Land Trust Success Stories: Mid-Atlantic Region

GIS Decision-Support System Helps Land Trust Focus its Conservation Efforts
By Josh Canning

Land along the New River identified as a priority for conservation

VIRGINIA:  The New River Land Trust (NRLT) in Blacksburg has a powerful new tool to further its mission to conserve farmland, forests, open spaces and historic places in Virginia’s New River region. The implementation of a newly developed GIS Decision-Support System has enabled the land trust to gain a whole landscape perspective, and to be highly strategic in its approach to protecting the natural beauty and cultural heritage of southwest Virginia.
  
NRLT works in partnership with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a state land trust, which holds and monitors the actual conservation easements while NRLT focuses on education and outreach. Lacking the resources to do otherwise, NRLT had historically assisted landowners interested in easements on a first come, first served basis, without a scientific method for identifying individual landowners. With the number of requests for easements climbing steadily, the land trust recognized the need to be more strategic. Working with the Conservation Management Institute (CMI), also in Blacksburg, they agreed that identifying and protecting “valuable” land would be a better approach than accepting easements on an ad hoc basis.

CMI Director and NRLT board member, Jeff Walden, had secured a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey to develop an internet-based mapping and decision-support system that allows members of a land trust to identify those lands that offer the greatest economy for meeting their objectives. They would be able to prioritize the relative cultural, historical or biological value of the land they were protecting. According to Beth Obenshain, NRLT’s executive director, the land trust was an obliging guinea pig for the first application of this exciting new conservation tool. 

Ken Convery, a CMI Biologist who worked closely on the project, says “we first worked with NRLT to identify their priorities and then developed spatial data layers that matched the groups’ conservation values: rare biological communities, riparian buffers, view sheds, historical buildings, etc.” Based upon these values, the newly developed GIS decision support system then allowed the land trust to rank data layers and create spatial output that represent those priorities on a map. “The output shows areas of high and low importance based upon the users input,” Convery explains.

Tillie Wood relaxes on the porch of her cabin just off the Appalachian Trail in Giles County, Virginia. An easement completed in 2006 on the property protects this respite and stopping point for hikers on the Appalachian Trail for 20 years. Photos courtesy New River Land Trust

Armed with this new data as a support and guide, NRLT will be able to make strategic decisions about where and how to focus its conservation efforts.  Additionally, the spatial output generated by the GIS program graphically illustrates the rationale behind their long term conservation goals and communicates a clear mission to landowners, funding agencies, planning boards and to communities throughout the region.  Obenshain believes the implementation of this important new tool, two years in the making, will also help the organization secure grants and cultivate new donors. 

Although it has been customized for the New River Valley, “other land trusts can benefit from using the system,” says Convery, “because it illustrates new ways to view and interact with geographic data.  Furthermore, to produce output, users of the system are required to rank their conservation priorities, which is always an instructive activity.”  CMI is currently working on helping another land trust – the Central Virginia Land Conservancy – become more strategic by creating a spatial model representing conservation value across Amherst County, based upon the rankings of a workgroup, with the GIS work done manually. (posted 2/14/07)

View the Land Trust Decision-Support System

Morris County - Celebrating 25 years of land preservation

NEW JERSEY - Approximately 500 people helped Morris Land Conservancy celebrate 25 years of land preservation at a party at The Villa in Mountain Lakes.  Over the past 25-years the Conservancy has evolved from an all-volunteer organization to a state leader in open space preservation.  By specializing in building successful partnerships with communities, businesses and government agencies the Conservancy can provide the resources, skills and experience necessary to preserve the region's valuable open space lands.  The Conservancy has helped preserve 10,000 acres of natural lands in northern New Jersey during the past nine years and has set a goal of preserving 26,000 acres over the next decade. 

Pictured at right are Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen congratulating Gray Rogers, the Conservancy’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, who attended the party along with Conservancy members, volunteers, landowners, non profit organizations and many town, county and state officials.  Officials who attended included Morris County Freeholder Director Margaret Nordstrom, Deputy State Director Lisa Plevin, who presented a Citation on behalf of Senator Lautenberg, Senator Bob Martin and Senator Anthony Bucco.  Ed Godell, Executive Director of the NYNJ Trail Conference, one of Morris Land Conservancy’s many conservation partners also attended.

The Conservancy was founded July 30, 1981 by Russell W. Myers, the first director of the Morris County Park Commission and its mission is to preserve open space land and water resources in northern New Jersey. For more information visit www.morrislandconservancy.org. (posted 1/5/2007)

234 Acres Of Mount Victoria Lands Donated For Protection

Photo courtesy Maryland Environmental Trust

MARYLAND - In late December, the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) recorded the donation of a 234-acre conservation easement in Charles County from Mr. Michael J. Sullivan and his wife, Laura. This is the third conservation easement donated by the Sullivans to MET; in December 2000, the couple donated their first easement on 119 acres and in December 2002, they donated their second easement on 91 acres.

