June 2020: Another Nearly 200 Acres of Coastal Wetland Permanently Protected

While the typical management activities of early summer (mowing, spraying, seeding, grading) marched on as the days continued to lengthen, June 2020 was headlined by the realization of another major project milestone. With the official execution of Standing Rush's second federally protected easement (~195 acres), nearly 400 acres of the bayside site are now secured as Lake Erie wetland, forever.

Standing Rush, West: With the exception of the extreme upper-left corner of this image, 
all of the ~195-acre marsh south of Route 2 (upper-right) and west of SR 269 (lower-right) is now 
under the perpetual protection of the USDA/NRCS's Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program.

The West Marsh Rest Pond from Structure 1 nearly three months into an early season drawdown.
Note the deep water canal in the foreground and a robust stand of broadleaf cattail in the background.
This is among the habitats now permanently protected.

Dozens of great egrets (among a broad spectrum of other wildlife diversity)
enjoying the productivity of the Rest Pond, June 2020.

A personal favorite perspective of the main West Marsh, August 2017.
Again, this is among the habitats now permanently protected.

Success! 205 Acres of Coastal Habitat Protected -- Forever

This aerial overview depicts major expanses of the ~205 acres now permanently protected at Standing Rush
thanks to the USDA/NRCS' Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program; the area directly below the drone totals 
almost exactly 100 acres and is completely protected -- the largely open water expanse just above the center
of the image (above the narrow tree line) is ~75 acres in size and is also fully included in the protection

Late yesterday afternoon, it became official: just over 205 acres (or roughly 155 football fields) -- virtually all of our "East Marsh" and its watery connection to Sandusky Bay -- is now permanently protected wetland habitat through formal acceptance and completed enrollment into the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program. This is a very significant step, a crucial part of the most foundational "pillar" of our project mission: long-term habitat protection and conservation.

While this herculean effort (which started way back in December 2015) culminated in a real estate closing, this is not a land sale. Standing Rush still owns the property; it remains privately held. And we can essentially continue to do most all of the things that we originally set out to do to carry out the mission of our broader project.

However, under this critically important arrangement, we -- or any other individual or entity that owns the easement area moving forward [forever] -- are bound by a perpetual pact with the United States government, specifically the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, which is managed through the USDA). This legal agreement, known as a conservation easement, essentially forfeits most traditional development rights. So we didn't sell the property, we just sold the legal right to do many of the things that our societal structures traditionally grant us, as landowners, the right to do.

Another vantage point showing habitat now permanently protected by WRE; special thanks to everyone at NRCS
and all the affiliated agencies and collaborators who helped make this day possible -- now we are on to finding
ways to protect the rest of Standing Rush!

By entering into this conservation easement, we forfeit our right to do things like build structures within the easement area, grow cash crops, harvest timber, etc. in exchange for a one-time monetary payment and the promise that our federal government will serve as watch-dog and protector of this unique habitat . . . forever. We also enter into what is called a "compatible use agreement" with the NRCS. It is tied to a living land management plan, so that again, we can continue to advance the stability and ecological function of the property within the confines of the broader easement. We will continue to focus on restoration opportunities within the easement area. Historical recreational uses (e.g., hunting, trapping, fishing, birding, wildlife viewing, etc.) are considered "compatible uses" as long as they are carried out legally and responsibly.

So in many ways, this is an ideal situation for all involved. Standing Rush gets the benefit of a financial infusion to help off-set significant carrying costs and management expenses and is provided the assurance that no matter who owns the property in the future, the natural resources will be protected. The U.S. government secures and protects the diverse and crucially important functions and values of critically scarce wetland habitat at a fraction of the price of buying the property outright, and the legal owners of the property continue to be responsible for its care and maintenance. And the general public gets the broad benefit that the government has secured (e.g., improved water quality, ground water recharge, flood protection, wildlife diversity, etc., etc.), and in some cases, still has access to the protected property.

Permanently Protected

As a bit of an aside, the future of public access on Standing Rush property remains a bit of an unknown -- or at least a to-be-determined. As of now, we plan to continue as we have, inviting targeted groups and individuals on-site to witness and experience the wonder of the coastal wetland environment and to continue to research and learn from every square inch of this incredible natural resource that we have left.

