Summer 2007 Valley Trust Newsletter, Three Valley Conservation Trust

8/9/2019 Summer 2007 Valley Trust Newsletter, Three Valley Conservation Trust

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Valley Trust

NEWSTVCT Partners with Butler MetroParks to

Preserve Hueston Farms & Forest PreserveWhile the overwhelming majority

of all lands protected by the Trust

remain in private hands, the Trust

has helped navigate a notable

public park acquisition. To assist

in the preservation of the 505-acreHueston Farms & Forest Preserve,

the Trust partnered with Butler

Metroparks. In a bargain sale, the

Butler Metroparks purchased 468

acres including the magnicent

big woods of the Davidson

Family (descendants of notable Butler County settler Matthew Hueston). There is

also a protection agreement for the remaining 37 acres and the Matthew Hueston

Homestead. TVCTs partnership with Butler Metroparks permanently protects the

long-coveted 250+ acre interior forest that buffers a heron rookery downstream and

safeguards a sensitive mile of Four Mile Creek. Hueston Farms and Forest Preserve

was acquired with the foresight of outgoing Metroparks Director Mike Muska andthe wisdom of the Metroparks Board and the Davidson family!

Valley Trust News,

the newsletter for members of the

Three Valley Conservation Trust, is

published four times per year.

Editors:

Michele Simmons

Mary Glasmeier

Number 32 / Summer 2007 Conserving the natural environment and cultural heritage of Southwest Ohio

Its new! Its still in November! Watch for details on

the MasterWorks for Nature Art Auction. Historically,

the annual Auction for Acres has featured antiques, art,

travel, and food. This new format will be different.

Chris Walden, a long-time supporter of TVCT, has

organized artists who are members of MasterWorks for

Nature (masterworks for nature.org) to donate work the

create this summer that is inspired by TVCTs easementproperties. An Art Auction Benefactor Program is being

offered with two levels of sponsorship to help defray th

costs of the auction.

For a $400 individual sponsorship, you will receive:

A limited edition, signed and numbered Chris Walden print (valued at $415);

Two tickets to the Auction (valued at $80);

A commemorative poster signed by all the participating artists (valued at $50);

One entry in a special drawing for Benefactors (prize value $200);

An invitation to a Benefactors gathering hosted by Chris Walden, and:

Special recognition and publicity at the Auction.

New! MasterWorks for Nature Art Auction

(continued on page 6)

View of Four Mile Creek in the Hueston Farms &Forest Preserve

Chris & Mary Walden

Calendar

July11 Board Meeting, 7 pm , TVCT

August1 Board Meeting, 7 pm, TVCT

11 Monitoring Workshop, 9:30 am

TVCT

September

5 Board Meeting, 7 pm, TVCT

8 Bluegrass & BBQ (see pg. 2)

13 Tax Incentives for Private Land

Protection with Stephen Small,

Flint, MI. For more info, visit

lta.org/training/lct_mw.htm

27 Identifying & Evaluating

Resources of the Recent Past,

Ohio Historic Preservation Ofce.

For more info, visit ohpo.org

30 Montgomery Co. Farm Tour,

Noon - 6pm. For more info, visit

www.montgomeryswcd.org

IndexHueston Farms ........................1

NEW! Art Auction ....................1

Let Me Be Frank .......................2

Board of Trustees .....................2

From the Desk of Larry.............3

Longear Sunsh ........................4

NEW! Snapshot! Series ............5

Snapshot 1: Preble County ........5

Tax Free Donations ...................6

Developing News .....................7

Snapshot 2: Tincher Farm .........9Snapshot 3: Gerber/Cox Story 10

NEW! Conservationist Award 11

Membership Form ................... 11


2/122 Valley Trust NewS

LetMe

BeFrank

Frank HouseChair, Board of Trustees

Six month check in!! In my last column, I listed some key

areas of personal interest where I would like to see the

trust be successful. The rst item was to place additional

lands under easement.

We have been wildly successful in this area (currently

approaching 8,000 acres). It always gives me great

pleasure to participate in an easement signing, the most

recent being a donation by Tom (TVCT Board member)

and Holly Wissing. Holly is renowned for her development

of a large and beautiful variety of wild owers on their

property.

With easement signings progressing at a rapid rate,

the old axiom of be careful of what you wish for, is

ringing true. I say this because with each signing comes

additional responsibility. We are required to perform a

yearly monitoring on each easement. Forever. There are

costs associated with monitoring. That is why volunteer

monitors and your donations toward operations and the

monitoring endowment are so greatly appreciated.

