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Land Conservation Program

Land Protected by ALT

Athens Land Trust currently holds conservation easements protecting 2,892 acres in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Franklin, Habersham, Jones, Oconee, Stephens, Towns, Walton, and Wilkes Counties. This land consists of working family farmland and forest, wetlands, neighborhood open space, and scenic vistas.

ALT works with landowners to protect forests, river and stream corridors, wetlands and other ecologically rich areas, working farmland, and scenic areas in and surrounding Athens-Clarke County. Protecting natural areas sustains critical ecosystem products such as clean air and water, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, water supply and productive soils. These "natural commodities" provide a wide array of benefits to humans and wildlife and create the foundation for environmental and economic sustainability. ALT currently protects 2,892 acres of land through conservation easements - a common land protection tool.

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a property owner and a land trust that restricts the type and amount of development allowed on the owner's property. The restrictions outlined in the easement are negotiated between the property owner and the land trust and generally allow for the continued existing use of the property. Since the landowner continues to own the property, he/she maintains the rights of occupancy, privacy and transferability - the property owner can sell or transfer the property at any time. Once the restrictions in the easement are final, the easement becomes part of the property deed, permanently protecting the conservation values. To read more about conservation easements, see Frequently Asked Questions about Conservation Easements.

Land trusts have been extraordinarily successful and are playing a larger role in the field of land and natural resource protection. In fact, more than 47 million acres are protected by land trusts, according to the 2005 National Land Trust Census.

Athens Land Trust’s Ongoing Conservation Easement Projects:

Athens Land Trust is currently working on several new Conservation Easement Projects including 1000+ acres in Jeff Davis County with working forests and river frontage, 700+ acres of forests in Jones County, and 600+ acres of land within the Oconee National Forest in Jones County, allowing for hunting and a few home sites with limited development. Two more new projects we are working on are 60+ acres of farmland with river frontage and wetland resources in Madison County and a 40 acre tract of farmland in Oconee county.

For more information please contact Conservation Director Laura Hall at 706-613-0122 or email her at conservation@athenslandtrust.org.


Conservation Easements held by the Athens Land Trust

Scroll down for a complete list of easements with photos and descriptions.

Boulevard easement Bowden Park easement Kenney Ridge easements Five Acre Woods easement Foxhall Farms easement Langdale Farm easement Sheth easement Pinecrest easement Jordan easement Hatmaker easement Milford Hills easement Breedlove Farm easement House Farm easements Bryant easement Mitchell Farm easement Hillsman Farm easement Wiley Farm easements
Click on the easement name on the map for information about that easement.

Breedlove Farm: Fifty-seven acres of prime Oconee County farmland are now permanently preserved as farmland with a conservation easement. ALT received a grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) as well as Oconee County Greenspace funds, to purchase the conservation easement from the owners of the farm. The owners also donated a portion of the value of the easement. The tract is part of a 200-acre, fourth-generation family farm that includes a pecan grove, historic farmhouse, and outbuildings.

The conservation easement on this farm protects a small stream and wetland, a scenic hay field and grove of pecan trees. The owners of the Breedlove Farm have worked with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to fence the cattle out of the streams and this farm was recognized as the top protection priority by the Oconee County Partnership for Farmland Protection (OPFP). This particular combination of federal, state, and local funds to purchase the agricultural conservation easement was a first for the State of Georgia. The easement is the result of years of effort by OPFP and hopefully will be the beginning of an active farmland preservation movement in Oconee County, which has some of the best agricultural soils in the state and a viable farming community.

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Powers/Breedlove: The Powers/Breedlove family of Oconee County has conserved an additional 76 acres of their historic family farm located on Colham Ferry Road. Great-grandson Will Powers is currently growing organic produce and rearing livestock including cattle for ‘grass fed beef’. The additional acreage was protected with funding from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Oconee County SPLOST program, and a donation of the Powers family.

Bowden Park: Bowden Park is a conservation subdivision located two miles west of downtown Athens. ALT holds an easement that protects 17 acres of hardwoods and old fields. This area of the subdivision has been used for years as a passive recreation park. The easement protects land around a pond that the neighborhood uses for fishing and picnicking. An unimproved trail around the lake also provides walking and birding opportunities.

