Our past bus tours have sold out – Reserve your spot today!

Join Legacy Land Conservancy in celebrating protected lands, local foods, and the autumnal spirit during the Land Conservancy’s Fall Bus Tour. Hop on our chartered coach and enjoy the scenic drive and visit our protected lands and learn more about local efforts to protect the nature and farmland that make our community a great place to live, work, and play.

Space is limited and registration is required.
Meeting at REI
970 W Eisenhower Parkway
DATE: Saturday, September 22, 2012
TIME: 1PM- 5PM (Please arrive by 12:45 for refreshments)
COST: $15
TO REGISTER: Please call 734-302-5263 or email susancooley@legacylandconservancy.org
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We hope to see you on the bus !Thank you for your support to help us protect forests, prairies, farms, wetlands and waters- today and forever.

Program Introduction and Training
May 12, 10am- 3pm
Independence Lake County Park, in Whitmore Lake.

**For more information and to register, visit http://www.hrwc.org/volunteer/bioreserve-field-assessments/

If you have any questions, please contact Kris Olsson at 734.769.5123 x607 or kolsson@hrwc.org.

With a grant from REI, Legacy has been able to remove all the invasive shrubs and trees from the stream bank, reroute the trail away from the edge of the banks, put in hundreds of pounds of seeds and 700 native shrubs to restore the health of the banks and prevent erosion.

Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy – an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit that’s under contract to help manage the program – told commissioners that about $1.6 million is available to preserve farmland, using a portion of proceeds from the natural area preservation millage renewed by voters in November of 2010. That 10-year, 0.25-mill countywide tax also funds the acquisition of natural areas and land preserves.

Prior to 2010, the natural areas ordinance allowed for outright acquisition of land, but not for the purchase of development rights (PDR). PDR is a common mechanism for protecting farmland, letting landowners keep their property for farming but preventing – via a conservation easement – its development. In May of 2010, the county board approved an ordinance revision that incorporated farmland into the county’s natural areas preservation program and clarified the use of PDR for that purpose.

The county received 57 applications for its first round of potential deals, Lackey reported. That list has been narrowed down to seven parcels for final consideration, covering 1,100 acres. The locations of the parcels won’t be released until a final vote by the parks and rec commission. That vote will be taken when the deals are ready to close. That’s likely to happen later this year.

Yousef Rabhi was among the commissioners who praised the program, noting how it ties in with the food policy council that the county board recently created, as well as the food-related business incubator and job training program – called Seeds for Change – focused on the eastern part of the county. Rabhi serves on the Agricultural Lands Preservation Advisory Committee (ALPAC), which makes recommendations to the parks and rec commission about farmland deals.

The April 5 working session also included a briefing on the county’s community corrections unit. This report focuses just on the farmland preservation update.

County Farmland Preservation
By way of background, a countywide 10-year, 0.25-mill tax first was approved by voters in 2000 for natural areas preservation. The millage brings in about $3 million annually, and over the years the county has acquired more than 2,200 acres of land and established 17 new nature preserves, which are open to the public. However, millage proceeds could not be used for the purchase of development rights, a common way to protect farmland from being sold for development.

In May of 2010, a proposal was made to the county board – which commissioners ultimately approved – that changed the ordinance governing the county’s Natural Areas Preservation Program (NAPP), in preparation for a renewal millage later that year. The change reflected two broad strategic goals: (1) incorporating farmland into NAPP’s land preservation efforts, and (2) clarifying the county’s use of the purchase of development rights (PDR) to preserve land, in addition to outright acquisition. [The county has a separate ordinance, passed in 2007, for a PDR program aimed at securing grants from the Michigan Agricultural Preservation Fund. The Legacy Land Conservancy helps oversee that program too.]

At an April 2010 working session, Susan Lackey of the Legacy Land Conservancy had told commissioners that using PDR to preserve farmland had several advantages: (1) it allows the land to continue to be actively used as farmland, by the owner or others; (2) it keeps the property on the tax rolls; and (3) it enables the county to tap federal grants through the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Preservation Program (FRPP). The county is the most successful in the state at bringing in FRPP dollars for land preservation, through the Ann Arbor greenbelt and other programs.

For the completed article go to:

http://annarborchronicle.com/2012/04/12/county-working-on-farmland-preservation/

Somerset Center, MI
March 22, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Workshop
April 26, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Coffee Hour
Join us for this follow-up session to the March 22nd workshop.

Brooklyn, MI
April 19, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Coffee Hour
Join us for this follow-up session to the March 1st workshop.

Attention Landowners! You’ve been stewarding your land for generations. Now find out how you can preserve it forever!

Legacy Land Conservancy, Raisin Valley Land Trust, River Raisin Watershed Council, and the Stewardship Network are hosting these informational workshops highlighting various ways landowners can protect the quality of their land. Workshop attendees will hear testimonials from landowners who have entered into conservation agreements, financial and legal experts, and representatives from area land conservation agencies.

For more information about these workshops, contact Anna Wadhams at anna@legacylandconservancy.org or 734.302.5263.

View more upcoming volunteer events.

In partnership with Legacy Land Conservancy and supported by Ann Arbor Greenbelt, Charles Botero recently preserved 32 acres in the Huron River Watershed. Used for sheep farming in the past, this parcel provides drainage for Horseshoe Creek and the Huron River, and is home to Great Horned Owls, white-tailed deer, and native flora such as mature oak hickory, pines, native grasses and forbs.

Learn More »

In partnership with the Huron River Watershed Council and Legacy Land Conservancy, an Arms Lake and Arms Creek parcel owned by Sherri Munson is now protected. This parcel is important to the well-being of the surrounding ecosystem, as it houses an unusually broad range of habitats and natural life. The 7.8 acres include wetlands, forb and grass communities, emergent marshes, and remnants of pre-settlement oak forests.

Learn More »

In partnership with the Huron River Watershed Council and Legacy Land Conservancy, the land owned by Sherri Munson was identified and preserved as a high quality parcel for the protection of Arms Lake and Arms Creek. This area is now one of the 10 protected parcels in the Watershed and adds to the easements held by Legacy and Webster Township in the immediate area.

The protection of this parcel is truly important to the well-being of the surrounding ecosystem, as it houses an unusually broad range of habitats and natural life for a property of its size. The 7.8 acres include wetlands, forb and grass communities, emergent marshes, and remnants of pre-settlement oak forests.

The preservation of this area within the watershed of Arms Creek and the Huron River helps ensure the quality and quantity of water resources for the Ann Arbor area. In fact, Arms Creek is the cleanest creek in the Huron River Watershed and is a designated Scenic River.

Not only does this wedge of land provide high quality of water, but it is also the natural habitat for an immensely diverse range of wildlife and plant species. The natural wetlands of this area are home to many aquatic invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, as well as aquatic vegetation. The Munson property is even home to rare plant species such as Arrowhead and Dodder.

Munson’s protection of her land ensures the health and longevity of this community’s ecosystem and wildlife. “This is wonderful as the land remains in its natural habitat for generations to come.” said Sherri Munson.