I am also excited about the wonderful new auction plans

for this fall. Look forthe MasterWorks for Nature Art

Auction. Chris Waldens concept of sponsorship for the

auction and his donation of a limited edition framed work

for each sponsor should make it rewarding and fun for

everyone. I have already signed up, but we (Marcia and

I) have not decided which print we want. There are three

from which to choose. See details about the MasterWorks

for Nature Art Auction, its benets, and how to sign up in

this issue.

Enjoy your summer - I have to get back to the hay eld,

baling will be underway shortly.

Margarette Beckwith Development ............... 513-523-1103

Jon Costanzo Land Protection , Webmaster ..... 937-452-1165

Frank Hank Dupps............................................ 937-855-4370

Sam Fitton Vice-Chair Land Protection ...... 513-523-4599

Catherine Hollins Vice-Chair Development 513-523-1876

Frank House Chair Land Protection........... 937- 452-3983

Ben Jones Treasurer Finance ...................... 513- 523-3504

Gregory Peck Development .......................... 513- 756-0810

Mary Moore Finance , Membership .............. 513- 524-5261

Michele Simmons Public Information ............. 513- 892-2546

Jerry Stanley Development ............................. 513- 523-7179

J. Ronald Stewart Finance ............................... 937- 456-7868

Don Streit Land Protection ............................. 513- 868-3850

Tom Wissing Secretary Land Protection .... 513- 756-9726

Liz Woedl Membership ........................ .......... 513- 523-1782

Three Valley Conservation Trust Board

Founded in 1994, the Three Valley Conservation Trust works with

people and communities to conserve the natural environment and

cultural heritage in Southwest Ohio. The Trust protects open spaceand farmland by acquiring, through gift or purchase, conservation

and agricultural easements, and works to protect and improve wa-

ter quality in the western tributaries of the Great Miami River.

Saturday, September 8The Alan Bruns Farm in Preble Co.

$30.00 per person

Tickets are limited!Reservations required.

Call 513-524-2150

BLUEGRASS

& BBQ!John Ruthven

Three Valley Great Blue HeronLimited to 100 Signed & Numbered Prints

A few Prints

Still Available

$125.00

Call the Office

at 513-524-2150


3/12Summer 2007 3

This spring has been a time of planning, retooling, andcompleting existing commitments for the Trust. Its been

a time of new beginnings, new focus, and new lessons

learned. We have seen many of the agreements reached last

year achieve fruition in 2007, with many more to go. These

agreements have meant huge growth in high conservation-

value lands protected to the point where the Trust has now

achieved 54 easements and a total of 7310 acres. We have

already witnessed our second and third largest easements

signed, permanently preserving magnicent, adjacent

Twin Creek farms of 528 acres and 467 acres respectively.

Collectively these easements preserve two miles of the

second best stream in Ohio plus nearly 300 acres of matureforest with an understory of native wildowers such as

Trillium Grandiora and Blue-eyed Mary. Your Three

Valley Conservation Trust has preserved two new farms

with native prairies, and already has protected 1850 acres

with easements in the rst ve months of 2007.

The agreements negotiated in 2006 and 2007 will bring the

Trusts holdings to 80+ easements covering over 10,000

acres by the end of 2008, and far in excess of 30 miles of

frontage on major streams. This vast success has caused a

necessary shift in focus toward stewardship of protected

lands. It is overwhelming to think of monitoring 80properties without a monitoring staff person. Right now, our

Make it a habit! Use your card regularly!Call 513-524-2150 to get yourcard.

Fm he Desk f...

LarryFrimermanExEcutivE DirEctor

volunteer monitoring coordinatorLois Nelson has her hands full

juggling monitorings for the 46 properties under easement

in 2006, with baseline documentation spelling out the

wonderful conservation values of recent acquisitions.

Tremendous volunteer efforts by your Board, members,

and staff helped to complete 51 Ohio farmland

preservation applications to complement the four (all

funded) applications submitted to the US Department

of Agriculture to protect more area farms, as well as the

fundraising and outreach events Frank addresses in his

column.

The Trust also is concluding the community consensus-

driven Twin Creek Watershed Action Plan, which identies

issues and opportunities for enhancing one of the States

treasures. This plan completes our obligation to Ohio EPA

and Ohio Department of Natural Resources for its generous

support of Three Valley Conservation Trusts efforts to

protect water quality in southwest Ohio.

Innovations in planning, managing, and working with local

communities will help to make the Trust a stronger, more

permanent organization with your help. As always, thank

you ever so much!

Earth Day Winner ofthe Chris Walden Print!

LawrenceLeahy, TVCTDevelopmentDirector, presentsH.T. Derivan of

Middletown, withWaldens Wingand a Preyer. The

print was the doorprize for those whoentered the drawingwhen they visitedthe TVCT boothsduring the Earth

Day weekend.

