for their entry in the LANDWATER Challenge earlier this academic year, and now, as a participant in the Final Challenge, they’ve been asked to take their environmental message to as wide an audience as possible.
This year’s fourth annual Lexus Eco Challenge, created by Lexus and Scholastic, is offering two $30,000 grand prizes and eight $15,000 first prizes to the most innovative programs nationwide. The prizes will be awarded in April in celebration of Earth Month. In all, $500,000 will be awarded.
The students are now taking the Environmental Discovery Project worldwide. In addition to local speaking engagements and seminars, they are partnering with organizations in Ecuador, Afghanistan, Kenya and Burma on recycling projects. These projects include recycling human waste (with composting toilets), bottles, cans, chip bags, tires, paper and other recyclables. For each of these recyclables, they are looking for new ways to encourage residents to recycle, use less energy and reuse. You can join their efforts by bringing your recycling to recycling centers and bringing your paper to the school. Try out the new composting toilets at local Geauga County parks to see what the West Geauga students are helping to construct in other countries. And try to stop by the high school and look at the rain garden our front that is protected by rubber mulch made from recycled tires and grows well thanks to composted kitchen scraps and sterilized waste. \
“These young adults have accomplished some amazing things. Lexus Eco Challenge has helped them focus on immediate ways to improve the lives of others,” said Natalie Cooper, their Advisor.
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Contact: Citizens for Conservation
847-382-7283 | cfc@CitizensforConservation.org
BARRINGTON, IL -- Douglas Tallamy proposes that we create a new 22-million acre national park. This “Suburban National Park” could become reality if every homeowner in the country replaced half his lawn with native plants.
A capacity audience attended Tallamy's program sponsored by Citizens for Conservation's Community Education Committee on February 12. “We have been gardening for aesthetics,” he said, “and we need to start gardening for sustainability.” Instead of putting beds of native flowers in a lawn, we can plant beds of lawn grass only where it is needed in a yard filled with native plants.
Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home has been widely praised as a science-based case for the use of native plants in home landscaping. More than that, he shows that diverse native species support a healthy environment for birds, other wildlife, and people. At the University of Delaware where he is a professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, research has shown that native plants support far more species of insects than do alien plants. For example, oak trees support 534 species of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). These native insects are essential food for 90% of birds as well as for spiders and many small mammals. The web of life which nourishes us begins with plants that support a wide variety of insects. Biodiversity is a national resource, according to Tallamy. Just as we protect air and water, we should protect biodiversity, and that’s easy for homeowners to do.
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]]>Contact: Russ Shay
Director of Public Policy
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Voluntary conservation of private land received a boost yesterday when President Obama mentioned the work of land trusts in his remarks introducing the landmark America’s Great Outdoors Report at a reception in the East Room of the White House. The collective voice of land trusts was reflected in the report, which proposes to extend the enhanced tax incentive for conservation easement donations beyond 2011, fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and focus a portion of LWCF on innovative projects that support urban parks, community green spaces and large-scale land conservation.
Mr. Obama said that “at a time when America’s open spaces are controlled by a patchwork of groups, from government to land trusts to private citizens, it’s clear that conservation in the 21st century is going to take more than what we can do here in Washington…Meeting the new test of environmental stewardship means finding the best ideas at the grassroots level, it means helping states, communities and nonprofits protect their own resources, and it means figuring out how the federal government can be a better partner in those efforts.”
The report draws inspiration from hundreds of land trust participants at America’s Great Outdoors listening sessions around the country. “I am proud of the nation’s 1,700 land trusts for pioneering the voluntary conservation incentives and locally driven partnerships embraced in this report,” Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth said. “This initiative will significantly reorient federal conservation efforts to emphasize working lands and to embrace local governments and land trusts as effective partners in conserving the places that give meaning to our lives.”
The report’s vision statement describes a future in which “Rural lands—our working farms, ranches and forests—are conserved and restored through local partnerships.” The president’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request makes a down payment on that vision by providing $200 million for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and $900 million for the LWCF, some of which “will be competitively awarded to address priorities and leverage resources for urban parks and public-private conservation projects.”
In communities across America, nonprofit land trusts are working with private landowners to keep farm, ranch and forest lands in productive use, create community parks and open space, protect important fish and wildlife habitat, and conserve our scenic and historic heritage. With the help of more than 100,000 volunteers and 2 million members, land trusts have conserved more than 37 million acres, including more than 12 million acres protected by voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.
