3850 Chagrin River Road, Moreland Hills, Ohio 44022 Phone: 440-528-4150 e-mail: [email protected] • www.wrlandconservancy.org Field Offices & Contacts Officers & Trustees Staff Akron Field Office Chair Rich Cochran Andy McDowell 34 Merz Boulevard, Suite G John D. Leech President, Chief Executive Officer Vice President of Western Field Akron, Ohio 44333 Vice Chair Butch Baron Operations Phone: 330-836-2271 Elizabeth Juliano Maintenance Joy Mulinex Director of Government Relations Medina Field Office Vice Chair Kim Bihler Manager of Special Events Robert Owen 141 Prospect Street Scott Mueller General Counsel Medina, Ohio 44256 Vice Chair Paul Boehnlein GIS & Conservation Planning Lisa Pasquale Phone: 330-722-7313 Michael R. Shaughnessy Specialist Conservation Coordinator Treasurer Firelands Field Office Dennis Bower Gina Pausch Owen Colligan P.O. Box 174 Chief Finance Officer & Development Assistant Oberlin, Ohio 44074 Secretary Chief Information Officer Kate Pilacky Phone: 440-774-4226 Dale LaPorte Maggie Corder Firelands Associate Field Director Southeastern Associate Field Director Painesville Field Office Sheila Randel Ned Baker Alex Czayka Database Manager 70 South Park Place Laurence A. Bettcher Eastern Associate Field Director Painesville, Ohio 44077 Amy Reed Beau Daane LeAnn Davis Land Protection Revenue Associate Phone: 440-357-4837 Gene A. Faubel Conservation Attorney Brett Rodstrom Wayne County Field Office Frederick P. Floyd Frank Ford Vice President of Eastern Field 140 East Market Street Senior Policy Advisor, Operations David L. Herzer Suite 150 Thriving Communities Institute Amy Rogish Christopher D. Hess Orrville, Ohio 44667 Jean Gokorsch Executive Assistant William J. Hlavin Associate Director of Stewardship Thriving Communities Jim Rokakis J. Jeffrey Holland Institute Kathy Obert Hill Vice President, Director of Richard C. Hyde Chief Strategy & Thriving Communities Institute 2012 W. 25th Street Engagement Officer Sarah Ryzner Suite 504 Patrice Kouvas Kathy Keare Leavenworth Janet Hoover Director of Projects, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Office Manager Thriving Communities Institute Phone: 216-515-8300 G. Russell Lincoln Kate Hydock Jeffery Schiffman Kathryn L. Makley Executive Assistant, Conservation Project Manager Southeast: Maggie Corder Bassem A. Mansour Thriving Communities Institute Chris Szell Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson S. Sterling McMillan, IV Bill Jordan Director of Conservation Project 740-317-0561 William C. Mulligan Medina Associate Field Director Management East: Alex Czayka Nancy G. Rubin Joe Leslie Robin Darden Thomas Trumbull, Portage, Mahoning Mitchell Schneider Director of Acquisitions Land Bank Program Director, 440-813-4664 Thriving Communities Institute Katharine O. Scovil Jon Logue Development Officer George Warnock Our mission Brian Sherwin Diane Madison Stewardship Associate & From the countryside to the city, we provide James C. Spira Legal Assistant Conservation Project Manager Marta King Stone Liz Mather Shane Wohlken our region with natural places that nourish and Richard B. Thompson Director of GIS & Stewardship Associate support vibrant and prosperous communities Except where noted, Craig O. White Conservation Planning Leah Whidden Vice President by identifying, preserving, restoring and all photos © David Liam Kyle Susan Dicken Yerian Keith McClintock www.davidliamkyle.com Vice President of Conservation Ken Wood maintaining essential assets like clean water, Cover photo: Lake Erie shoreline Pete McDonald Director of Communications Director of Stewardship & Marketing working farms, wildlife areas, and parks. 2 CELEBRATING WHAT COUNTS Donor Report July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013 3 Celebrating what counts ne of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers of recorded objective results are impressive and have made us the largest conservation human history, Albert Einstein, said: “Everything that can be counted organization in Ohio; O does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily • Protected an average of 3,680 acres per year since 2006; be counted.” • Preserved nearly $400 million of land; The undeclared premise of this quote is that counting is • Preserved 33 projects per year on average; and important, that we need to measure things to assess ourselves • Completed the two largest farmland protection projects in Ohio, one and our world in an accurate manner. And yet the quote involving more than 3,000 acres, the other 2,700 acres. reminds us that there are essential things that transcend By the time you will read this report, it is very likely that we will have measurement. Try to measure the joyful smile of a young boy conserved an additional 2,500 acres, crossing the threshold of 40,000 acres when he sees his first puppy…do you count how many seconds preserved. And yet our work is about so much more than “bucks and acres.” he smiles? Or the number of visible teeth? What economic value We are the result of strategic and voluntary mergers among 13 organizations. do you attribute to that