Asof31Ma

y2007,

youhaveea

rned$1,112.

50

fortheTrust

!



Local Longear Sunfish

Has Colorful History

submitted by Craig Springer

for its looks and locale, citing that the animal lives inbrooks at the centre of our population. This will be

to the northwest of Cincinnati, among the low wooded

hills from which clear brooks ow over gravelly

bottoms toward the Ohio River. He would know; he

caught longear when he taught ichthyology at Indiana

University from 1879 to 1891.

Reading on, one can sense he was smitten: But one of

our sunshes is especially beautiful mottled blue and

gold and scarlet with a long, black ear-like appendage

backward from his gill covers and this one we will

keep and hold for our rst lesson in shes.

Anyone whos shed Indian or Four Mile or Paint creeks

can attest to what else Jordan says: It is a small sh,

not longer than your hand most likely, but it can take the

bait as savagely as the best, swimming away with it with

such force that you might think from the vigor of its pull

that you have a pickerel or a bass. But when it comes

out of the water you see a little, apping,

unhappy, living plate of brown and

blue and orange, with ns

wide-spread, and eyes

red with rage.The longear sunsh

makes a living in

headwater streams to

larger creeks and big

rivers, with an afnity

for clear and shallow waters, warm, with

a good amount of aquatic vegetation. With a deep,

at body, theyre not one for the fast waters. They keep

house in the cover of logs, rocks, and brush.

This sunsh feeds on the surface more than any other of

the sunshes, making these bantam-weight battlers goodon a dry y. Terrestrial bugs, like mayy and caddisy

and moths, make up the large part of their diets. A

damsel y circling erratically and dimpling the glassy

waters of a glide to drop eggs isnt safe with a longear

sunsh below. Longear sunsh also follow along behind

turtles and suckers that grub the bottoms for groceries,

eating what gets stirred up. It is one of the few sunshes

proper with a large mouth and that allows it to eat

minnows and craysh.

They are colored a painterspalette, with ties to a peace

activist and an eccentric scientist,

swimming the waters of southwest

Ohio. The longear sunsh was among

the rst North American shes described

by science. In 1818, European

naturalist Constantine

Ranesque collected longear

sunsh along the Ohio River near Cincinnati. His book

Ichthyologia Ohiensis: Natural History of the Fishes

Inhabiting the River Ohio and Its Tributary Streams, put the

light of science on scores of shes yet unknown. He dubbed

the longearIchthelis megalotis for its most distinctive large

black tab on its gill plate.

Ranesque, a professor at Transylvania University,

Kentucky, was the son of a French businessman and German

mother, born in Turkey, raised in Italy, and became a

naturalized American in 1832. This man of science was an

eccentricity of the highest order; he was quarrelsome and

recalcitrant and easy to dislike by the accounts of

many in his day. But the man was driven and

learned and accomplished and let others

know it. The man who gave a name to thelongear developed thoughts on evolution

years before Darwin, expressing it in a

5,000-line poem. As a monument to his

repugnant personality,Ichthyologia Ohiensis

contains within its bindings the description of 10

ctitious shes, including the 10-foot-long and 400-pound

devil-jack diamond sh, said to have ballproof scales

made of stone. These ctitious sh were entirely contrived

as a mean-spirited joke by John James Audubon, a man with

whom Ranesque had boarded with for a time.

David Starr Jordan, peace activist, medical doctor,academician and the greatest American ichthyologist

wrote the bookFishes for the American Nature Series

in 1907, while still serving as Stanford Universitys rst

president. In his prefatory remarks he said the book would

answer all questions likely to be asked by anglersand

compress all that an educated man is likely to know, or care

to know about shes.

Jordan begins his book with an archetype description of

a sh, and he chose the longear. Jordan picked it in part (continuted on page 5)


5/12Summer 2007 5

As the water

warms they turn

their attentions

to nesting. The

males vivid gaudy

dress peaks then.

They spawn wellinto summer in a

two-foot circular

nest in shallow

water over a clean

gravel bottom out

of visibly strong

currents. They

nest in colonies,

sometimes so

densely packed

that discerning the

edge of a nest isimpossible, save

for spotting the

attending male. The males build the nest by sweeping tail

motions, and even moving debris in their mouths. Their

bright colors attract the females that may lay about 20 of

her several thousand eggs. As the females approach, the

male darts out to meet her, swimming about her, tilting

sideways as if to show off his uorescent turquoise ecks

and wavy streaks about his cheek. The eggs hatch in less

than a week.

Longear sunsh are home-bodies; they hardly move fromtheir natal waters, staying in a home-pool for all of their

life. Young sh have to seek out their own home turf, but

their afnity for a home pool is strong.

