Saving a Prairie for Future Generations

on and Kathleen Wieland donated a conservation easement on their 80 acre property in Manchester Township to the RVLT last year. We only identify easement donors with their permission. Many donors prefer to remain anonymous, and we respect that. Don answered some questions we posed to him and we think his own words convey his thoughts quite eloquently.

Raisin Valley Land Trust: When and why did you buy this particular parcel?

Don Wieland: We bought the land on May 5, 1988. The rolling terrain southwest of Manchester reminded me of my grandparents’ farm in northwestern Pennsylvania. We chose this particular parcel because of its diversity. It’s a pleasing mix of rolling fields, secluded wetlands and maturing forest.

RVLT: The conservation easement lowered the property value by thousands of dollars. What made you want to donate an easement to the land trust?

Don: First of all, a very selfish part of me didn’t want the effort I had put into soil conservation and establishing native grasses on the front 40 acres to go to waste. Plus my biologist background told me that the wetlands on the property were very important from both a biological and a hydrological standpoint. But I think what got me off the starting block was the rapid development along Sharon Hollow Road as well as the urbanization of the entire county over the past decade. It was also reassuring to have a local land conservancy like RVLT to work with. True, the property value of the 80 acres has gone down and there is no guarantee that the property tax will also decrease. However, federal tax savings have helped soften the impact of the lowered property value. But the bottom line is that the easement is a gift that we fortunately could afford. And it’s very important to us that a piece of the natural landscape be maintained for future generations.

RVLT: You have a potentially fatal disease. Did this play a role in your decision to donate the easement?

Don: There’s nothing like the shadow of your own mortality to force you to put your house in order. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 7 months after I purchased the property in early 1989; the symptoms have gradually worsened, dramatically so the past two years. I had been thinking about an easement for some time but my declining health spurred me to finalize it.

RVLT: You have done a lot of work on your property restoring native grasses and plants. What are you trying to accomplish and why is this important?

Don: The front or south 40 acres has been farmed since 1850; a lithograph of the farm in the 1874 Washtenaw County Atlas shows wheat being harvested. In 1988 when I bought the property, the front 40 already showed severe soil erosion problems. During the early 1980’s the farmland had been rented and during part of that time it had been abused. No contouring, no crop rotation, no filter strips. On Memorial Day weekend 1989 we had torrential rain and wind; the erosion of the freshly worked soil on our farm and adjoining farms was massive. The seasonal ponds and moats of water surrounding the blueberry bogs were choked with topsoil for most of the summer. It was this event that turned my focus to the urgent need for soil erosion measures. I had heard about switchgrass and other native grass crops through my work with the conservation group Pheasants Forever. I flew down to north central Iowa to see firsthand some switchgrass plantings and a few native prairie remnants. I came back convinced that native grass plantings were the best way for me to stop the soil erosion on the property. Through the federal CRP program and the help of my friends in Pheasants Forever and especially Loren Trolz, a neighboring farmer, I was able to plant 27 acres of native grasses in 1991 and 1992. The native grass planting is important because it is preventing soil erosion, restoring the vitality of the soil, and keeping the former farmland from being overrun with woody vegetation. It also serves as a haven for wildlife and adds esthetic value.

RVLT: What are your long term goals and/or dreams for the property?

Don: My major goal is to turn the native grass planting into an approximation of a pre-settlement oak savanna that was found in the sandy upland areas near Manchester. This will take a tremendous amount of work especially since I want to use local ecotype seed for the planting. If you look at certain parts of the land just south of the Iron Creek Church on English Road on an early fall day you can capture a feel for what some of this oak-savanna habitat must have been like. Recent brain surgery has granted me a reprieve so I’m confident that I can at least partially achieve this goal.

RVLT: How does your family feel about the property and the donation of the easement?

Don: My son has been very supportive; his laconic assessment was “It’s the right thing to do.” My wife, who is very pragmatic, was less enthusiastic because of the loss in property value — but once she recognized the federal tax savings, she was supportive. Without her timely help last December we would not have been able to consummate the easement agreement.

RVLT: A conservation easement lasts “in perpetuity.” What does this mean to you and is it important?

Don: The only things guaranteed “in perpetuity” are taxes and death. The best hope for the longevity of the easement is that there will be individuals in future generations who share our sensitivities and values. By donating a conservation easement we show future generations the importance we attached to the land. We must leave our children and their children some part of our natural heritage.

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