OBERLIN, Ohio — Two founders of the Firelands Land Conservancy have protected their respective properties with conservation easements.
Clark Hahn and Gordon Oney, who helped create one of the eight organizations which merged to form Western Reserve Land Conservancy in 2006, granted the conservation easements in December on properties totaling 138 acres.
Hahn and Oney both continue to serve on the Land Conservancy’s Firelands Chapter board.
Hahn
Brothers Clark and Richard Hahn placed an agricultural easement on their 122-acre farm in Berlin Heights in Erie County. The Hahn brothers are the third generation in the family to own the property.
In 1897, Clark and Richard’s great aunt and uncle built the original farm house. In 1932, The Hahns’ grandfather bought the farm and Clark and Richard’s parents started farming the property.
Clark and his wife Sharon live on the property adjoining the farm.
The flexibility of the easement left the option to build a windmill or a cell tower on the property, and selective timber harvest.
Over time, the farm has been an apple and cherry orchard, housed 100 beef cattle and maintained a productive grain crop rotation with beans, hay, corn and wheat.
The Hahn farm, having prime agricultural soils, was one of the most productive farms in the area.
Historical attribute
Another historical attribute of the property, The Inner Urban Trolley Line was a great rail system that connected Cleveland to various places throughout Ohio.
The spur line that ran from Oberlin to Berlin Heights ran along the Hahn’s southern border and continued south to Norwalk and north to Ceylon.
Oney
Gordon Oney and his wife Katherine placed a conservation easement on their 16-acre wetland in Fitchville Township in Huron County.
The wetland is in the headwaters of the East Branch of the Huron River and is primarily a scrub/shrub wetland with about two acres of agricultural land adjoining larger agricultural fields on an adjacent parcel.
Oney has enhanced the wetland by planting perennial flowers and other native plants.
There is a small one-acre woodlot on the property which will continue to be selectively timbered. One home site will be reserved.
In 2008, more than 200 acres were preserved by the Land Conservancy in the Firelands region.
Program
A program for landowners interested in learning more about conservation options available to them will be held at 7 p.m. March 11 at the Wakeman Community Library.
For more information contact The Land Conservancy at 440-774-4226 or e-mail amcdowell@wrlc.cc.