Marcus Goldman shed his own home-pools a century

ago in the same streams coursing the low wooded

hills about the same time Jordan collected their shes.

Goldman, a professor of literature wrote in his book,In

Praise of Little Fishes: only seasoned and thoughtful

anglers know or care to know how to identify the different

species of sunshes.

Thoughtful conservationists I hope wont complain thatI have more to say about its colors. Its beauty brings to

mind EmersonsRhodora: . . . if eyes were made for

seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being.

Excerpted from Eastern Fly Fishing magazine

Longear Sunsh(continued from page 4 )

Springers son, Carson, fshing on

Indian Creek.

Did you know that you can name the

Three Valley Conservation Trust

in your estate?(continued on page 8

Snapshot 1:A Preble County Community

submitted by Ashley Rohrbach

Taking a leisurely drive on winding roads, through

wooded pastures and elds of crops, is a special treat in

todays times of high gas prices and booming housing

developments. Thanks to some Ohio residents and the

Three Valley Conservation Trust (TVCT), one part of

Preble County will forever remain a scenic route.

TVCT was founded

in the early nineties in

an effort to preserve

the cultural heritage of

southwestern Ohios

farmland and to

protect the watershed

in the Four Mile/

Seven Mile, Indian

Creek and Twin

Creek valleys. TheAgricultural Easement

Purchase Program is a

voluntary agreement

by the landowner to

permanently forfeit

the right to develop

land for non-agricultural purposes. In return for this right,

farmers receive permanent protection for their land against

non-agricultural developments. There is also a nancial

incentive for interested parties, stated Larry Frimerman,

Executive Director of TVCT, such as cash up front and

possible tax benets.

Recently TVCT has made it possible for almost 2,500

acres in Twin Township to forever remain agricultural.

Jim and Sandra Robbins have lived on their farm just

south of the small village of West Alexandria on Stotler

Road since 1973. The two raise cattle and some crops on

the land that borders Twin Creek. The family has long

enjoyed having access to the creek to sh, swim and just

splash around in according to Sandra.

Snapshots!People & their landThe Valley Trust News is happy to introduce a new feature:

Snapshots! People & their Land, which provides stories of

the people and the lands they protect. Each issue will feature

2-3 stories. We hope that you will enjoy getting to know a

little about your neighbors.

Markey Mansion, Fred Voge Farm


6/12

For a $1000 corporate sponsorship:

Two limited edition signed and numbered

Chris Walden prints (valued at $830.00);

Eight tickets to the event (valued at $320.00);

Four posters (valued at $200.00);

Four entries in a special drawing for Benefactors

(prize value $200);

A reserved table at the Auction;

Recognition in the program, and;

An invitation to the Benefactors gathering.

If a Benefactor chooses, the framed print can be held

for a year, then donated to a charity in return for a $415

tax deduction. Or the framed print could be presented as

recognition to an employee or to a valued client.

Individual Benefactors currently include:

Hardy & Barbara Eshbaugh

Jim Fitton

Rebecca Fitton

Sam & Terri FittonFrank & Marcia House

Lawrence & Natalya Leahy

Roger Millar

Mary & Robert Moore

J. Ronald & Sue Stewart

Don Streit, Fine Trim Landscaping Services, PrincipalTom & Holly Wissing

Mike Yoakum, Lighthouse Agency, Inc.,

President, [email protected]

Corporate Benefactors currently include:

Thomas Sargero MD and Heron Creek Farm

featuring Rocky Mountain horses and the largest heron

rookery on Four Mile Creek. [email protected]

Rob Cottrell, Financial Clarity Group,

Managing Partner, [email protected]

Financial planning, wealth accumulation &

transfer strategiesDetailed information on the Bene-

factor Program and the Art Auction can be found on the

Trusts website or call the ofce at 513-524-2150.

Ed. Note: For more information about the Auction, see page 7.

6 Valley Trust NewS

To help charities further their good work, Congress recently

changed the rules to allow gifts to be made directly from

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to qualied charities

such as TVCT. If you are over age 70 , the FederalGovernment now permits you to directly transfer amounts

from your IRA to a charity without claiming any increased

income or accumulating any additional tax. These tax-free

gifts could be $1,000, or any amount up to $100,000 in one

year. This rule is set to expire at the end of 2007.

There are several advantages to participating in this special

opportunity:

1. If you are over 70 and have balances in your IRA

that you do not need for income, you may transfer them

directly to a qualied charity such as TVCT. Such gifts

count towards your Minimum Required Distribution(MRD) and may be used to satisfy up to the 100%

required distribution.