With this gift the Sullivans and MET have permanently protected 444 contiguous acres of the historic Mt. Victoria Farm located southeast of Newburg in southern Charles County. The farm is adjacent to 230 acres protected by an easement through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program, creating an expanse of permanently protected land.

“We consider the protection of the farm essential to the overall care of the property, which is why we plan to put the entire 1,700 acres under easement over time,” said Mr. Sullivan, the C.E.O. of Cherrywood Development, Inc. “We also get great satisfaction by making improvements such as restoring outbuildings, the manor house and creating wildlife habitat. It is also important to us to make the property available for community functions so that it can be enjoyed by many.”

This latest donation by the Sullivans makes up the front agricultural fields of the Mt. Victoria Farm which, together with the adjoining Mt. Tirzah property, total nearly 1,700 acres. The Sullivans have owned the farm since 1995 and has worked tirelessly to care for the large property, its outbuildings and the large historic house.

The circa 1905 house, called Mt. Victoria, qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places and replaces a house of much earlier origin which was burned down. The home’s size, slate roof, wraparound porch and arched windows distinguish its most significant architectural characteristics (see photo), and was once part of a 15,000-acre estate. Today the house still sits in a rural landscape, with magnificent views of the countryside and Potomac and Wicomico Rivers, views that may be unrivaled in Southern Maryland.

“We have enjoyed assisting the Sullivans with their conservation efforts and are honored that they plan to preserve the entire property through our program,” said MET Director Nick Williams. “They are very conscientious landowners and we are grateful for their contribution to land conservation in Charles County.”

Charles County landowners have now protected over 5,000 acres of land through the donation of conservation easements. Donated conservation easements allow landowners to protect their properties in perpetuity without giving up ownership of the land. Gifts of conservation easements are charitable donations and their appraised value is tax deductible. In addition, a new Maryland state income tax credit is available to landowners who donate conservation easements to MET. The credit is a maximum of $5,000 a year per individual for up to 16 years. (posted 9/21/06)

Saving the Montour Run Watershed

Photo by Janet Thorne

PENNSYLVANIA - The vision of a peaceful, public trail surrounded by undeveloped land that stretches from the Ohio River in Pennsylvania all the way to Washington, DC, is now one step closer to becoming complete, thanks to the Hollow Oak Land Trust’s (HOLT) latest acquisition.

The Montour Trail is open to the public for bicycling, walking, running, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and nature appreciation. A stream called the Montour Run runs alongside the trail and the watershed contains a wide variety of fish, birds, mammals, and other wildlife. After a number of years of working towards purchasing the land, HOLT recently reached an agreement with the owner and raised $160,000 to buy a 77-acre wooded lot adjacent to Montour Run and the trail, adding to its other four properties in the watershed.

Executive Director Janet Thorne explains that HOLT has been focused on preservation in the Montour Run watershed and has the goal of creating a greenway because, “All the land around Montour Run and the trail is privately owned. We want to make sure that this corridor will not become an alley surrounded by concrete.”

HOLT was able to raise half of the funds needed to buy the land through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. They also received grants from The Pittsburgh Foundation, the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection Program, and the Massey Charitable Trust, and raised over $10,000 from members and the general public.

“Securing this deal, and the publicity surrounding it, has only helped HOLT and brought increased recognition to the important work of our organization,” says Thorne. The trust is virtually completely run by volunteers, with Thorne the only employee. It was created in 1991 and has acquired seven properties, with about 400 total acres. This is the second largest property HOLT has acquired. (posted 10/3/05)

Making History in New Jersey

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) has made the largest private land conservation deal in New Jersey history by exercising its option to purchase a 9,400-acre property located in the Pine Barrens in Burlington County.

A.R. DeMarco Enterprises has agreed to sell the ecologically significant property near Chatsworth, New Jersey, to NJCF at a bargain sale price of $12 million. NJCF has raised $5 million towards the purchase price and will fund the $7 million balance with loans to be paid off over five years.

Apple Pie Hill. Photo by Michael Hogan

“In just 11 months NJCF raised $5 million in private funds to purchase the DeMarco property, an unprecedented accomplishment,” said NJCF Board President Sam Lambert. “Supporters from across New Jersey – and the country – are helping NJCF take advantage of the best Pinelands conservation opportunity in a generation.”

An ecological region of international significance, the 1.1 million-acre Pine Barrens stretch across 22 percent of New Jersey. Designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1988 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Pine Barrens contain the largest swath of open space on the mid-Atlantic seaboard between Boston and Richmond.