smile? Obviously, his smile counts for Our urban revitalization division, Thriving Communities Institute, was something very special that cannot be counted. launched just two years ago and has already: And yet there are also many good reasons to count and measure ourselves • Worked throughout Ohio to launch many county land banks. Sixteen and our lives. Recently, we paused to reflect on what we provide to our counties now have land banks and 13 more have expressed an interest in communities, to the people and places we serve. There is a lot of good news! forming one; Our objective is to provide the communities we serve with natural assets • Hosted three statewide conferences on land banking and urban appropriate for that place and an ongoing foundation of fundamental natural challenges; and resources that give rise to enduring prosperity. Essential natural assets include: • Raised more than $182 million to support the revitalization of Ohio’s • Clean air and clean water to support all living things; cities. • Farmland that gives us our food and provides us with beauty and space; and And yet, despite the breathtaking achievements that these numbers • Forests that produce fiber for the world and serve our wildlife and represent, they pale when compared to the smile on the little girl’s face as she recreational needs. eats her first cherry tomato off a plant she raised from seed. How should we There are others that are vital in certain places. Beautiful parks and measure the value provided in this case? Maybe we preserved less than an acre preserves are necessary in places where people live. Without parks, people who in the Central neighborhood of Cleveland. Maybe that acre cost us nothing and can leave do leave, and we create communities with distressed values and fewer was worth only $500. Maybe it is not filled with mature trees and streams. people. The bottom line in all of this is that all living things move away from Should we measure the degrees of the curve of her lips? No, as Einstein said, toxins and towards nutrients; toxins can be literal poisons like PCBs and lead, there are things of great value that cannot be counted. And implicit in this and toxins can be metaphorical poisons like gun shots and blighted, boarded-up wisdom is the truth that when we do things that lead to that smile, we have homes. Nutrients include clean air, clean water, healthy foods, scenic beauty, changed many lives, because all people flourish when supported by healthy and friendly people. and beautiful places. So how do we count all of this up? How do we measure our work? Sometimes we do it with numbers. Here are a few ways to measure our traditional land protection work. These numbers are often referred to as “bucks and acres,” stating the financial results as well as the land area preserved. We have: Rich Cochran • Preserved 500 properties comprising approximately 37,500 acres. To President/CEO provide some context, that is about twice as large as all of Manhattan! These 4 Challenges bring out our best work n the world of land conservation, we are constantly challenged by prosperity. In addition, we are blessed with a talented, hard-working staff that change – and our ability to adapt to it. As an organization, the Western continues to be a model for other land trusts across the nation. We thank all of I Reserve Land Conservancy is not measured solely by the number of you for your efforts. acres it preserves or the projects it completes, but by its response to ever- The Land Conservancy faces many more challenges in the year ahead. changing economic, political and societal conditions. Uncertainty in the public funding arena, the potential end of enhanced federal When the future of farming in Ohio was threatened, we tax incentives for property owners who preserve their land and the lack of created a strong farmland protection program. When the unified conservation plans for the Utica region are just a few of the issues we foreclosure crisis devastated our cities, we formed a strong are facing as we head into 2014. urban revitalization initiative called Thriving Communities We will tackle those challenges with the same resolve that made us one of Institute. When we realized we were too dependent on the top 10 land trusts in the United States. In this annual donor report, I hope philanthropy, we diversified our revenue streams. And when you will get to know some of the people behind the numbers – the family that faced with the largest external force in our history – oil and benefitted from demolition in their neighborhood, the couple who unselfishly gas exploration in the Utica shale region of eastern Ohio – we preserved their farm, the park director who hopes to preserve more land with initiated a plan to preserve the natural resources there. our help, the longtime national park volunteers who made a lasting gift to the Fiscal year 2013 was a challenging one for the Land Conservancy, as Land Conservancy. Their stories are, in reality, our story. cutbacks in public funding programs, a drop in philanthropic revenue and Thank you again for your interest and continuing support.