2. The IRS requires that any funds distributed from your

IRA to a spouse, child, or any other person, be subject

to income tax. Thus, IRA distributions are treated as

ordinary income and taxed at the highest marginal

rate that the taxpayer is intypically 15%, 25%, or

35%. Naming a qualied charity such as TVCT as

a beneciary on your retirement plan will avoid any

income tax on the distribution.

3. In addition, if you believe that your estate will be subjectto estate taxes, the amount lost to both estate and income

taxes can exceed 80% of the total IRA account balance.

This unique opportunity is a great way to support the Trust,

but it is only available through 2007. Some details about this

legislation are:

Donors must be 70 or older;

Tax free contributions can be up to $100,000;

There are no early withdrawal penalties;

Gifts must be transferred directly to the qualied

charities from the IRA or rollover IRA accounts;

Any amounts, up to the $100,000 maximum, donated

in this manner count toward the required minimum

distribution for the year;

Since such distribution will not be included in taxable

income, individuals will not be able to claim a tax

deduction for the charitable contribution.

To take advantage of this opportunity and make a

contribution to Three Valley Conservation Trust with

IRA funds normally subject to taxation, contact your

A Unique Way toDonate IRA Funds

Tax Free in 2007!!

IRA custodian to arrange for a direct transfer. As in any

decision involving taxes, consult your tax advisor to

better understand your specic circumstances. If you

would like more information about this opportunity, you

can also call the Trusts Development Director, Lawrence

Leahy at (513) 524-2150.

NOTE: This article is not intended as tax advice; please

consult your own tax professional for details to see if this

opportunity is appropriate for you.

Benefactors (continued from page 1)


7/12Summer 2007

7

one of the designated charities, sofor every search an estimated

$.01 can be donated to TVCT.

According to their projections,

if an organization recruits just 100 supporters to use

GoodSearch.com for just two searches a day, it will

generate $730 each year. That could buy more than 20

cases of paper!

It takes a moment to set it up at the beginning, then each

time you search the internet, you know that you are

helping to preserve and protect land. Since late May, staff

and some Board Members have been using GoodSearch;

many of us have also sent this information to our friends,

family and colleagues.

Join us and lets see

what we can do together

Go to http://goodsearch.com and follow the easy

instructions. When you are set up, TVCT should appear

automatically as your designated charity. If you have any

problems setting it up, please call Mary or Lawrence at

the ofce and we will be happy to assist you.

Mark Your Calendars!

MasterWorks for Nature Art AuctionSaturday, November 106:00pmBeau Verre Riordan Studio

1054 Central AvenueMiddletown

The Auction for Acres held the

last four years will be replaced

in 2007 by an Art Auction. See

our related article (page 1) abou

Benefactors for Masterworks

for Nature and artists who willdonate work (back cover). We

will post the auction items on our website so you can see

them before you come; hopefully we will have it up by

late September. There will also be a limited number of

high quality items as part of a Silent Auction.

Come support the Trust, see unique art work inspired

by our easements, and meet some of the artists. We

will have abundant delicious food and great wine. Look

for more information in your invitation that will arrive in

the mail before the end of the summer!

Developing Newsfrom Lawrence Leahy,Development Director

It has been a great pleasure to work at my new position atthe Trust. Has it really been six months already? I would like

to thank everyone for your support, energy and commitment

to all that we are doing to make our work successful. We

are optimistic that we have laid the framework for many

development and fundraising activities that will enable us

to meet our budgetary goalsnow we are moving forward in

the rest of 2007 to implement what we have planned.

You will see information in this Newsletter about current

programs, new programs and events that will take place this

summer and in the fall. In September, we will have our rst

annual bluegrass music and pig roast event. This year we

chose a location in Preble County and next year we will have

it in a different area. Our major fundraiser in 2007 will again

be in November, but will be an art auction and will be

much different than the previous Auction for Acres. There is

more information throughout theNews and it will be posted

on our website. (By the way, have you looked at our newly

revised website? www.3vct.org)

Of course, our budgetary needs are also largely dependant

upon membership dues, monetary gifts or planned gifts. We

had a great response from membership renewals this spring,

and also had many previous members joining us again.

Our next membership renewal letters willbe going out inJuly and we hope to have another very positive response.

If you are able, please consider also supporting the Trust

through a monetary gift, such as through our Save an

Acre program.

There have been many members who volunteered their

time to support various activities and events. Thank you

very much for assisting the Trust. Our volunteer base is

an integral part of our success; if you would like more

information on volunteering, please consult the link on our

website or call Mary Glasmeier at the ofce.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or

recommendations on how we can better serve you and/or

make the Trust more successful. Have a great summer.

