Appalachia Ohio Alliance

Programs: Conservation: 1. Aoa conferred with 25 landowners who are potential conservation easement, fee-property donors or clean oh grant project participants. Prepared draft document for one easment donor. Title reviews initiated for 8 projects. 2. Aoa completed the negotation and purchase of 143 acres of land located in hocking, marion and pickaway counties through clean ohio open space grants. Three conservation easement purchases, totalling 443 acres were also completed using clean ohio open space grant funds. 3. Aoa now has a total of 5,664 acres in conservation easement and 3,111 acres in fee ownership. Total acres managed by aoa is 8,775. 4. Aoa prepared three grant applications to the clean ohio open space fund for the scioto river flyway project and big darby creek in pickaway county and two ohio epa wrrsp grant applications. Coordinated grant planning with the columbus metro parks, delaware county preservation parks, ohio epa, the nature conservancy and the ohio department of natural resources. Submitted a local agricultural easement purchase program sponsor application for six counties. Prepared a grant application and received funding for one laepp farm in pickaway county.

education: 1. Aoa provided five programs to various organizations on conservation efforts of the organization. 2. Aoa offered 17 field trips to showcase areas preserved by aoa and provided news releases and email announcements to publicize these field trips. 740 persons attended. 3. Aoa hosted its an annual dinner and awards recognition dinner, highlighting conservation achievements of 2017. 90 guests attended. 4. Three aoa members attended the land trust alliance national land trust conference in minnesota. 5. Aoa board and staff members participated in three land preservation workshops. (1 colt statewide meeting and two farmland preservation statewide meetings. 6. In cooperation with the ohio state university, college of food, agriculture and environmental sciences, aoa and the barr family of pickaway county hosted seven members of the china ministry of agriculture on a tour of the barr family farm and gave a presentation on farmland preservation.

networking: aoa partnered with the following organizations to share information and promote common goals; 1)athens county historical society 2)berne township trustees 3)buckeye trail association 4)city of columbus division of parks and recreation 5)coalition of ohio land trusts (colt) 6)columbus audubon society 7)columbus metro parks 8)crane hollow 9)ducks unlimited 10)fairfield county historical parks 11)fairfield land preservation association 12)fairfield county regional planning 13)franklin county commissioners 14)franklin county planning and economic development department 15)franklin soil and water conservation district 16)good hope township trustees 17)hocking college 18)hocking county commissioners 19)hocking county regional planning 20)hocking soil and water conservation district 21)laurel township trustees 22)mid ohio regional planning commission 23)national park service 24)national wild turkey federation 25)ohio bird conservation consortum 26)ohio department of natural resources, office of real estate, division of forestry, division of parks and natural areas, watercraft, wildlife 27)ohio department of agriculture 28)ohio certified volunteer naturalist assn. 29)ohio farm bureau 30)ohio prairie association 31)the ohio state university cooperative extension service 32)the ohio state university, school of environment and natural resources 33)the ohio environmental council 34)pheasants forever 35)pickaway county commissioners 36)pickaway county park district 37)pickaway township trustees 38)pickaway county historical society 39)pickaway county natural resources conservation service 40)pickaway soil and water conservation district 41)pickaway county planning and development 42)pickaway county engineer 43)rural action 44)the nature conservancy 45)united plant savers 46)us fish and wildlife service