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Five Acre Woods: This urban forest, which is home to large hardwood trees and an important bird habitat, is located one mile north of downtown just off North Ave. Five Acre Woods was purchased by Athens-Clarke County with Georgia Greenspace funds and is a county park. In addition, the Athens Land Trust holds a conservation easement on the tract to further ensure its protection as a natural park. The Over The River Neighborhood has been working to remove exotic vegetation and replant with rescued native plant species. There are walking trails through the park, which is accessible to all.

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Kenney Ridge: Three easements protect 38.6 acres in this western Athens-Clarke County neighborhood. One easement protects 17 acres of mature upland hardwood forest, with rock outcroppings and two springs that flow into the Middle Oconee River. A second tract of 4.6 acres has magnificent hundred-year old oaks with old-field and edge habitat. The third tract has 17 acres of mature hardwoods and some old field habitat. This land serves as an important greenspace for the surrounding neighborhood.

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Foxhall Farms: Foxhall Farms is a small conservation subdivision located in northeastern Athens-Clarke County. A conservation easement protects 11 acres of pine and hardwood forest along this neighborhood. The forested area contains fruiting american beauty berry, a good source of food for many birds. A walking trail is allowed in the area protected by the conservation easement and this area is open to all neighborhood residents.

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Milford Hills: Milford Hills was the first conservation subdivision ALT has helped protect. A conservation subdivision is a residential neighborhood that incorporates greenspace for outdoor recreation and natural resource protection. A conservation easement protects 23 acres of predominately hardwood forest in the Milford Hills community in Athens-Clarke County. This mature forest buffers two streams that flow into the North Oconee River and includes rock outcrops, waterfalls and a diverse understory. This forest is open to all residents of the Milford Hills community.

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Boulevard: An easement protects an undeveloped lot in the Boulevard Historic District of Athens. After a tornado irreparably damaged a house on Boulevard, the owner donated an easement on the lot for the establishment of a neighborhood park. The lot contains an historic rock wall and provides intown greenspace for birds and small mammals.

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Hatmaker: This easement protects 29 acres of land in Athens-Clarke County, including a swamp, seeps, an oak-hickory forest, stream corridors and pastureland. The easement was placed on the property by the original owner and then sold to a conservation buyer, an individual interested in buying land with protected conservation values.

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 Pinecrest: 30 acres of hardwoods and pines as part of Pinecrest
neighborhood in Athens-Clarke County. Recently, UGA Landscape Architecture students assisted the Pinecrest Neighborhood Association with an outreach project in the neighborhood.

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Langdale Farm: 63.6 acres of prime farmland in Athens-Clarke County protected through the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Athens-Clarke County Greenspace Acquisition Program funded by SPLOST. This conservation easement ensures that the land will be available for agricultural uses in perpetuity. NRCS provided 50% of the funds to purchase the easement, with Athens-Clarke County providing 25%, and the landowner, Mrs. George Langdale, donating 25%.

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House Farm: 91.5 acres of Oconee County farmland is protected with 2 easements through the USDA NRCS Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program, with matching funds provided by Oconee County. The landowners, Rickey and Kay House, also donated 25% of the easements' value. Part of a 200-acre farm, the easement property is used by the House family for cattle and hay.

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Mitchell Farm Receives First State Grant for Conservation: On December 1, 2006, the very first Georgia Land Conservation Porgram (GLCP) grants were announced by Governor Sonny Perdue. The highest-ranking recipient was an application prepared jointly by ALT, the Oconee Partnership for Farmland Protection, and Oconee County. The $467,000 grant was used to provide the 25% match to protect 190 acres of farmland owned by Sam Mitchell. Half of the funding was provided by the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program as well as a portion from Oconee County and a donation by Mr. Mitchell.

The permanent easement was dedicated on November 28th, 2007 with NRCS State Director James Tillman, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, and Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis.