Google your way to GoodSearch!GoodSearch is a search engine that assists non-prots.

It is powered by Yahoo! and is unique in that they have

developed a way to direct money to designated charities

with every searchdonating approximately 50% of their

revenues to charity. Three Valley Conservation Trust is now

Artwork by Devere Burt



We often have people canoeing pass through, said

Robbins, who also mentioned that her daughter brings

some youth or city kids from her Middletown church to

experience the creek, and look for fossils and crawdads.

When we rst moved here we found huge shells and great

big crawdads that were four and ve inches long. Now you

cant ever nd anything that big, stated Robbins, It just

needs to be preserved.

Near the Robbins land is the farm owned by Fred and

Susan Voge. Their 295-acre farm is now protected by an

easement. The farm, located between Lexington-Salem

Road and Engle Road, has a large house and several barns

on the property. According to the West Alexandria

Archives, it took three years to build the house, which

had a nished seven-room basement including a wine

room. There has always been a rumor that the house was

a station of the Underground Railway, remarked local

historian Audrey Gilbert,

This is possible sincethe Railway was active

in Preble County and the

house would have been

large enough for a place

to hide them.

Just a short distance

from the Voge property

is the farm owned by

Marvin and Patricia

Brunk. Located on

Bantas Creek Road andalong the east side of

State Route 503, the

property contains two

houses and several

barns. The home on Bantas Creek Road is the location

of Mossy Oaks Nursery and Antiques, while the Brunks

now live in the home on St. Rt. 503. The Brunks chose to

include 211 acres in the easement program.

We were glad to be able to save our farmland, Patricia

Brunk commented, I think it is every farmers desire to

pass it down to their children.

The Twin Township property owners do seem to share a

common thread by making the choice to participate in the

easement program.

I am happy the whole neighborhood has the same idea,

remarked Helen Voge. She and her husband Bill own the

land right next to Brunks, also along St. Rt. 503. Named

Windy Heights Farm, after the Voge family farm, the

Voges grow corn and beans and also raise llamas, cattle

and 4-H goats. Their land also borders Twin Creek. Voge

worries that too much land is being used for housing

Snapshot 1(continued from page 5)

developments and shopping malls and is happy that they

did what they could to help keep things the way they are.

Adjacent to the Voge property is the Pontius Farm, now

owned by Daryl Gitz of Columbus. Originally from Eaton,

Gitz just recently purchased the place, which was under

easement when he acquired it. The 91-acre piece of land

holds two houses, a main house built in 1870 and a house

for the hired hands built earlier, that now are connected.

It was a show place in its time, remarked Gitz, who plans

on restoring the property and using it as a vacation home

and later retire there.

Im happy that we could work together (with TVCT) to

preserve the environment, stated Gitz, I am happy to be a

part of that.

Brent and Jackie Bowen own the 112 acres that are

protected just a little further down the road.

Im the 5th generation to

have it, said Brent, Im glad

we did it to protect the ground

for future generations.

Prices Creek runs through the

property after it ows through

the 163-acre farm owned by

Chick and Paula Rodeffer,

who also participated in

the easement program. The

Rodeffers grow corn, beans,

hay and occasionally wheat

on the farm, located on FallsRoad. The property holds

many barns and a house,

which was built between

1830 and 1840. There is a small cemetery located on

the property, which has members of the Hart family buried

there, one of the rst families to live in the house.

The ancestors of several families who once lived in

the house have visited the property and informed the

Rodeffers of the histories of their relatives. The Rodeffers

feel more connected to the property since they know so

much about the people who once lived there.The farm has been in the Rodeffer family for several

decades. Before the family owned the place, they rented it

in the thirties and forties. In fact, four of Chicks aunts and

uncles were born in the house.

Lands also preserved thanks to the TVCT in Twin

Township include the farms of Ralph and Lisa Clevenger

and Jim and Amy Leedy. There are also many other

residents in Twin Township currently applying for

agricultural easements.

Prices Creek view on the Rodeffer Farm


9/12

submitted by Danielle Mann

In 1970, Jack and Carol Tincher bought the King farm,

located on King Road and named after the family, intending

to keep the farm for their son, Marc, born the same year.

