PERRYSBURG - Black Swamp Conservancy has added three Seneca County properties to its conserved lands, bringing total protected farmland to 11,251 acres in northwest Ohio.
Black Swamp Conservancy has agricultural land conservation agreements on 20 farms in Seneca County, totaling more than 2,700 acres.
The 163-acre Ewald farm, 33-acre Fry farm and 80-acre Wise farm are located within a focus area for the conservancy.
According to the conservancy , the area north of Tiffin is significant due to productive soils, proximity to other protected properties and to the Sandusky River and its tributaries.
"A healthy agriculture industry is vital to the economic future of our region," said Kevin Joyce, executive director. "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many conservation-minded farm families in Seneca County."
Each landowner entered into a land conservation agreement with the conservancy - known as a conservation easement - that will ensure the farmland will be used for agriculture forever. All three agreements, which total 276 acres, were reached in partnership with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Through land conservation agreements, landowners don't give up ownership of the land, but protect the agricultural value of the land by forfeiting the right to use the property for anything other than agriculture.
Agreements are perpetual and are binding on the landowner who signs the document and on every future owner of that land.
For more information, visit www.blackswamp.org.
