Conservation Easement Preserves Farm Adjacent to Glen Helen

When Debbie Alexander’s farmers mentioned the possibility of selling an agricultural conservation easement on her land, it didn't take her long to contact Tecumseh Land Trust (TLT) to get more information. The farm has been in her family for over 70 years.  

Debbie and her late husband, Mike, have lived there and farmed the property for the past 20 years. ‘it’s lovely living where I do,” Debbie says, “with Glen Helen bordering the west part of our farm, John Bryan Park touching it on the south, and the Boy Scout Camp nearby.” The value of Glen Helen’s 1000 acres of forest, streams, wildlife, and educational opportunities to the Yellow Springs community is unquestioned. For these reasons, preserving the Glen in perpetuity with a conservation easement is a high priority for Tecumseh Land Trust. The land trust is collaborating with Antioch College and the Glen Helen Ecology Institute to make this a reality. This concern helped TLT bring into sharp focus those properties that adjoin the Glen. It hastened our effort to encourage these landowners to consider placing a conservation easement on their property to help provide a protective buffer zone to the Glen. The Alexander’s 68-acre farm on route 370 is one of those properties. With the help of TLT, Miami Township’s Farmland Preservation Fund, and the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, Debbie was able to sell a conservation easement on her farm. The easement will remain integral to the property deed and provide protection in perpetuity against commercial encroachment or other forms of undesirable change. With the support of her children, Debbie closed the easement and can rest assured that the farm will remain a farm for at least another 70 years.