From 1970 until 1995, the farmhouse, built in 1836, has

rented to various people icluding Marcs oldest brother,

Randy, who lived there and ran his business of breedingdogs and horses for several years. Randy has since moved

to Atlanta, Georgia, and in 1995, Marc purchased the farm

from his parents. Since 1992, Marc has operated the farm

as a seed-stock operation for purebred Simmental cattle,

but occasionally dabbling in truck farming (which helped

pay for his degree in Social Studies/Secondary Education in

1995) and other livestock adventures. But cattle is the heart

of the business and Marc grows his own hay and corn to

feed the cattle in the winter, while in the summer they graze

on some 80 acres of pasture and drink from many springs,

streams and a pond. In 2001, Marc

married fellow teacher, Danielle

Mann, and they built a new house

on the property, just to the west of

the old farmhouse. In April 2002,

Jack Randall Tincher was born, and

in April 2004, Gabrielle Susanne

Scout Tincher was born. Now the

family of four was balancing two full-time teaching jobs,

two small children, and an already successful seed stock

business. Of course, this is a family affair, and Jack and

Carol are still very active in the day to day doings of the

farm; all hands are needed!

In 2006, Carol retired from teaching after 35 years, but

returned in the fall as a long-term substitute. Marc is Senior

Class Director of Talawanda High School, and Danielle

coaches girls tennis and is Junior Class/Prom Director.

Despite all the commitments, the Tincher family is 100%

dedicated to providing the best food, water and shelter for

the cattle, as well as to producing the best seed stock to be

parents in herds all over the country. The cattle have soldin Ohio as well as to producers in Montana, Michigan,

Maryland, North Dakota, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma,

Louisiana, Florida and many points in between.

When choosing to apply for the Three Valley Conservation

Trust Easement, the Tincher family weighed all the option

and concerns involved. Working with Larry Frimerman

and the TVCT staff has been rewarding for the Tinchers,

as the staff is knowledgeable and sincere about preserving

the environment and natural spaces of southwest Ohio.

The King Road farm has about a mile each of road

frontage and creek bed, makingit an ideal location to preserve.

On the farm along with the

Tincher family, there reside

coyote, deer, fox, herons, and

sh. In fact, last summer,

there was a pair of eagles

that enjoyed staring at their

reections in the roof of the

silo each day. The family also

wanted to protect the farm

so that Jack and Scout could

someday benet from the Trustand be able to farm the land or

maintain it for wildlife.

The benets of the easement

are many, but we must all

work together to ensure that

programs like these are

consistently funded by state and

national grants. This funding

happens when people offer thei

land back to the environment

and apply for easements. Its a

case of supply and demand: th

more applications that are led

the more money is reserved for

these types of conservation.

Its essential that land owners educate themselves on the

positive options involved in an easement, perhaps even

encourage others to work with them.

The Tinchers welcome visitors any time to see the cattle

and farming operations. You can see their website at

Indiancreeksimmentals.com

Summer 2007 9

Snapshot 2: The Tincher Farm



Snapshot 3:

James M. Cox: Forevera Part of Butler Countysubmitted by

Patricia Burress and Summer Glasmeier

James Cox left behind a legacy of hard work and compassion. Hishard work resulted in three terms as governor of Ohio and a

nomination for U.S. president, all while running what is presently

known as Cox Enterprises. His familys homestead is located in

Jacksonburg, Ohio. Cox may not get many mentions in the history

books, but his farm land will be preserved forever under the

stewardship of the Gerber farming family and Three Valley

Conservation Trust.

James Middleton Cox was born March 31, 1870. He grew up on

the homestead in Jacksonburg, Ohio. As a young man, the Weekly

Signal took him on as a printers devil, which gave him his start

in the newspaper business. At 17, he began teaching but wentback to the Signal as a reporter when it became a daily paper. The

Cincinnati Enquirer offered Cox a position, which he accepted and

held for two years. This was the point in his career that he knew

he would stay in the newspaper business. In 1898, Cox bought

his rst paper, DaytonsDaily News. He continued to buy papers

in other states. He was elected to the House of Representatives

in 1909. In 1913, he was elected Governor of Ohio. He was the

rst Democratic Governor to serve three terms in Ohio. Then

in 1920, he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for

President and wanted Franklin D. Roosevelt as his running

mate. This was the rst election that women were granted

suffrage. The nominees were both from Ohio and held thesame profession, also a rst. The Republican candidate,

Warren G. Harding, defeated him by a landslide.

Not embittered by his defeat in the Presidential election, Cox focused

on building Cox Enterprises. As his company grew, he made it a point

to know and take interest in his employees and their families. No

matter how busy he became, he took time to pursue his interests. Cox

enjoyed golf, baseball, boxing, deep-sea shing, theater, and, true to

his agricultural background, he loved animals.

After Coxs political career, he found himself missing the old family

farm and homestead. Cox bought back the family estate in the early

1920s and continued to buy surrounding acreage unil he held over1,000 acres. In 1993, the Cox family decided to sell 765 acres of the

farmland to local farmers Jerry and Cleo Gerber, bringing the Gerbers

farming operation to 2000 acres. In 2005, the Gerbers chose to place

the former Cox acreage under an agricultural conservation easement

through Three Valley Conservation Trust in Oxford, Ohio. By placing

it under easement, the land is protected in perpetuity. Their choice

preserves the land as farmland, as it has been for generations.

