A Message from the President ·
THANKFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY
We’ve had a great start to 2010, accomplishing a tremendous amount in the first six months with the addition of our first ever full-time Executive Director, Christine McCauley. Our constant presence in the community has allowed us to focus full-time on our mission to provide education on conservation matters and to facilitate the preservation of Morgan County’s natural, agricultural, and historic resources. Additionally, we have experienced strong organizational growth through our focus on the organization’s programs, fundraising, and management.
Already this year we have held a number of educational forums, reviewed two proposed developments through our Development Review Committee, written a lengthy and thorough document detailing the environmental and planning issues associated with the proposed landfill, grown our membership by over 50 new members, and launched our Farm to Market Alliance (F2MA).
So, we enter the second half of the year with enthusiasm and momentum. After being honored by the Historic Preservation Commission with an award for Excellence for our 2009 Greenprint Ramble, we have begun preparation for the next Greenprint Ramble (to be held Sept. 2011). We are also working to bring you a photo-documented Greenprint Resources Guide, two more educational forums this year, and a F2MA project that will support our local agricultural industry by embracing the burgeoning local food movement.
The next few months also holds an exciting new project to assess and map the conservation values of lands in Morgan County and the inclination of landowners to protect their properties with conservation easements. This assessment and mapping will result in a prioritization of the Conservancy’s conservation easement program for the next three to five years. Thanks to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Johanna Favrot Fund and Willow Oak Farm, the project is fully funded and should be completed by October, 2010.
We are thankful for so much this summer, not the least of which is the recent decision by the Board of Commissioners to deny the rezoning application for a landfill just 1.5 miles from the City of Madison. The efforts of many in our community have paid off with three unanimous decisions from regional and local officials to deny that rezoning request. We’d like to give thanks to many members of our community including David Land, Ralph Blanchard, the Citizens to Preserve Morgan County, and our own Development Review Committee, who came together to support the opposition to the regional landfill application. This process has been a wonderful example of how a community determines its own future.
We are so grateful to our Watershed Donors and members who make it all possible, from our educational forums to the development review process to promoting conservation easements to the inventorying our resources. Thank you all for your constant support and dedication to protecting the natural, agricultural, and historic resources in Morgan County.
In this newsletter you will find information on our five programs: 1) Conservation Easements, 2) Educational Forums, 3) Development Review, 4) Resource Inventory, and 5) Farm to Market Alliance. If you would like to contact us about any of our programs, please do not hesitate to do so. Your input is valuable to us as we continue to grow the Conservancy.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Branch, President
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