Killbuck Watershed Land Trust preserves local farmland

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

—Aldo Leopold

Farmland. What could be more crucial to the county’s economy and sense of place? The Killbuck Watershed Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that exists to help preserve that land, covering a six-county region: Wayne, Holmes, Coshocton, Ashland, Richland and Tuscarawas.

Tate Emerson, KWLT executive director, said the organization helps landowners, most often farmers, preserve local land by preventing future development and subdivision of their properties through using a legal agreement called a conservation easement.

“In the ’90s,” Emerson said, “it became evident that farmland and open space in Wayne County and the surrounding area was rapidly being converted to residential and commercial development, threatening our natural heritage, generational culture, agricultural economy and our ability to grow food.”

KWLT was formed in 2000 by a few Wayne County citizens concerned about this loss.

According to Emerson, the region's land topography and soil are classified as prime farmland and farmland of local importance by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The soil developed after the last glacier retreated thousands of years ago.

“Meaning,” he said, “when we scrape away the topsoil and subsoils, they will never come back. A once productive farm, an independent and self-reliant area, now reduced to yet another space dependent on society for services.”

When a landowner places a conservation easement on their property, it means they retain ownership; all that’s changed is they no longer have the right to develop the land for nonagricultural use or to subdivide the land into smaller parcels (there are a few possible exceptions). The easement grants KWLT the right to protect the conservation values of the land — its natural, scenic and open space values.

“This includes the prime soils that cannot be replaced, maintaining space for wildlife habitat, biodiversity and wildlife migration corridors, as well as the protection of our scenic viewsheds, an often overlooked value of farmland,” Emerson said. “Additionally, sustainably managed land supports the restabilization of our climate. Protecting these conservation values allows the community to preserve family farming and our self-reliant community. The stewardship of private landowners is paramount in our effort to protect land from overdevelopment.

“Our local land is selling for astronomically high prices, which makes it very difficult for young farmers to expand their operation and for new farmers to get started. However, by placing a conservation easement on the land, you are forever making that land available at a reduced price to future generations. Without the ability to develop the property, developers will not be interested, and therefore farmers will be able to buy the land at its agricultural value.”

Placing an easement allows the landowner to extract the development value for themselves while forever preserving the land in its undeveloped state for future farmers and a wildlife habitat. The year a conservation easement is donated, the appraised value is a federal income-tax deduction.

Currently, KWLT holds easements on 11,000 acres of private land throughout the six-county region. Additionally, the nonprofit owns three nature preserves: Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, Baker Wetland and Killbuck Swamp Preserve (encompassing 690 acres in Holmes County).

In partnership with the City of Wooster, KWLT holds the conservation easement on all 400 acres of Wooster Memorial Park. They have worked in partnership with the park on new land acquisitions.

KWLT just broke ground on a 240-acre wetland restoration project on state Route 60, which will create a wetland habitat and public recreational area.

It also supported the Village of Killbuck in receiving a streetscape and trail improvement grant. By summer’s end the village improvements will include making the area accessible by bike from the Holmes County Trail and a kayak launch.

The nonprofit works with a range of other groups including the Farm Bureau, Friends of Wooster Memorial Park, The Wilderness Center, the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association, and Western Reserve Land Conservancy. It also provides opportunities for local Scout groups, schools and businesses.

Donations provide 100% of KWLT’s operational funds. It accepts donations of conservation easements, land, cash or legacy donations. It also needs advocacy for farmland protection and environmentally sustainable initiatives. Volunteers are needed to build and maintain trails, plant trees and pick up trash.

Donations can be made online, by mail, or through the Wayne County Community Foundation or the Holmes County Education & Community Foundation. More information is available at www.KillbuckWatershedLandTrust.org, by mail at 133 S. Market St. in Wooster, by calling 330-804-5958 or by emailing Tate@killbuckwatershedlandtrust.org.

To volunteer, email Emerson or KWLT President Randy Carmel at president@killbuckwatershedlandtrust.org. Anyone interested in more information also can set up an appointment to speak with Emerson in person.

“Development pushes out the wild world, the beauty of this one natural planet we inhabit," Emerson said. "Our lives are dependent on the presence of the wild world. When we push them away, we limit our own existence. Every acre of land we protect benefits the community as a whole. From providing recreational opportunities to growing our food, from supporting the local agricultural economy to wildlife habitat and protecting our cultural heritage, we are wholly dependent on the soil beneath our feet.”