Article also appeared in The Historian published by Cox News areanewspapers in July 2007.

Top: Cox Homestead in Jacksonburg, Ohio.

Middle: A view of a modern farm, Cox Homestead

Bottom: Trailsend, the home south of Dayton

where the Cox family lived while he was Governor of

Ohio.

Photos and background information courtesy of the

Genevieve Kolb private collection.


11/12Summer 2007 11

I want to join tVCt!

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Send the newsletter via email to the address above.

I would like to volunteer. Please contact me.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

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Trust Benefactors

Great Blue Heron Group - $10,000+Free reservations for all Trust events, Chairs Reception, Tour of at least oneeasement site

Founders Society- $2,500+Free reservations for two Trust events, Chairs Reception, Tour of at least oneeasement site

Conservationist -$1,000-2,499Free reservations for two at Annual Meeting, Chairs Reception

Trust Partners

Guardian - $500-999Free reservations for 2 at the Annual Meeting

Contributor - $250-449Free reservations for 2 at Annual Meeting

Sponsor - $100-249 Member- $50-99

Student - $25 Other - $_______

My company has a matching gift program, I will send the form.

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Mail and make payable to: Three Valley Conservation Trust

TVCT, PO Box 234, Oxford, Ohio 45056.

three valley conservation trust

Conserving the natural

environment and cultural

heritage of Southwest Ohio

The Trust Honors Its

Founder with The 1st

Wallace I. Edwards

Conservationist Award

The Three Valley Conservation Trust Board of Directors ispleased to announce the creation of The Wallace I. Edwards

Conservationist Award to honor the memory of its founder,

Wallace I. Edwards. His deep connection to the valley

where he lived and walked daily inspired his idea for the

Four Mile Valley Conservation Trust. Once initiated, this

vision was shared by many others, and through their efforts

it steadily spread to surrounding valleys and acquired a new

name, the Three Valley Conservation Trust. The Trusts

growth was a pleasing surprise to Edwards and a testament

to the supportive work of many people from the beginning.

This award will recognize not

only work done by a personor persons in the preceding

year but will also consider

the cumulative results of a

long-term commitment to

conservation values. When

choosing recipient(s) the Three

Valley Conservation Trust

Board of Directors will take into

consideration activities and projects that clearly reect

Edwards vision, such as:

Demonstration of land use practices that areenvironmentally, economically, and culturally

sustainable;

Nurturing a strong conservation ethic and good

stewardship habits in others;

Organizing community members to learn about and

work toward stewardship goals; Volunteering time to improve others land or organize

others to take restoration action;

Organizing a coalition of diverse interests and

individuals to work toward a common goal;

Advancing or disseminating methods to controlinvasive, non-native species;

Any combination of the above.

At the Trusts annual meeting in February 2008, the

rst Wallace I. Edwards Conservationist Award will be

presented to the individual or group who has made a vital

contribution to the conservation of land and the community

in the three valleys served by the Trust. By spotlighting

these unsung heroes, the Trust hopes to inspire others to

become involved in conservation and preservation.

NOTE: We will accept nominations later this fall.


12/12

Non-Prot Org.

U.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 71

Oxford, OH

45056

www.3vct.org

Larry Frimerman, Executive Director

Lawrence Leahy, Development Director

Mary Glasmeier, Ofce Manager

Thi l tt i i t d l d

5920 Morning Sun Road, PO Box 234

Oxford, Ohio 45056513-524-2150 513-524-0162 fax

Visit the TVCT Website at www.3vct.org

Masterworks for Nature

Art AuctionSaturday, November 10th, 2007Beau Verre Riordan StudioMiddletown, Ohio

This NEW auction will feature artwork by some ofthe areas foremost nature artists, Chris Walden,

John Agnew, DeVere Burt, Mary Lou Holt,

John Ruthven, Katy Jo South, and many more.(See Developing News on page 7.)

MARKYOURCALENDARS!Downsizing?Donate your unneeded itemsto the Trust.

We can use: desks and chairs

le cabinets

binding machine

large format scanner

lamps

microwave

ofce supplies such as paper, variousweights & colors; postage stamps;

pens, pads, etc.

All donations are tax deductable.

We can arrange transport.Call the ofce at 513-524-2150.

Summer 2007 Valley Trust Newsletter, Three Valley Conservation Trust

Documents

Transcript of Summer 2007 Valley Trust Newsletter, Three Valley Conservation Trust