As part of our Wilson’s Creek 319 Grant, JRBP staff are gearing up for a series of tree planting events along Wilson’s Creek this fall and winter. Over 300 trees will be planted on conservation easements along the creek near Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park. Conservation easements are one of the most effective tools in establishing a healthy riparian corridor along streams, which will allow for overall water quality improvement. But how exactly does an easement work?
The Ozark Land Trust defines an easement as “a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.” For example, an easement might prohibit the building of additional structures on a parcel of land but would still allow a landowner to grow crops and raise cattle, if those practices are done in a responsible manner.
Easements do not require public access to a piece of land and allow landowners to retain the right to sell it and pass it on to their heirs. When the land is sold or inherited, the easement comes along with it, protecting the land in perpetuity. An easement “runs with the land” and will not only provide protections to natural resources, but also economic benefits to the landowner and their communities as well.
The National Conservation Easement Database notes that there are currently 191,476 easements in the United States currently, or about 33 million acres under some sort of protection. Closer to home, OLT holds 17,123 acres in trust. Locally, JRBP has partnered with Ozark Greenways to place more than 45 acres in easements to help protect Springfield’s urban streams since 2016.
In our 319 Grant, easements along Wilson’s Creek, a tributary of the James River, will largely be used for protecting riparian corridors. The Wilsons Creek subwatershed is the most urbanized area of the James River basin, including almost 90% of the metropolitan area of Springfield. The two counties containing the Wilsons Creek watershed, Greene and Christian, are among the fastest growing in the state. Approximately 34% of the watershed is urbanized. which makes a healthy riparian corridor along Wilson’s Creek literally the last line of defense against runoff and pollution.
A healthy riparian corridor will have plenty of trees, shrubs, native forbs and grasses. This vegetation helps to provide streambank stability, reducing erosion and benefiting landowners and water quality. Other benefits include slowing and filtering stormwater runoff, providing habitat for wildlife and providing economic and recreational opportunities for landowners and the public alike. Our easement with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board makes such a corridor possible along Wilson’s Creek at Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park.
As part of these efforts, JRBP will be partnering with The Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Ozark Greenways, The Watershed Conservation Corps and Forest ReLeaf to remove invasive species and strengthen the riparian corridor with native shrubs and trees. We’ll be recruiting volunteers, to help us plant trees, giving everyone an opportunity to play a role in protecting our beautiful basin. Keep watching JRBP social media channels and our e-newsletter, The Current, for updates.
The author Nelson Henderson once opined that, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” It’s pretty amazing to think that my children might one day take their kids to Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park, walk the Wilson’s Creek Greenway, and be able to point out the trees along the creek’s banks that their grandfather helped plant. It’s such a simple, yet powerful gift to give to future generations.
We’ll see you on the river.
Todd
