More land along with Ocmulgee River in Middle Georgia is getting preserved permanently without the use of tax dollars, and a famous rocker is leading the way.
Nearly 1,000 acres have been preserved through the Ocmulgee Land Trust this year, the most since the Macon-based non-profit group was formed in 2004, said Executive Director Kensey Rabun. Musician Chuck Leavell and his wife Rose Lane recently committed 275 acres of their Charlane Plantation in Twiggs County to conservation easement through the trust.
Leavell, who has played keyboard for the Allman Brothers Band and Rolling Stones, came to Macon in 1970 and has been a resident here since. He and his wife are longtime advocates of nature conservation.
The easement, which is recorded in the deed, means the land will remain in its current state, even if it comes under new ownership. Future owners will have no ability to remove the easement. It does allow for certain land management practices such as forest thinning, agriculture and hunting but any type of development is forbidden.
As a part of the process, the Ocmulgee Land Trust does an extensive survey that includes mapping and photos to document the land as it goes into the trust, then it is checked annually to ensure it has remained as it was when it entered the trust.
The land owner does get a tax benefit with the easement but otherwise the trust operates entirely with private donations, Rabun said. Leavell and his wife also gave a “sizeable monetary donation” to the group’s efforts, she said.
Leavell said he first learned about conservation easements 15 years ago and is now a big advocate. He and Rose Lane previously had committed a separate tract for conservation.
“We are dedicated to the land and we just feel we don’t want the land developed,” he said. “We are piecing together the puzzle to protect it. We are very grateful for the Ocmulgee Land Trust.”
Rabun said she believes more land owners are committing land to the trust because through word of mouth they have become more familiar with the process. She said it often takes several years of speaking with them and educating them about it before they agree to it.
She also said there is an increase of people using the river, and therefore more interest in preserving it.
Just Tuesday the group closed on a conservation easement for the former Lakeside Park in East Macon, near Bowden Golf Course. Rabun said it was once a popular park but had been abandoned, and remnants of the old park are still there. A group of men wanted to preserve it so they bought it solely to have it put in the trust.
Land does not have to be directly on the river to be in the trust. Leavell’s tract is about half mile from it. People who own land along the river and are interested in learning more about the trust can contact Rabun at (214) 762-5369 or email kensey@ocmulgeelandtrust.com, or visit ocmulgeelandtrust.com.
Also Rabun said that while the river is the group’s focus, it has done conservation easements for Middle Georgia properties that are not near the river.