By Steffney Thompson, Executive Director, ORLT

I am happy to report that ORLT completed five conservation easements in 2007, three of them in the last three months of the year. This means that over 1,800 green acres in our region are now protected by conservation easements. I would like to thank each of our new conservation easement donors for their commitment to their land and to our shared future. These landowners, for their own strongly held reasons, agreed to take a bold step into the future by permanently limiting what can be done on their land. This could not have been an easy decision for them since it has implications for their families as well as their pocketbooks. Yet, they decided to place their deeply felt tie to their land ahead of other concerns and donate a conservation easement to ORLT. Our conservation easement donors, with ORLT and its members, are all part of an effort to shape our future for the better. The three most recent conservation easements we worked on are described below. Note that each of these properties is visible from busy roads, and will preserve a visual heritage as well as provide habitat and protect the water quality of our region’s streams.

Dr. David Allen, a retired Atlanta oral surgeon and enthusiastic outdoorsman, and his family, have protected 124 acres of meadow and timber land in Walton County. This land, located partially within the city limits of Social Circle, lies squarely within the path of Atlanta’s ever- expanding growth. The Allens felt a strong desire to do something that was right for their land, their family, and the rest of their community. Now the property will remain a green oasis for future generations.

The Goldthwaite sisters (Lerea, Cindy, and Patricia) of Walton County have protected their 74-acre property, which borders Hard Labor Creek State Park. This land, a mix of meadows and forest, will provide a buffer for our state park, protect the water quality of Hard Labor Creek, and provide habitat for piedmont plants and animals. The Goldthwaites felt that the woodland experiences and views they grew up with were rapidly disappearing, and that this absence of green areas constituted an intolerable loss.

Walter and Susan Wellman of Walton County, who had previously placed a conservation easement on 111 acres, have protected an additional 55 acres of land with a conservation easement. This property, which borders the Alcovy River and is near Alcovy Mountain, includes a wide forested buffer along the river, as well as meadows and forested slopes. The Wellmans’ continued commitment to our green heritage is much appreciated.