In a first, area farm granted development protection
'Historic day' for conservation program
December, 2006
By Todd DeFeo | Athens Banner-Herald
An Oconee County farm will be the first recipient of a land conservation
grant given out by a new statewide initiative aimed at protecting natural,
cultural and historic resources.
The county received the $467,000 grant Friday for a conservation easement
that will protect a Farmington cattle farm from developers' bulldozers.
The grant covers about 30 percent of the overall cost to buy the development
rights of the farm.
"It's always got to remain open land; it's always got to remain available
for agriculture," said Russ Page, a member of the Oconee Partnership
for Farmland Protection, the group that sought the grant.
Even after buying the development rights, the farmer still owns the farm
and even can sell the property, Page said. However, the deed stipulates
the land can never be developed, he said.
Gov. Sonny Perdue in April 2005 signed the Georgia Land Conservation Act,
aimed at encouraging long-term conservation and protection of Georgia's
natural, cultural and historic resources, according to a news release from
Perdue. Five projects around the state were announced Friday and are the
first to benefit from the program, said Curt Soper, director of the Georgia
Land Conservation Program.
"It's kind of a historic day for us," Soper said.
"It really is preserving some of our heritage well into the future," he
said. "These easements are permanent."
The state also awarded the city of Statham a $299,000 grant and a $135,000
loan to purchase Statham Spring. The spring has been the city's primary
water supply since the 1930s and is located next to recreation lands and
could be connected via trails.
Officials fear the spring could be sold to residential developers if the
city did not buy the site and protect it.
The legislation Perdue signed created a trust fund and a revolving loan
fund of $100 million of government funding to buy land and conservation
easements. The money is available to local governments and the state Department
of Natural Resources.
The governor's 2007 fiscal year budget includes $5 million for grants to
local government land conservation projects, according to the news release.
The state received 21 conservation grant and loan requests, Soper said.
The applications were reviewed by officials from three state agencies.
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