Development News

Legacy Land Conservancy expects big year in 2010 for green belts

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Related Tags

Environment, Quality Of Life, Sustainability

Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Saline, Chelsea, Dexter

The Legacy Land Conservancy finished 2009 strong but expects to easily out flex that performance early this year.

The conservancy --think of it as the non-profit greenbelt for Washtenaw and Jackson counties-- closed five deals in the closing weeks of 2009. That means a little less than 200 acres of woods, farms and wild areas are now protected from development because the conservancy controls their development rights.

"We have projects moving forward now," says Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy, formerly the Washtenaw Land Trust. "In the first quarter or half of 2010 we expect to make or exceed that number."

Those deals will protect high-priority acreage, meaning property that is farmland, near the Huron River or near the Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas.

Source: Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy
Writer: Jon Zemke