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    Gaining Ground

    Ohio

    429,419

    Acres Protected

    That’s about 325,317 football fields!

    Land trusts have already conserved 61 million acres of private land across the nation — more than all of the national parks combined. Help us conserve another 60 million acres by the end of the decade.

    Together, let’s keep Gaining Ground.

    Visitors to Land Trust Properties

    69,065

    More and more people are enjoying the benefits of nature.

    Percent of Land Trusts That Provide Public Access to Their Lands

    80%

    Land trusts provide opportunities to recreate and recharge.

    Number of People Served

    4 million

    Land trusts provide programs and activities to get people outside and learn about the land.

    Miles of Trails

    119

    Walking, hiking and other outdoor recreation improve people's health and well-being.

    Miles With Universal Access

    11

    Universal access trails are designed to be used by all people, regardless of ability.

    Percent of Land Trusts Who Increased Community Engagement in the Last Five Years

    57%

    Land Trusts Are Deepening Relationships With:

    • People from various racial and ethnic backgrounds

    • Older adults or those living in retirement communities

    • People who identify as LGBTQ+

    • People living with disabilities

    • Veterans

    Land Trusts Are Helping Address Community Needs, Including:

    • Youth education and development

    • Community and economic development

    • Food security and agriculture

    • Health and wellness

    • Social and environmental justice

    Demographics

    Every land trust is as unique as the community it serves.

    Ohio land trusts are community-led and supported and protect lands and waters that help the entire state.

    Active Land Trusts

    32

    A land trust is a nonprofit that conserves land by acquiring and stewarding land or conservation easements.

    Learn more about land trusts
    Alliance Member Land Trusts

    24

    Land Trust Alliance members commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

    Learn about the land trust alliance
    Accredited Land Trusts

    7

    Accredited land trusts undergo a thorough review of their practices in governance, finance, transactions and stewardship.

    Learn about land trust accreditation

    People

    • 10,178

    • 989

    • 72

    • 31

    • 313

    Land Trust Longevity

    • 97 years old (1927)

    • 14 years old (2010)

    • 27 years old

    Percent of Land Trusts Who Increased Focus on Climate Change in the Last Five Years

    57%

    Percent of Land Trusts Receiving Funding to Address Climate Change

    14%

    Sources of Funding to Address Climate Change

    • North American Wetlands Conservation

    • Clean Ohio Fund Green Space Protection Program

    • Sustain Our Great Lakes

    Land Protected

    There has been a 56% increase in Ohio land protected by land trusts since 2010.

    Acre by acre, land trusts are helping to conserve Ohio lands, waters and ways of life.

    2010
    2015
    2020
    Total acres protected
    274,584
    365,905
    429,419
    +56%
    Under easement
    88,791
    141,492
    197,789
    +123%
    Owned
    113,614
    130,626
    142,643
    +26%
    Acquired and reconveyed
    40,120
    41,711
    35,513
    0%
    Protected by other means
    32,059
    49,619
    53,474
    +67%

    Disclaimer: Land trusts conserve land in many different ways and every project is unique. Category totals may change depending on how acres are reported by survey respondents to reflect the most current data and minimize double-counting. In some instances, the total may be greater than the sum of the separate categories due to organizations that provided total acres not broken down by category.

    Percent of Land Owned and Under Easement Held by an Accredited Land Trust

    73%

    Source: 2020 National Land Trust Census

    Total Public Funding for Conservation From 1998-2017

    $1.1 billion

    Source: Trust for Public Land's Conservation Almanac

    Acres of Land Lost to Development From 2012-2017

    60,300

    Source: NRCS - Natural Resources Inventory

    This information reflects data collected in the National Land Trust Census, the longest-running comprehensive survey of private land conservation in America. Learn more about the Census and see which land trusts participated in the 2020 National Land Trust Census.

    Making a Difference

    Ohio land trusts are gaining ground.

    Land trusts across the state are helping find solutions to some of Ohio's most pressing issues.

    • Ensuring clean drinking water: Through acquisition and restoration efforts, the accredited Black Swamp Conservancy is re-creating a functioning floodplain complex to create a cleaner Lake Erie and expand habitat to support larger and healthier wildlife populations. Black Swamp is transforming farm fields into aquatic, wetland and upland habitat with a goal of trapping as many nutrients as possible.

