The Webster Township Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program recently closed on a conservation easement purchase from Janice Schwarck.
The property is just shy of 80 acres in size with frontage on the north side of Barker Rd. and the east side of Merrill Rd. It is comprised almost entirely of prime and locally important agricultural soils that are used for hay and pasture, along with six acres of wetlands. The property is close to Independence Lake County Park and the University of Michigan Mud Lake Bog research area. The conservation easement ensures that the land will never be developed but it remains in private ownership and is not open to the public.
The Schwarck family purchased this property in the early 1950s. Patriarch Maxwell Schwarck was a blacksmith who used the land for cattle and horses. For many years the farm has been a cattle operation with cows on pasture and fed by hay grown on the property.
Conservation easements are permanent deed restrictions on the use of a property. Purchasing easements costs less than buying the property, and keeps the property on the tax rolls and contributing to the local economy.
In addition to Webster Township’s dedicated land preservation millage, funding support was supplied by the Washtenaw County Natural Area Preservation Program and the federal Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Webster’s share was 9% of the appraised value purchase price.
Webster Township’s land preservation program is funded by a dedicated millage which voters passed initially in 2005 and renewed twice, all by large margins. The Township has attracted over $14 million of matching funds from other sources, a rate of over $5 to $1 of its own. With this project the Township program has been involved in protecting 2,538 acres, with more projects set to close in the coming months.
