Ann Arbor gets 93% of Michigan’s federal land preservation grants

When it comes to funding to preserve natural areas, Washtenaw County takes the lion's share of the lion's share of what comes to Michigan.

This year Michigan claimed $2.9 million from federal government programs like Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranchland Protection to help preserve rural land. About $2.7 million went to Ann Arbor-area programs like the Greenbelt.

This isn't unusual. For the last four or five years, Washtenaw County programs have taken a majority of Michigan's federal land preservation funding. Oftentimes it's take is in 90-plus percentile.

"Part of it is we have funded local preservation programs like the greenbelt and the township programs so we can provide matches," says Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt program. "The other part is we have really good farm land here."

Most of this year's money went toward the preservation of the Smyth and Merkel farms in Webster Township. That's another 247 acres adjacent to each other on Zeeb Road that have been added to the Ann Arbor Greenbelt, which now owns the development rights to more than 1,000 acres around the city.

Source: Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt program
Writer: Jon Zemke

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Ann Arbor gets 93% of Michigan’s federal land preservation grants

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