Connemara Profiles of Land Easements

Customer Name
Street Address
City, ST ZIP Code
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
1314 W. McDermott Suite 106-812
Allen, Texas 75013
www.connemaraconservancy.org
Connemara Conservancy
“Saving the land we love in North Texas”
Profiles of Conservation Easement Activity
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Table of Contents
Connemara History
Overview of Conserved Lands in North Texas
Strain Family Farm
Barnett Ranch
Ark II
Leo Ranch
Flower Mound Conservation Subdivisions
Mitigation Banks
Acknowledgements
3
4
5
6
8
9
11
12
15
Page 3
In the late 1970s, Frances (Montgomery) Williams became
concerned that the land that had been farmed by her family
for generations was in jeopardy. The DFW Metroplex had
spilled over the northern border of Dallas County and was
encroaching on rural lands in southern Collin County.
Highways, streets, housing developments, parking lots and
shopping malls were replacing farms, country lanes and
small towns. Faced with the inevitability of loss, Mrs.
Williams sought a way to protect and preserve her family’s
heritage.
The Connemara Meadow
Preserve located on the
border of Allen and Plano in
Collin County, Texas, was
donated in 1981 by Mrs.
Williams and thus began the
Connemara Conservancy
Foundation.
In 1981, Mrs. Williams, working with a dedicated group of land
conservation pioneers in North Texas, created The
Connemara Conservancy Foundation, a.k.a. Connemara, with
an initial gift of 72 acres of one of the farm’s most scenic
landscapes. Mrs. Williams’ foresight and love of her family’s
land has given residents of Collin County an exemplary
showcase of nature right in the middle of some of the region’s
most expansive urban sprawl.
Land is a man’s soul. – Daniel McCarty
Today, Connemara protects over 3,400 acres of land in North
Texas in a service area that includes 33 counties and four
different eco-regions: Blackland Prairie, Post-Oak Savannah,
Cross Timbers and Rolling Plains. From family farms to
conservation-minded residential developments, Connemara
works with private landowners, municipalities and developers
to save the land we love in North Texas.
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Page 5
Strain Family Farm
The connection to the land runs deep within the Strain
family. For over 100 years, the family has farmed the 400
acres near Lancaster, Texas, which was originally
purchased by W.A. Strain in 1892.
Sisters Carol Strain-Burk and Dr. Mary Strain-Sykes, and
their husbands, Ted Burk and Dr. Don Sykes, believe that
preserving the open space on the farm and preserving the
agricultural history, culture and character of Lancaster is
important to future Lancaster residents.
List of Conserved Lands in North Texas
Fee Simple Land
Meadow Preserve
Collin County
72
1981
Conservation Easements
Moseley Farm
Hunt
Ben Franklin Tract
Delta
Barnett Ranch 1
Denton
Strain-Burk Farm
Dallas
Ark II
Hood
Barnett 2
Denton
Leo Ranch
Cooke
96
276
548
121
550
460
963
1998
2000
2003
2006
2007
2009
2009
Conservation Developments
Chimney Rock Estates
Denton
The Sanctuary
Denton
Gardens of Connemara Collin
Montalcino Estates
Denton
49
45
145
140
2002
2003
2005
2012
79
120
2008
2010
Mitigation Projects
Hearts Bluff
Tenmile Creek
Titus
Dallas
Pictured left to right: Ted Burk, Carol Strain-Burk and Dr. Mary Strain-Sykes.
The property is characterized by a wide, limestone creek
that winds throughout the property and connects to Dallas
County Parks and Open Spaces land in the Ten Mile
Creek Preserve. It has ample wooded riparian corridors
for wildlife, protects compatible land uses (especially
agricultural operations) and includes 121 acres
surrounding a reconstructed 1896 Victorian-style family
farmhouse.
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Barnett Ranch
The family’s reliance on native grasses for forage
distinguishes the Barnett Ranch from other ranching
operations in the area. While other operations depend on
imported, non-native grasses, such as Bermuda, the
Barnett family relies on the native grasses that have
sustained herd animals in Texas for thousands of years.
Since these grasses are adapted to the unique climate of
North Texas, they do not require intensive artificial
irrigation and fertilization.
Skip Barnett on his ranch in Denton County.
Skip Barnett says that he never intended to be the poster
boy for land conservation. But, if protecting the ranching
heritage in North Texas means becoming a public face for
the conservation easement movement, then he is happy to
oblige. For four generations, the Barnett Family has run a
cattle ranching operation on 1200 acres in Denton County
between Denton and Decatur, Texas.
The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility
rests on possession and use of land.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Landowners Choose Connemara for 3 Reasons:
1. They love their land and want to see it protected
forever.
2. They want to partner with a land trust focused on
their region of Texas.
3. They acknowledge, accept and appreciate that
land conservation starts with them.
Page 7
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Ark II
Dr. Harold Granek wanted
to create a natural oasis
outside of the normal hustle
and bustle of urban life. He
spent several years
purchasing and assembling
the 650 acres of natural
area which surrounds his
personal residence in Hood
County, north of Granbury.
