ISSUE 3, 2014
(left to right) Rick Meeks, Kristen Hanna, Anne Meeks, Centennial Farm owner Steve Gardner (and his dog, Ida), HeadWaters Land Conservancy Executive Director Laura Justin, Janice Balcom, Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy Associate Director Julie Stoneman, Bruce Balcom, Conservation Easement Donor Gary Neuman, HeadWaters Land Conservancy Chairman John Dallas, Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy Executive Director Jill Lewis, Jim Bischoff and Higgins Lake Foundation Board Chair Vicky Springstead.
Michigan Centennial Farm BY PAUL KOGELSCHATZ
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PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY VALUE
oscommon, MI – Steve Gardner a lifelong Michigan farmer has granted a permanent Conservation Easement on 240 acres of his family’s Centennial Farm. The property consists of prime, productive agricultural land. The recently certified Centennial Farm designation recognizes that the farm has been in the Gardner family for more than 100 years and is still being actively farmed. The primary purpose of the Conservation Easement is to protect the agricultural soils, the viability, and the productive capacity of the farm in perpetuity. A Conservation Easement permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows landowners to continue to own and use their land, and they can also sell it or pass it on to their heirs. Just as every piece of land is unique, so is every conservation easement. The terms of each easement are tailored to the specific characteristics of each property.
While this farm will remain privately owned, the preservation of the Gardener Farm yields a significant public benefit. The perpetual protection of the air, water, land, and other natural resources from pollution, subdivision, and destruction will act as a positive demonstration for the area and will support future farmland preservation projects in the community. The Gardner Farm also contains wetland areas that provide habitat for aquatic wildlife and emergent plants. Located within the Muskegon
River watershed and more locally, the Houghton and Higgins Lake watershed, the perpetual protection of the property helps to ensure the quality and quantity of water resources for the Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake, and Muskegon River watersheds. HeadWaters Land Conservancy is responsible for making sure the easement’s terms are followed. This is managed through our annual volunteer stewardship monitoring program. Steve and HeadWaters have made a commitment to each other, to these 240 acres and all it provides to the community. The Centennial Gardner Farm Conservation Easement was made possible by the generous support of The Americana Foundation, who believe in the support of educational and advocacy programs that address the preservation of American agriculture, the conservation of natural resources, and the protection and presentation of expressions of America’s heritage.