Conservation Easements and Riparian Buffer Cost Share
Programs:
The land near a stream is vital to the health of the
stream. Stream banks with lots of trees,
shrubs and plants filter pollutants before they reach the water and help hold
soil in place, slowing erosion. The more
natural the land is near a stream, the higher the water quality. Everyone wants
excellent water quality! It is sometimes difficult for people to leave their
land in a natural condition, they want or need to develop their land for a variety
of reasons, and that often means clearing the banks of the stream. Those treeless stream banks do nothing to
filter pollutants and hold soil in place.
That means diminished water quality.
There is a way for everyone to win! A way to protect the
natural land near a stream and give landowners money for the right to develop
their land is called an easement.
An easement is simply a way of assuring that something of
value (an unspoiled natural area or a historic building) that is owned
privately remains protected in the future.
A conservation easement typically requires that land entered into the
easement be left in its natural state.
An easement may be placed on some parts of a property and not others and
may allow the owner to retain certain rights such as the continuation of
farming in some areas, cutting of firewood or even building an additional
house. These exceptions just need to be
spelled out in advance so that they can be included in the easement contract.
Easements are usually written to last forever. This is called a perpetual easement and
guarantees that the property protected will continue to be protected beyond the
present owner’s lifetime. Putting an easement on a piece of land can change its
tax assessment; this can have potential tax benefits for landowners.
Riparian areas are the areas of land that border a
stream. Riparian easements seek to
protect the health of a stream by protecting the land around it. By restricting the development of the
riparian area, erosion of stream banks and pollution of the stream is minimized
and the overall human impact on the stream is reduced.
The Mahoning Soil and
Water Conservation District is offering help to those residents that are
interested in placing a conservation easement on their property. So in years to
come that property may be kept in its natural beauty. They also are offering
programs to include Riparian Buffer reestablishment. This wonderful program offers streamside
residents the option of a 50% reimbursement of cost of native plants that have
been reestablished in the riparian buffer area alongside streams. Both programs are limited to the Mill Creek
Watershed. For more information please call our office at 330-740-7995.
This program is provided by a
319 grant from the Ohio EPA, and US EPA, AWARE, MSWCD, and Mill Creek Metro Parks
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