The DeMarco property has 1,500 acres of reservoirs and thousands of acres of wetland and upland forests, including 600 acres of Atlantic white cedar swamp. It connects five state-owned properties: Brendan Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest), Wharton State Forest, Bass River State Forest, Greenwood Wildlife Management Area and Penn State Forest. Fourteen tributaries of the West Branch of the Wading River originate on or pass through the property. The land has exceptional habitat for native and endangered species, including bald eagles and the unique Pine Barrens tree frog.

NJCF will manage the property as a nature preserve to provide passive recreational opportunities for hikers, birdwatchers and other visitors, and enhance habitat for a variety of threatened and endangered species by restoring the former agricultural areas. (posted 10/10/2003)

Conserving His Part of the Mountain VIRGINIA - Dr. Al Durham made sure that his part of Read Mountain would be preserved for all time by signing the Western Virginia Land Trust’s first conservation easement on the mountain, prohibiting virtually any use except recreation on the 89 acres overlooking downtown Roanoke. The conservation easement is the first of what the land trust, founded in 1996, and the Read Mountain Alliance hope will be many agreements to preserve about 500 acres on and around the last undeveloped major peak in the Roanoke area. "I used to run, walk and hike up there, and it was so quiet, so beautiful," said Dr. Durham. Housing developments are climbing up the mountain's sides. Dr. Durham, whose property is on the eastern slope, gave up the idea of building a house on the land. Instead, by donating this conservation easement, Dr. Durham retains ownership of the land, but relinquishes certain development rights for state and federal tax credits. If he eventually donates the land for a public park, as he plans to do, he will get additional benefits for his charitable donation. Western Virginia Land Trust Executive Director Roger Holnback is optimistic about the chances of permanently conserving parts of Read Mountain. "I hope in the not too distant future, to see a forested mountaintop community park with nature trails and a connection to the Roanoke Valley Greenway system," said Mr. Holnback. (posted 12/13/02)

Image courtesy of Jim Lawrence, Potomac Conservancy A Swath of Undisturbed Forest WEST VIRGINIA - The 998 acres of undisturbed forest in Hardy and Hampshire counties has been in the family of Carlton Mills for 53 years. Now, because Mr. Mills decided to donate a conservation easement to the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust, the land will be undisturbed for all time. The easement, the largest in Hampshire County, protects the property from subdivision and permits sustainable timber harvesting. The Potomac Conservancy, which helped Mr. Mills draft the easement, is the back-up holder of the easement. The land, which has been used primarily as a hunting retreat, is home to turkey, deer, owl, hawk, gray and red fox and migratory birds. "When I saw that the easement would guarantee that the land could be hunted forever, I was convinced," said Mr. Mills, who offered to encourage his neighbor to consider donating conservation easements. "If you want to protect open land, that's the only thing you can do. Growth is good. You have to have jobs. But if you want a place for your grandson to hunt, you have to do something. Just look at the land that is gone in our lifetime." (posted 9/27/02)

Du Pont Estate Permanently Protected

Image courtesy of Winterthur DELAWARE - Winterthur, the former private estate of Henry F. du Pont, will be permanently protected as open space, following the decision by its board of directors to donate a conservation easement on 982 acres to the Brandywine Conservancy. The donation makes Winterthur one of the state's largest tracts of preserved open space north of Wilmington.The donation is also a personal victory for conservancy cofounder George A. Weymouth, who has talked about permanent protection for the property for 35 years. Mr. du Pont was on the Brandywine Conservancy's first board of trustees. Leslie Greene Bowman, director of Winterthur, said the easement was a gift to the community in celebration of the estate's 50th birthday as a museum. In recent years, sprawl has edged closer to Winterthur's pastoral borders. Just to the north is Wynleigh, a subdivision of 19 homes completed two years ago. Winterthur's easement is the largest held by the conservancy in Delaware. The Brandywine Conservancy is responsible for permanently protecting more than 37,000 acres in northern Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania. (posted 8/16/02)

Always Be Prepared © 2002 Brian McNeill All Rights Reserved PENNSYLVANIA - Natural Lands Trust and the Montgomery County Lands Trust negotiated a conservation easement on 859 acres of prime woodlands, Musser Scout Reservation, in Marlborough Township. The Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America was paid $1.6 million for the easement, which will be co-held by the two land trusts. The Boy Scouts will continue to own the property and operate the reservation along Upper Ridge Road. The purchase marks the first phase of a project to preserve the entire 1,196-acre reservation. Montgomery County provided $825,000 for the conservation project; the state covered the rest of the purchase price while The William Penn Foundation funded the costs of the easement acquisition. A second easement on the reservation, covering another 300-plus acres should be completed in 2003. Marlborough Township has the largest contiguous woodlands in the county, with the Boy Scout reservation in the center of the woodland area. A few trails and other areas in the campground will be open to the public. Several Scouting campgrounds have been sold in Pennsylvania in recent years. (posted 4/26/02)