Articles

When the oilman knocks on a landowner’s door offering a multi-thousand dollar a month lease, it is hard to say no. Unfortunately, landowners sometimes hastily sign contracts without being fully informed or aware of potential repercussions. Even many attorneys are not familiar with the issues.

The economic downturn has brought new challenges to many land trusts, making it easy to forget that times of upheaval also offer opportunities for creativity and transformation.

Ranching and farming throughout the country are essential to maintaining local and regional agricultural economies and preserving rural heritage and culture. For generations, ranchers and farmers have been some of the best land stewards around, and their working landscapes can help sustain plant and wildlife habitat.

How does the land trust community replace its best leaders?

William Erby Smith’s bequest of 365-acre Wau-Ke-Na is the largest of Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy’s preserves and includes forests, fields, streams, ponds, bluffs and beaches.

The nation’s coldwater streams, rivers and lakes are beloved by many Americans. For anglers, these clean, cold waters that hold trout and salmon are also the highest conservation priority. Unfortunately, uncontrolled development and poor land management practices have dramatically reduced the habitat for these iconic species, and climate change looms heavily in their future.