PRESS RELEASE
FEBRUARY 10, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Chris Bunch at (330) 722-7313
Email: info@mslconservancy.org
Christopher Bunch, Executive Director of the Medina Summit Land Conservancy, announced today that John and Barbara Gillette have donated a conservation easement on their 20-acre property just north of Wadsworth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gillette are active members of the Conservancy, with Mrs. Gillette serving on the Board.
The Gillette's have seen significant changes in the area where they live and wanted to provide for a wildlife habitat that would be protected no matter what happened to the surrounding land in the future. Recently, they hosted a gathering at their home to explain what conservation easements are and to encourage others to do the same.
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a private landowner and a land trust, such as the Medina Summit Land Conservancy. Its purposes are to protect the property from ever being developed and protect the attributes that make it important to local wildlife. The property remains privately owned and can continue to be used as a residence. It allows the owners to maintain the house and outbuildings, even allowing for additions or constructions. If there is timber on the property, it allows for the management of the timber based upon a forestry plan. The owners may sell the property, give it away, or pass it on to their heirs, but the conservation easement will continue to ensure the majority of the property remains in its largely natural state forever.
The Medina Summit Land Conservancy is a non-profit conservation organization that works in Medina and Summit counties to help sustain the natural and cultural heritage of the area. They work with private landowners on a voluntary basis who wish to protect their land from conversion and development. The Conservancy also works with developers and governmental entities to help meet permitting requirements for developments that protect some of the land as part of their project.
The Medina Summit Land Conservancy currently holds 14 conservation easements that protect nearly 150 acres throughout Medina County. They are currently actively involved in projects that will protect over 200 more acres in both Medina and Summit counties in the near future.
For further information on the conservation easements and the Medina Summit Land Conservancy, contact Bunch at the Conservancy office at 330-722-7313.
The mission of the Medina Summit Land Conservancy is to preserve and protect open space and natural areas in and around Medina and Summit Counties including: healthy, sustainable ecosystems; rare, endangered and threatened native plants and animals; unique geological and archeological features; agricultural land; woodland and scenic views.