      Read more

    • Creating healthy communities: Like many older cities, Cleveland has a combined sewer system, meaning that when the volume of storm water exceeds the capacity of wastewater treatment plants, sewage bypasses the treatment plants and is discharged directly into local lakes and streams. Western Reserve Land Conservancy serves as a contractor for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s stormwater masterplan, conserving small parcels of land to reduce the amount of pollution entering Lake Erie.

      Read more

    • Conserving wildlife habitat: Three Valley Conservation Trust in Oxford, Ohio, created a landowner outreach program, Food for Flight, that supports migrating monarch butterflies and other insect pollinators.

      Read more

    Land Trusts Working in Ohio

    Land Trust Alliance member land trusts, listed below, commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

    Access Fund
    Access Fund
    Boulder, CO
    American Farmland Trust
    American Farmland Trust
    Northampton, MA
    1,188 acres protected in OH
    Appalachia Ohio Alliance
    Appalachia Ohio Alliance
    Logan, OH
    13,335 acres protected in OH
    Athens Conservancy
    Athens Conservancy
    Athens, OH
    2,878 acres protected in OH
    B-W Greenway Community Land Trust
    B-W Greenway Community Land Trust
    Fairborn, OH
    666 acres protected in OH
    Beaver Creek Wetlands Association
    Beaver Creek Wetlands Association
    Alpha, OH
    1,515 acres protected in OH
    Black Swamp Conservancy
    Black Swamp Conservancy
    Perrysburg, OH
    19,463 acres protected in OH
    Broad Water Innovations
    Broad Water Innovations
    Richmond, VA
    33 acres protected in OH
    Captina Conservancy
    Captina Conservancy
    Barnesville, OH
    1,703 acres protected in OH
    Cardinal Land Conservancy, Inc.
    Cardinal Land Conservancy, Inc.
    Milford, OH
    7,884 acres protected in OH
    Champaign Land Preservation
    Champaign Land Preservation
    Urbana, OH
    823 acres protected in OH
    Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
    Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
    Memphis, TN
    653 acres protected in OH
    Fairfield Land Preservation Association
    Fairfield Land Preservation Association
    Lancaster, OH
    452 acres protected in OH
    Gates Mills Land Conservancy
    Gates Mills Land Conservancy
    Gates Mills, OH
    724 acres protected in OH
    Killbuck Watershed Land Trust
    Killbuck Watershed Land Trust
    Wooster, OH
    10,694 acres protected in OH
    Licking Land Trust
    Licking Land Trust
    Granville, OH
    1,174 acres protected in OH
    Little Miami Conservancy
    Little Miami Conservancy
    Loveland, OH
    Logan County Land Trust
    Logan County Land Trust
    Bellefontaine, OH
    3,563 acres protected in OH
    National Park Trust
    National Park Trust
    Rockville, MD
    Owl Creek Conservancy
    Owl Creek Conservancy
    Mount Vernon, OH
    5,610 acres protected in OH
    Oxbow, Inc.
    Oxbow, Inc.
    Lawrenceburg, IN
    30 acres protected in OH
    Philander Chase Conservancy
    Philander Chase Conservancy
    Gambier, OH
    5,549 acres protected in OH
    RAPID 5
    RAPID 5
    Columbus, OH
    Tecumseh Land Trust
    Tecumseh Land Trust
    Yellow Springs, OH
    32,157 acres protected in OH
    The Conservation Fund
    The Conservation Fund
    Arlington, VA
    123,220 acres protected in OH
    The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust
    The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust
    Washington, DC
    313 acres protected in OH
    The Nature Conservancy
    The Nature Conservancy
    Arlington, VA
    62,386 acres protected in OH
    The Trust for Public Land, National Office
    The Trust for Public Land, National Office
    San Francisco, CA
    11,776 acres protected in OH
    The Wilderness Center, Inc.
    The Wilderness Center, Inc.
    Wilmot, OH
    4,406 acres protected in OH
    Three Valley Conservation Trust
    Three Valley Conservation Trust
    Oxford, OH
    24,986 acres protected in OH
    West Central Ohio Land Conservancy
    West Central Ohio Land Conservancy
    Bluffton, OH
    2,920 acres protected in OH
    Western Reserve Land Conservancy
    Western Reserve Land Conservancy
    Moreland Hills, OH
    69,180 acres protected in OH
    Western Wildlife Corridor, Inc.
    Western Wildlife Corridor, Inc.
    Addyston, OH
    330 acres protected in OH
    Wood Land Lakes RC&D Land Trust
    Wood Land Lakes RC&D Land Trust
    Middlebury, IN