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Download a printable PDF (100KB).
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Contact: Citizens for Conservation
847-382-7283 | cfc@CitizensforConservation.org
BARRINGTON, IL -- More than 120 people attended the recent Conservation and Native Landscaping Awards ceremony held at the Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago. The awards recognize exemplary natural landscaping, conservation development, and ecosystem protection sites and projects. Susan Hedman, Regional Administrator for U.S. EPA Region 5 opened this special event and welcomed the diverse group of local government representatives, park districts, forest preserve districts, landscape contractors, volunteer stewards and other shining lights of the conservation community.
The Baker’s Lake Savanna restoration in Barrington was an award recipient. Citizens for Conservation, with a contract from the Village of Barrington, initiated restoration of the 17-ace preserve in 1988. Baker’s Lake Savanna is now a spectacular showplace of over 125 species of woodland wildflowers, including the rare Lespedeza violacea, violet bushclover. For 22 years volunteers have spent thousands of hours collecting seed, removing invasive brush and conducting prescribed burns at the preserve. The work continues and CFC welcomes new volunteers.
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Contact: Sam Oliver
847-382-7283
BARRINGTON, IL -- Lake County Stormwater Management Commission recognized Patsy Mortimer with the 2010 "Stewardship of the Year” Award December 2 for her dedication and leadership of the Flint Creek Watershed Partnership. SMC Chairman, Steve Mountsier, and Executive Director, Mike Warner, presented a framed photo of Flint Creek in winter to Patsy. Partners and supporters from Citizens for Conservation, Barrington Area Council of Governments, Barrington Area Development Council, North Barrington, Schumm Consulting, SMC, Trillium Native Landscapes and the Village of Barrington joined her for the award presentation.
Patsy helped form Flint Creek Watershed Partnership in 2005 and guided development of the Flint Creek Watershed Plan in 2007 to improve water quality, reduce flooding and protect natural resources. The partnership is now implementing the plan with rain gardens, detention basin retrofits, and native stream buffers. Educational presentations, tours, workshops and displays keep watershed stakeholders engaged, further enhancing the quality of life in the watershed. Mike Warner thanked Patsy and remarked, “Your integrity and compassion are hallmarks of a true steward of the land.”
Flint Creek Watershed Partnership brings together stakeholders to preserve, protect and improve the Flint Creek sub-watershed of the Fox River. More information is at www.flintcreekwatershed.org or contact Patsy Mortimer, pmortimer@earthlink.net 847-381-8663.
Photo caption: Lake County Stormwater Management Commission Executive Director, Mike Warner, and Chairman, Steve Mountsier, present Patsy Mortimer the 2010 Stewardship of the Year award. She is joined by Tom Vanderpoel and Karen Hunter, Citizens for Conservation (CFC); Janet Agnoletti, Barrington Area Council of Governments; Meredith Tucker, CFC; Gary Herrmann, North Barrington; Mike Novotney, SMC; Sam Oliver, CFC; Mike Szymanski, Village of Barrington; Kevin Rische, Trillium Native Landscapes. (Behind the cameras and not pictured: Bob Lee, Barrington Area Development Council and CFC; Nancy Schumm, Schumm Consulting
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]]>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anne Fleming
Communications and Publications Coordinator
Little Traverse Conservancy
(231) 347-0991 | anne@landtrust.org
HARBOR SPRINGS, MI -- A beautiful property on the outskirts of Petoskey was recently donated to the Little Traverse Conservancy so that it could remain a natural sanctuary for animals for all time.
Martha “Marty” Alice Curtis was described as a private woman who had a strong connection to all living things and the earth. Born in Petoskey, Martha developed a love of farming growing up on her family’s hobby farm. Her formal training was in nursing and she worked as a surgical nurse in both Petoskey and California. But her passion was animals.
One of Martha’s closest friends, Lois Holmes, described Martha as generous, non-boastful, and someone who lived the simple life by choice. “I called her ‘the St. Francis of Petoskey’ because she believed every creature was entitled to life, including insects and spiders,” Lois said. “She always felt that when she was with nature, she was close to God.”
Late in high school, Martha owned and registered a small herd of Galloway cattle and used her own money to raise oats and hay for them. At one time, she started a business raising puppies to be trained as guide dogs for the blind.
In her will, Martha donated 25 acres of mixed forest and field, including beautiful views of Little Traverse Bay. The property has been identified as a “priority area” for the protection of water quality in the Little Traverse Bay Watershed Plan.
