Athens Conservancy

The Athens Conservancy is a 501 (c) (3) land trust based in Athens County, Ohio. It was founded in 2002. It is an all-volunteer organization.
Preserves.
The Conservancy owns and manages ten nature preserves in Athens County:
In addition, the Conservancy holds a conservation and trail access easement on the Baker Preserve, near Strouds Run State Park, which features hiking and horse trails open to the public. This easement was purchased using Clean Ohio Conservation Fund moneys.
Outdoor Recreation Programs.
The Conservancy sponsors the Athens-Belpre Rail-Trail, a new multi-use trail to connect Belpre, Ohio, to Athens, Ohio, partially using the former B&O Railroad grade. The trail is open to foot, bicycles, and horses. Properties for this project have been secured in several ways.
The Conservancy is also working on acquiring land for a trail-head area for the Moonville Rail-Trail, and has acquired additional right-of-way from private property owners who had acquired it from the former B&O Railroad to connect the Moonville Rail-Trail with the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, using Clean Ohio moneys.
The Conservancy also offers a backpacking campsite on the Blair Preserve. This campsite was created using funds from the Athens County Foundation.
Assisting Other Agencies.
One of the Conservancy's greatest successes to date was the establishment of the Riddle State Nature Preserve, which contains Hawk Woods, one of the most significant old-growth forests in Ohio, again using Clean Ohio moneys. The preserve is owned by the city of Athens, Ohio and is dedicated as a state nature preserve, but the Athens Conservancy initiated and coordinated the project, and raised $40,000 in public contributions plus $50,000 from the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. The organization also assisted the City of Athens, OH in acquiring two other tracts of the Strouds Ridge Preserve, totalling , in 2003 and 2004, and assisted Athens County, Ohio in acquiring two nature preserves, one part of the Strouds Ridge Preserve, with , and the Chauncey Canal Trail and Wetland Preserve, , in 2016. It has also provided small donations to assist several other agencies with land acquisition.
Other Programs.
The Conservancy sponsors the Athens Area Outdoor Guide through the website. This is an extensive website that details open-space lands throughout southeast Ohio, with maps and directions for access.
It also provides the Athens Outdoor Guide, Southeast Ohio Mapping Center and an NNIS (non-native invasive species) information center on-line (see at the website, below) as a public service.
Several private conservation easements have also been negotiated with the Conservancy, in order to enhance private property holders' future management of their lands.