Donor Report 2015

Nurturing thriving, prosperous communities By any measure, Western Reserve Land Conservancy you will be surprised by the diversity of work, is now deemed to be one of our nation’s great of places, and of people that is revealed in the conservation organizations. We are especially excited stories within this report. to share our results with all of you because you make Please take some time to read through our all of our good work possible. And yet we do not wish entire annual report because it is a designed to tell our story through metrics that are focused as a narrative about our region; curl up with on our results, as a cup of tea and lose yourself in the majesty important as they are of the Crowell Hilaka Recreation Area, in the to our region (we will transcendent power of our Reforest our City share some of our program, in the wilderness of north Trumbull milestones with you, County, in the agricultural legacy of Lonesome of course). Pine Farm, in the expansive collaboration to Instead, our team restore the Grand River’s habitat, and in the multi- has pulled together generational conservation joy of the Holland family eight compelling stories that collectively paint the full in Medina. picture of our service to our cherished region. When Our work is both strategic and holistic; uniquely, we our work is done our region will be filled with thriving, address the causes of urban sprawl in our cities, and prosperous communities nourished by vibrant we attend to the effects by identifying, conserving and natural areas, working farms and healthy cities. And restoring essential natural assets that are threatened we will accomplish this by providing the people of by poorly planned development. In the end, our work our region with essential natural assets through land – from the denuded streets of downtown Cleveland conservation and restoration. to the verdant hills of the Chagrin Valley – boils down In 2006, we merged eight little land conservancies to to this: we nourish and support healthy communities. form the current Western Reserve Land Conservancy. We make the world a better place. Since then we have grown to become a visionary All of our work is made possible by your support. leader and a catalyst for measurable, tangible Thank you for being our partner and for nurturing us progress in land conservation and restoration. so that we can nurture our region. In the pages that follow, you will read about this progress, which has made us the largest conservation With our gratitude, organization in Ohio. And yet, beyond the acres and the deals, the hallmark of our work is deep collaboration in which we respect the diversity of our partners… from creating preserves Rich Cochran and Betsy Juliano with Lorain Metro Parks to working with the distressed neighborhoods that surround the old Saint Luke’s Cochran is the Land Conservancy’s president and hospital near Shaker Square in Cleveland. We think CEO and Juliano chairs the board of trustees. Tracking our Results Land Bank Status In fiscal year 2015, the Land Conservancy permanently Ashtabula Lake Lucas protected another 49 properties and an additional 4,332 acres, Fulton Williams Ottawa the fourth-highest totals in the history of the organization. We Geauga Cuyahoga Wood Defiance Henry Sandusky Erie finished the fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2015, with 568 Lorain Trumbull protected properties covering 42,635 acres. Huron Portage Paulding Seneca Medina Summit Putnam Hancock Mahoning Other highlights: Van Wert Wyandot Crawford Ashland Wayne Stark Columbiana Allen Richland · We have now protected land in 23 counties. Hardin Auglaize Marion Carroll Mercer Holmes Jefferson Morrow · Our land stewardship team visits each of our preserved Logan Knox Tuscarawas Shelby properties at least once a year. That means our employees Union Delaware Coshocton Harrison and trained volunteers are making more than 550 visits Darke Champaign Licking Miami Guernsey Muskingum Belmont per year to make sure protected land remains in its Franklin Clark natural condition. Visits to a few of our larger protected Montgomery Madison Noble Preble Fairfield Perry Monroe tracts are done by aircraft. Greene Pickaway Morgan Fayette Hocking Washington · Two new land banks were formed in Sandusky and Licking Butler Warren Clinton counties, bringing Ohio’s total to 24. In 2015, the Ohio Ross Athens Vinton legislature’s voted to eliminate the 60,000 population Hamilton Clermont Highland Meigs Pike threshold for counties wishing to establish land banks, Jackson every county in Ohio is now eligible to create county land Brown Adams Scioto banks, which can safely hold vacant, abandoned, and tax- Gallia foreclosed properties. Lawrence · Trumbull County (7,798 acres) surpassed Geauga County (7,556 acres) with the most Land Conservancy protected acreage given a number of farmland and watershed projects. Huron County and the Huron Watershed saw the County Boundaries largest jump in protected