As part of her gift, Martha included money to remove the home and associated development and for ongoing stewardship of the property. She requested that hunting would not be allowed and that no trails or parking area be developed. Her desire was that the land be returned to its natural state so that local animals could find refuge there. “It was as if the wild animals knew that they were safe on that land,” Lois said.
“And every year, the monarchs seemed to find refuge in Marty’s woods and converged in the fields because of the milkweed. You could count on it every year.”
The new preserve will be known as the Martha A. Curtis Nature Preserve. Lying adjacent to the Bay View Woods, the property greatly increases both watershed and wildlife protection in an otherwise developing region. “Natural lands like this — sitting amidst neighborhoods — serve a multitude of purposes for both wildlife and humans,” said LTC Executive Director Tom Bailey.
“This preserve is a significant addition to land conservation in the area. Together with the Bay View Woods, it provides significant wildlife habitat and protects water quality by maintaining the natural hydrology of a large area with steep slopes that drain into Little Traverse Bay. It is a wonderful gift to the community and to conservation.”
Since 1972, the Little Traverse Conservancy has been working as the oldest regional, non-profit land trust in Michigan. With the support of more than 4,100 members, the Little Traverse Conservancy works with private landowners and units of local government to permanently protect ecologically significant and scenic lands from development. Since it was founded, more than 40,000 acres and 105 miles of shoreline along our region’s lakes, rivers, and streams have been set aside to remain in their natural state within Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Mackinac, and Chippewa counties. In addition, more than 6,000 young people participate in a Conservancy environmental education outing every year. For more information about the Little Traverse Conservancy and land protection options for your land, please contact their office at 231.347.0991 or visit www.landtrust.org.
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Contact: Kevin Joyce
The Black Swamp Conservancy
419.872.5263 | kjoyce@blackswamp.org
PERRYSBURG, OH -- Black Swamp Conservancy has passed the 9,000-acre mark in conserved lands.
The conservancy, based in Perrysburg, Ohio, is a non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to protecting and preserving natural and agricultural lands in northwest Ohio for the benefit of future generations. The organization serves a sixteen-county area that is about the size of the state of Connecticut.
“There are lots of benefits from land conservation, so this is an important milestone for all the citizens of northwest Ohio,” said Kevin Joyce, executive director of the conservancy. “Parks and nature preserves provide space for healthy outdoor activities. Farmland preservation ensures the future of agriculture, Ohio’s #1 industry. Woods and wetlands help keep our water and air clean.”
The conservancy passed the 9,000-acre mark when it reached a land conservation agreement with the owners of a 235-acre family farm west of Fremont.
Since then, Black Swamp Conservancy has added to its protected lands a 63-acre woods outside Tiffin, 145 acres of prime farmland near Delta in Fulton County, a 65-acre nature preserve on the Sandusky River north of Fremont, and an 18-acre wetland and waterway in the city of Oregon.
“9,300 acres is a lot of land,” said Mr. Joyce. “It would cover more than 7,000 football fields, including the end zones. If laid end-to-end, those fields would stretch from our office in Perrysburg to the White House in Washington, D.C.”
The conservancy preserves land mostly through perpetual land conservation agreements known as conservation easements. Through such an agreement, the landowner gives up the right to develop the property – such as by constructing buildings, putting in roads or driveways or subdividing the land – in order to protect its conservation values, which might include its value as prime farmland or as habitat for native plants and animals.
Every land conservation is filed with the county recorder, and the use restrictions become binding on the current owner and everyone else who acquires ownership at any time in the future, in perpetuity.
Under the terms of its conservation agreements, Black Swamp Conservancy is responsible for ensuring that the use restrictions are not violated. However, the conservancy does not become an owner of the property. If the land conservation agreement is broken, the conservancy may take legal action to stop the misconduct and return the property to its original condition.
“Our purpose at Black Swamp Conservancy is to preserve the rural heritage, unique natural habitats, and lakes and streams of northwest Ohio,” said the conservancy’s executive director, Kevin Joyce. “Our hope is that, by protecting our valuable land and water resources, we help create healthier communities with strong, sustainable economies.”
“The economic benefits of land conservation shouldn’t be overlooked,” added Mr. Joyce. “For example, our friends at Black Swamp Bird Observatory tell us that we had 50,000 birdwatchers in the Port Clinton area in just one week in May. Fishermen flock to northwest Ohio when the walleye make their run up the rivers every spring. Those visitors are spending a lot of money while they’re in our area.”
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