Cardinal Land Conservancy

Land stewardship: we are responsible to protect conservation values and to be a good neighbor and community member for all our properties. We evaluate every property for its conservation value, the threats to these values, and for opportunities to enhance conservation values through responsible management. A formal stewardship plan is developed and implemented based on this analysis to include annual monitoring and assessment as part of an adaptive management framework. Some conservation properties include restoration work to replace lost functions and to increase the conservation value of the property. Our volunteers are a vital and growing resource for our stewardship program with individuals and groups of all ages participating in planning and providing service... (see schedule o)...stewarding conserved lands. A stewardship funding strategy, including gift donations during the acquisition process, is an integral part of every new conservation project. Stewardship funds are used to provide for future expenses of restoration, monitoring, enforcing compliance with easement restrictions, and underwriting legal defense of conservation protections for all our properties. We ensure the conservation defense of our properties with terrafirma, a Land trust risk sharing pool.

Bahr farm: in june 2021, dale & carole bahr donated their 32-acre working farm (the largest working farm in the city of cincinnati) and all its assets to clc, along with a significant cash contribution to begin significant renovation/improvement of the property (expected to take 2 years to complete). The farm will remain as a working farm operated in a way to support education on agriculture, sustainability and the environment. Clc effectively began to actually manage and operate the farm in 3rd quarter 2021.

Conservation Land and easement acquisition: we conserve important and threatened Land using all the tools of private, voluntary Land conservation. We work exclusively with willing landowners to find ways to conserve, forever, the scenic and natural values of the Land and water. Landowners donate or sell their Land for conservation or a conservation easement. In either case, the conversion of the Land to development uses is restricted or eliminated. We manage the Land under a stewardship plan and, if necessary, legally defend the terms of the conservation easement or the conservation values of our fee lands. We also identify priority conservation lands to purchase, often working with governmental and other funding partners. Further, we conserve working forests... (see schedule o)... and agricultural Land for the purpose of keeping the Land in resource production.

Public outreach: we increase awareness about the benefits of private Land conservation and our mission. Methods include education and outreach to support conservation in priority areas, targeting technical advisors to landowners, showcasing successful projects to promote conservation and stewardship, and introducing the general public to Land conservation through tours and publications.