Page 9
Leo Ranch
Leo Ranch is a 970-acre working cattle and sheep
operation located in Cooke County, northwest of Sanger,
Texas. It is owned by the Dixon Water Foundation which
seeks to promote healthy watersheds though good
landscape management.
It is a unique agricultural property in North Texas in that it
is a working organic ranch, and also serves as a learning
center for education, outreach and research on water
issues. At Leo Ranch, the Dixon Water Foundation
demonstrates how to manage rangeland in an
environmentally and economically viable way.
The Dixon Water Foundation owns and operates four
ranches totally over 15,000 acres including Leo Ranch.
These working ranches provide grass-finished meat that is
certified organic and sold at local markets.
Dr. Granek says he chose Connemara in 2007 as his land
conservation partner mostly because Connemara is focused
on North Texas. If the name, “Ark II” invokes biblical
memories, that’s not a coincidence. Dr. Granek gave the
property that name to reflect his belief that the 650 acres
serve a similar purpose to Noah’s Ark by preserving the
woodlands and prairie environment on his property from the
relentless onslaught of urban expansion.
L to R: Clint Josey, Melissa Bookhout, Robert Potts and Janet Samford of the
Dixon Water Foundation.
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Sustainable Options for Development
In North Texas, it isn’t a question of “if” development will
happen, it is a question of “where”? Municipalities and
developers1. in North Texas have begun working to save land in
North Texas through the application of Conservation
Development design. A conservation development combines
protected open space and housing. Homes, roads and
infrastructure are clustered; allowing a significant percentage of
the land to be left undeveloped and protected in perpetuity.
Ideally, the land conserved is linked to other open spaces,
protecting wildlife corridors and complete ecosystems.
More than 250 acres of
permanently protected,
private green space have
been integrated into the
pedestrian-friendly
neighborhoods of the 500acre Montgomery Farm
development, creating an
oasis of meadows and
natural preserves
surrounded by
neighborhoods, retail, and
workplaces
Page 11
Conservation Subdivisions
Flower Mound, Texas
The Town of Flower Mound adopted a Master Plan in
2001, stating the community's goals and objectives for
itself today and in the future. This 20-year plan
includes a section on land conservation goals which
resulted in two distinct eco-system protection areas
within the rural portion of Town: the Cross Timbers and
Prairie Vista Conservation Districts.
As a land trust focused on saving land in North Texas,
Connemara has partnered with the Town of Flower
Mound on three conservation developments that
preserve the Cross Timbers ecosystem and other
natural systems.
By 2050, the population of the
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
and North Texas could reach
12 million according to studies
conducted by Vision North
Texas. That is compared to
6.4 million in 2010. North
Texas continues to lead the
Nation in population growth.
Conserved North Texas prairie remnant within Chimney Rock Estates
Subdivision in Flower Mound, Texas
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Mitigation Banks
Page 13
Agencies like Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality have developed
programs with land trusts to provide long term protection
for these tracts of land that are set aside for
environmental damages by the violators. Connemara
currently has accepted or is working on two of these
habitat mitigation projects which compensate for oil
releases.
Connemara Conservancy has also taken on land
protection tracts designed to be compensation for
wetland and stream impacts by construction projects;
otherwise known as wetland or stream mitigation bank
sites.
Connemara Conservancy has been working with
state agencies for several years to accept
conservation easements over tracts of land that have
been set aside to compensate for damages to the
environment due to environmental violations,
chemical spills, construction projects and other
habitat impairments.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers,
“mitigation banking is the restoration, enhancement,
creation, and, in exceptional circumstances,
preservation undertaken to compensate in advance for
adverse impacts to the aquatic ecosystem.” The Corps
of Engineers now requires that these mitigation banks
be placed under long-term protection; i.e. under
conservation easements with a third party holder.
Connemara Conservancy Foundation
Page 15
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to our lifetime members who
entrusted us with their land in perpetuity.
What we have done for ourselves
alone dies with us; what we have done
for others and the world remains and is
immortal.”
- Albert Pike
Dixon Water Foundation
Emerson Partners
Skip Barnett
Dr. Harold Granek
Amy Williams Monier
Carol Strain-Burk
Austin Moseley
Montgomery Farm/Philip Williams
Frances Montgomery Williams*
Profiles of Conservation Easement Activity
created by the 2011/2012 Land Committee
Summary
Land Conservation through the donation of a conservation easement is a
complex and personal land issue. It helps preserve our vital natural
resources for uses now and in the future. As a landowner, YOU must
decide if it will work for you and your family.
Connemara serves the North Texas community by partnering with private
landowners, municipalities and developers to create viable land
conservation options for members of this region.
Mark Yarbrough, Chair
John Dugdale
Chris Ebling
Brett Johnson
David Morgan
Robert Potts
Scott Norris
Jan Zeiglar
Primary Photographer
Lead Writer
Mark Yarbrough
Chris Ebling
Board President
Executive Director
Conservation Director
Scott White
Sandra Greenway
RJ Taylor
If you would like more information on land conservation, please contact us.
conservationdirector@connemaraconservancy.org
214-319-0990
www.connemaraconservancy.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.landtrustalliance.org
www.texaslandtrustcouncil.org