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Jordan: A beautiful tract of land along the North Oconee River in Athens-Clarke County has been permanently protected by a conservation easement. Carl and Carmen Jordan have placed an easement on 13 acres of sloping oak and hickory forest with riparian areas in Athens-Clarke County. This land is surrounded by subdivisions so it is especially important habitat to have protected.

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Bryant: Clay Bryant donated a conservation easement to protect 59 acres of forest and farmland in Oconee County. The property has a small pond and diverse habitat. This property has some diverse sloped forest filled with many large hardwood trees and native woodland species. The land is only a couple of properties from the House Farm which has 50 acres protected for farming. One of ALT's goals is to connect greenspace for the benefit of wildlife and water quality. We are currently working with the UGA Land Use Clinic to map existing greenspace and important natural resources to target for protection.

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Wiley: On September 24, 2008, 168 acres of farmland in Walton County were protected with an agricultural conservation easement. Since 1968, Dale Wiley has been farming the land that his grandparents bought as sharecroppers in 1919. The Wiley farm produces hay and cattle, and Dale works hard to protect the water quality of the creeks on the farm. There is a Revolutionary War-era grave on the property also. An easement protecting 50 acres was purchased with funds from the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Georgia Land Conservation Program. In addition, Dale donated an easement protecting the remaining 118 acres of the farm.

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Hillsman Farm: The easement on the Hillsman Farm in Oconee County protects 30 acres of prime farmland that are part of the larger Hillsman tract. The farmland was protected with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Oconee County. The landowner, Charles Hillsman, donated a fourth of the value of the easement.

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Sheth: ALT's first easement in Barrow County protects 31.5 acres of beautiful wetlands, lake, and forest. The easement was donated by Dr. Jagdish Sheth of Barrow Holdings, LLC. The protected lake is important as a water supply for the city of Statham.
Burdett: This easement protects the 167-acre Burdett family farm, located just east of historic Washington in Wilkes County, along Upton Creek, a major tributary to the Savannah River. The farm has been in the Burdett family since the early 1800s, and contains the grave site of Revolutionary War veteran Abram Simon. The Burdett family placed the conservation easement on the farm with the goal of using ecological land and forestry management practices on the property that has previously been managed for loblolly pine in a more conventional manner.
Mt. Burton: Protecting 110 acres adjacent to the Chattahoochee National Forest, the Mt. Burton easement is ALT's first in Habersham County. The steeply sloping property includes beautiful oak-pine forest, ferny glades, and masses of rhododendrons. The owners reserved the right to build two cabins on two small areas that were already disturbed. The property drains into Shoal Creek, a trout stream and local source of drinking water.
Hiawassee: Andrew Seng and partners have preserved 110 acres that encompass the northern portion of Berrong Mountain. This mature Oak-Hickory forest connects to the Appalachian Trail and slopes to important trout streams in the adjacent Wildlife Management Areas in the Oconee National Forest. The property is located in Towns County.
Stephens: The Bronikowski family has conserved 120 acres of local farm and forest land along Little Toccoa Creek, an important trout stream. This land can be viewed from Mt Currahee and is within the Chattahoochee National Forest in Stephens County.  
Green: The Green family has conserved 1200 acres of their 3rd generation family land which has major streams flowing into the nearby Ocmulgee River. They will continue to manage their land for hunting and timber, while preserving the bottomland forest and native habitats. This easement is located in Jones County and fills a hole in the Chattahoochee –Oconee National Forest.
Tallassee: An easement of 176 acres along the Middle Oconee River preserves amazing Oak-Hickory-Beech forest and areas where Native American artifacts have been found. The property has several pristine creeks, steep slopes, and mature forest, and is located in Athens-Clarke County. According to aerial photos from the 1930's, most of the protected area was forested at that time, which was rare for this area of Georgia.
Sheth - Carnesville: This 64-acre oak-hickory forest is right off Interstate 85 just outside the small historic town of Carnesville, in Franklin County. The conservation easement allows very limited development and protects a substantial wetland with creeks and riparian buffers. The easement protects water quality and plant and animal resources.

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