land, adding nearly 2,100 acres in the county and 1,769 acres in the watershed. Land Bank is Established By the end of the 2015 calendar year, the Land Conservancy will Have Expressed Interest have protected over 43,000 acres. Eligible 4 4 Acres Protected by Watershed Acres Protected by County Wayne Ashland WATERSHED Trumbull 157 250 7,798 Ashtabula 6,283 Yellow Creek 132 Summit 1,368 Columbiana Stark 326 Yankee Run-Shenango River 602 432 Seneca Cuyahoga 95 1,913 Wills 56 Sandusky 333 Erie Walhonding River 331 Richland 1,495 154 Portage Vermilion River 1,802 2,533 Ottawa Tuscarawas River 845 53 Mercer, PA 395 Sandusky 649 Geauga Medina 7,556 1,183 Rocky River 1,391 Mahoning 121 Lorain Guernsey Pymatuning Creek 7,410 3,463 Lake 56 1,087 Jefferson Huron 132 5,452 Mahoning River 1,352 Acres Protected by Year Little Beaver Creek 376 Lake Erie Islands 184 Huron River 4,863 Grand River 6,305 Frontal Lake Erie 1,212 Cuyahoga River 4,369 ACRES Conneaut Creek 218 Chagrin River 7,604 Black River 2,908 Ashtabula River 80 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 ACRES YEAR 55 Perseverance and partnership: protecting Camp Crowell Hilaka The creation and permanent protection of the Crowell Hilaka Recreation Council. After much deliberation, it was determined that forming a Area is a story of perseverance, passion, strategy and community new joint recreation district and putting a bond and tax levy on the conservation. November ballot would provide the best chance for success. Work began immediately. Originally purchased and farmed by the Oviatt family in 1831, inventor James B. Kirby bought the property in 1919. He built his estate on the The Village of Richfield and Richfield Township passed resolutions to 336-acre parcel which included a mill and waterwheel that generated form the Richfield Joint Recreation District (RJRD) in mid-July. Just electric power for his lab and workshop; a house that was originally air- a few short weeks later, the RJRD was able to submit the necessary conditioned by diverting spring water documents in order to get a bond and levy on the ballot. During to flow over its roof; and a hall that September and October, the Land Conservancy worked with a newly was built on enormous trolley springs formed campaign committee to promote the ballot issues and hold which bounced as people danced. open houses which were attended by hundreds of people each Kirby sold the land to the Cleveland weekend. Girl Scouts in 1937. For more than In November 2014, voters in the Village of Richfield and Richfield 70 years, thousands of girls camped Township overwhelmingly approved the ballot measures. at Crowell Hilaka and enjoyed the property’s two lakes, several After the resounding vote of support from the community, the Land headwater streams, mature forest, Conservancy leveraged its extensive public funding experience to help wetlands and miles of hiking trails. the RJRD explore financing options. The Land Conservancy applied for an approximately $1.1 million Clean Ohio grant on behalf of the When the Girl Scouts of North East RJRD which was ultimately approved by the local NRAC District 8 Ohio (GSNEO) announced the committee and the Ohio Public Works Commission. closing of Camp Crowell Hilaka in 2011, serious concerns arose about its With the final funding secured, Western Reserve Land Conservancy impending sale. Scouts, neighbors, turned over management of the newly established Crowell Hilaka and community leaders feared the Recreation Area to the RJRD in July 2015. At the ceremony, RJRD land would be sold to a developer, Board Chair Floyd Ostrowski shared, “I am so proud to be part of this timbered or both. community and a member of this board, which has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Our mission to preserve, Given the significant conservation conserve and recreate will not just be for this generation but for future value of the property, the Land generations.” Conservancy entered into a purchase and sale agreement with GSNEO to acquire the property in mid-2012. For the next year, the Land Crowell Hilaka Recreation Area opened to the public in August 2015. Conservancy searched for an owner aligned with its preservation mission The Land Conservancy now holds a conservation easement on the with little success. No legitimate partner emerged, forcing the Land property, permanently protecting its rich ecological and historic Conservancy to request an extension of the purchase agreement and to heritage. reevaluate its conservation strategy. “Even when the conservation of Crowell Hilaka seemed like the In the spring of 2014, a working group was formed that included longest of longshots, we strategized with our partners to protect this members of representatives from the Land Conservancy, Richfield extraordinary property,” said Joe Leslie, Director of Acquisitions for the Township, the Village of Richfield, the Buckeye Trail Association, Friends Land Conservancy.

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