Circling Back: Starting to Look More Official

One of 76 placards erected on our East
Marsh over the last two weeks  

(Written 5/14/18): While it certainly is still not official, the roughly 8" x 12" signs recently installed along the boarder of our ~200-acre proposed easement area by USDA's contracted survey crew (Hull & Associates), is a very positive step in a very positive direction for our site and our broader mission. The surveyors have been on-site for about the last two weeks, and they wrapped up their work this morning.

I haven't written on this subject since last September, but trust that progress continues to be made as we work with the NRCS to close on our first conservation easement. Now that the preliminary survey work is complete, we anticipate extinguishing any relevant title exceptions to be our last major obstacle ahead of closing.

Again, this will not change the ownership of the land. Standing Rush will still own and manage the property. A conservation easement is merely a legal agreement that forfeits traditional development rights (e.g., building, converting land uses) and insures that what is wetland habitat today will be wetland habitat in perpetuity.

We benefit through the "sale" of the easement, expressed as an agreed upon dollar amount per acre paid by the USDA. The general public benefits because it secures the long-term benefits and functions of this critical ecosystem without having to actually purchase and maintain the land.

Big Day for Standing Rush

The WRE easement would protect just over 200 acres of our East Marsh; the image above shows most of the easement area
-- the 100-acre "Dinky Track" in the foreground, the ~75-acre "Tower Marsh" in the center of the image,
and the estuary that connects both units to Sandusky Bay (in the far background)

Yesterday marked another milestone for this restoration and conservation project -- and it's arguably the most significant to date. For the last twenty-one months, we have been actively pursuing enrollment into what is formally called the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program. It is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), specifically through the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and more specifically through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

A new collaborative partner in conservation
and preservation of the marsh

Wow . . . that's a lot of acronyms! But what does it mean? Essentially, the WRE program is a federal means by which private landowners can work cooperatively with the federal government to formally (legally) protect high quality and/or highly restorable wetland habitat for a predetermined duration (30 years) or, as is the case with our pursuit, forever (protection "in perpetuity").

In our situation, Standing Rush was invited to vie for funds within Ohio's competitive program to enroll a finite number of acres into a perpetual conservation easement. This is essentially a legally binding agreement whereby a landowner is incentivized -- often through compensation on a per acre basis -- in exchange for forfeiting or significantly restricting the ability to develop the land (or water) in conventional ways. The ultimate goal is to protect conservation values. Ownership of the land itself does not change (i.e., the land is not sold); but the residential and/or commercial development rights on the land are relinquished.

While we have carefully considered multiple programs that can achieve similar outcomes, we decided to apply for an easement on ~205 acres of our East Marsh through WRE. We feel that this program's motives can be consistent with our long-term vision for the habitat. We can continue to manage the property as we have, and can continue to utilize the property recreationally. Even the hunting heritage on the site can be preserved. As the timeline (21 months and counting!) makes clear, this is a painstaking process. But yesterday, we cleared several major hurdles: (1) we were formally accepted into the program, (2) we received a formal offer for the easement, and (3) we signed and received signatures formally approving the offer.

These are very big steps toward the permanent protection of more than a third of our marsh, but we still have a ways to go. Now that we are legally under contract with the USDA, the funds have been set aside, but we still have to provide a clear title, complete a survey and related due diligence (largely the USDA's effort), and close on the easement. These steps could take as little as 6-12 months or as much as two more years. This is much like any other real estate transaction -- it can get complicated, and the path can often be full of twists and turns. But this is a step in a very positive direction, and we are excited about all that lies ahead!

This overview shows the area west of the highway (above) that would be under easement to protect the connection between
the marsh and the open bay -- protecting the narrow "South Estuary" (center, left of image) insures preservation of the source water

NOTE: As the summary above makes clear, we will continue to have plenty to chew on to move this specific conservation effort to completion. One of our priorities, however, will need to be continuing to assess all conservation tools to determine how to best legally protect the balance of this precious wetland habitat.