Clark County commissioners received a request Wednesday from the land trust to support its applications to the state as part of the program to purchase agricultural easements on 19 potential properties.
“The purpose of the agriculture easement would be to keep the land in agriculture use in the future by restricting industrial residential and commercial development on the property,” Greta Kramer from TLT said.
Commissioners approved the resolution for this request.
“We appreciate what you do because obviously our number one industry in Clark County still remains agriculture so what you’re doing to keep that land intact is an important thing and it does fit with our land use plan here in Clark County,” said Commissioner Charlie Patterson.
Executive Director Michele Burns said the resolution of support from county commissioners is just one step in the application process. Now, it will finish the applications and submit them to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) by the April 15 deadline.
To help make the state dollars go further, Burns said they seek federal dollars through an agricultural easement program in the Farm Bill. This federal applications has been submitted, but are still being reviewed by the Ohio Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The Ohio NRCS ranks all applications in the state and funds the highest scoring applications until their funds are spent. Burns said they have about $2.3 million to use across the state.
In addition to this, the state was awarded $2.8 million in agricultural easement funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, but these funds are currently on hold.
“It is certainly our hope that those funds are released back to Ohio NRCS so that we can protect more prime farmland,” Burns said.
Burns said the ODA amount won’t go too far, but the final number of properties they can fund will depend on how the NRCS ranking goes. She said they should hear back in the next week or so about their application.
Burns echoed there are more people applying each year.
The 19 potential properties include:
• Knollwood Road in Springfield, German Twp., 103.84 acres.
• North River Road in Springfield, Green Twp., 34.05 acres.
• South Charleston Road in South Charleston, Green Twp., 184.05 acres.
• Blee Road in Springfield, Green Twp., 110.98 acres.
• Springfield-Jamestown Road in Springfield, Green Twp., 136.73 acres.
• Woosley Road in South Charleston, Harmony Twp., 28.45 acres.
• Newlove Road and Whitridge in South Charleston, Harmony Twp., 85.57 acres.
• Buena Vista Road in South Vienna, Harmony Twp., 65.74 acres.
• Old 70 Road in Springfield, Harmony Twp., 46.72 acres.
• Columbus-Cincinnati Road in South Charleston, Madison Twp., 111 acres.
• Old Springfield Road in South Charleston, Madison Twp., 128.72 acres.
• North Hampton-Donnelsville Road in Springfield, Pike Twp., 97.16 acres.
• Stafford Road in New Carlisle, Pike Twp., 150.38 acres.
• Sigler Road in New Carlisle, Pike Twp., 113.83 acres.
• Stott Road in New Carlisle, Pike Twp., 73.59 acres.
• North Urbana-Lisbon Road in Mechanicsburg, Pleasant Twp., 54.97 acres.
• McConkey Road in Mechanicsburg, Pleasant Twp., 335.45 acres.
• North Urbana-Lisbon Road in Mechanicsburg, Pleasant Twp., 14.84 acres.
• McConkey Road in Mechanicsburg, Pleasant Twp., 70.65 acres.
Tecumseh Land Trust has protected over 38,000 acres in its service area with 235 conservation easements.
This is the 25th anniversary of Clean Ohio, which authorized the agricultural easement purchase program.
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