The Athens Conservancy will apply for a Clean Ohio Grant to purchase rights to land off state Route 50 once owned by former Ohio University President John C. Baker.
The Athens Conservancy has been working to preserve the 289 acres of land ever since the Bakers approached the group earlier this year, said John Knouse, president of the Athens Conservancy.
The purchase, which is known as a conservation easement, will take away the right to log or develop on 269 acres of the land, he said. The other 20 acres will be divided into five-acre lots to be used for residential development.
The grant was approved as an outright purchase, but the conservancy changed it to a conservation easement because it did not get the approval of the Canaan Township trustees. The trustees and the Athens County commissioners must pass a resolution of support for the project before the conservancy can proceed.
Because the land is a conservation easement, Knouse said, the conservancy might have to deal with some legal issues in the future.
We'll have to deal with legal issues we wouldn't have to deal with if we bought it outright
he said.
The conservation easement specifies exactly how certain portions of the land should be used. Some of the land will be used for trail access for horseback riding; another portion will be used to create access to the Hocking River for kayakers and canoers.
Knouse estimated the total cost for the land, including appraisal costs and closing costs, will be about $250,000. The conservancy will have to come up with approximately $62,500 because the grant will cover only 75 percent of the cost.
The conservancy is waiting for the Bakers to give over the appraisal for the land for the grant application, which is due Oct. 14.
After the grant is issued, the conservancy will have an attorney do the title work, draft a deed and seek approval by the Ohio Public Works Commission.
-Andrea Golby 17
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Andrea Golby
