President's Comments
President's Comments - John Miller
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| Oak Heritage Conservancy Contact us at info@ohclandtrust.org © 2005 - 2010 Website by Brad Broughton |
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As I write, it is early spring. The grass is greening up along the Ohio River. I have
seen Jonquils blooming. I lost one of my bee hives this winter, the other is doing fine.
They are bringing in nectar and pollen. Silver Maple trees are blooming and so are
the little mustards that grow low to the ground. The economic picture of the winter
past has been scary. OHC, through good planning and some luck is in good shape. If
your situation is not dire, I ask that you continue supporting us as you have in the
past. I am grateful for your support. If you are new to us please join. We are a good
crowd to be with.
OHC has a number of irons in the fire this spring. Your board is going to spend a
Saturday in retreat sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance. The LTA consists of 1600
landtrusts including us. To be certain that all land protection is done fairly,
effectively, ethically and perpetually, LTA has created standards and training. This
training, in time, will lead OHC to being an accredited landtrust.
Restoration work on Hilltop preserve is continuing. Weather permitting we will have a
prescribed burn on the central field before the three fields are planted into warm
season grasses and prairie forbs. We have a contract to have the invasive plants
controlled on the northern section of the old farm. We are planning to use volunteers
to finish clearing brush from the wild flower beds. The wild flowers are responding
well to having the honeysuckle removed. We could use your help; look for the
workdays elsewhere in this issue. We are having a fun workday. We will pick up
garbage along preserve roadsides, and then retire to Commisky for lunch at a small
country restaurant. The day is worth it just for lunch, but we will walk it off at Wells
woods in Commisky. There are big trees there. A good day of nature and friendship,
please come along.
Late in March, the board will walk over a 20-acre forest in Washington County. This
land is destined to have the Knob Stone Trail cross it. We are asked to take
ownership.
Saluda Creek; in southern Jefferson County falls 300 feet from the town of Saluda to
Ohio River in just a few miles. The Indiana Division of Natural Resources lists this
watershed, thoroughly explored while the Marble Hill Nuclear plant was under
construction, as an area of importance for protection. When Marble hill died,
active efforts to protect the adjacent Saluda Creek came off the stove. OHC is
delving into the history of the watershed to updates files and build momentum to
move forward.
Where are we going as a country, an economy, a species? As a land trust, we think
about the long run. In the real short run, we need to get the economy hopping again.
Economists say our free market, while it is not perfect, it is the only way that works. I
can see all the garbage along the roads and see that we produce too much waste.
How can we produce wealth, not just wealthy people to meet our needs with out
destroying the Earth? I earn my keep in the petroleum industry. I watched a
documentary the other day that equates the energy in 42 gallons of oil to 25,000
man-hours of human labor. The human species is living on the energy of oil. Nothing
can replace oil and allow us to live as we do. The turning point will not be when we
run out of oil; it will be when the demand for oil exceeds man’s ability to bring it forth
from the ground. If I do not live to see this day, my children will. I have no answers.
Let us talk about it. Email your thoughts to us at the “contact us” tab on OHC web
site, www.ohclandtrust.org.
seen Jonquils blooming. I lost one of my bee hives this winter, the other is doing fine.
They are bringing in nectar and pollen. Silver Maple trees are blooming and so are
the little mustards that grow low to the ground. The economic picture of the winter
past has been scary. OHC, through good planning and some luck is in good shape. If
your situation is not dire, I ask that you continue supporting us as you have in the
past. I am grateful for your support. If you are new to us please join. We are a good
crowd to be with.
OHC has a number of irons in the fire this spring. Your board is going to spend a
Saturday in retreat sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance. The LTA consists of 1600
landtrusts including us. To be certain that all land protection is done fairly,
effectively, ethically and perpetually, LTA has created standards and training. This
training, in time, will lead OHC to being an accredited landtrust.
Restoration work on Hilltop preserve is continuing. Weather permitting we will have a
prescribed burn on the central field before the three fields are planted into warm
season grasses and prairie forbs. We have a contract to have the invasive plants
controlled on the northern section of the old farm. We are planning to use volunteers
to finish clearing brush from the wild flower beds. The wild flowers are responding
well to having the honeysuckle removed. We could use your help; look for the
workdays elsewhere in this issue. We are having a fun workday. We will pick up
garbage along preserve roadsides, and then retire to Commisky for lunch at a small
country restaurant. The day is worth it just for lunch, but we will walk it off at Wells
woods in Commisky. There are big trees there. A good day of nature and friendship,
please come along.
Late in March, the board will walk over a 20-acre forest in Washington County. This
land is destined to have the Knob Stone Trail cross it. We are asked to take
ownership.
Saluda Creek; in southern Jefferson County falls 300 feet from the town of Saluda to
Ohio River in just a few miles. The Indiana Division of Natural Resources lists this
watershed, thoroughly explored while the Marble Hill Nuclear plant was under
construction, as an area of importance for protection. When Marble hill died,
active efforts to protect the adjacent Saluda Creek came off the stove. OHC is
delving into the history of the watershed to updates files and build momentum to
move forward.
Where are we going as a country, an economy, a species? As a land trust, we think
about the long run. In the real short run, we need to get the economy hopping again.
Economists say our free market, while it is not perfect, it is the only way that works. I
can see all the garbage along the roads and see that we produce too much waste.
How can we produce wealth, not just wealthy people to meet our needs with out
destroying the Earth? I earn my keep in the petroleum industry. I watched a
documentary the other day that equates the energy in 42 gallons of oil to 25,000
man-hours of human labor. The human species is living on the energy of oil. Nothing
can replace oil and allow us to live as we do. The turning point will not be when we
run out of oil; it will be when the demand for oil exceeds man’s ability to bring it forth
from the ground. If I do not live to see this day, my children will. I have no answers.
Let us talk about it. Email your thoughts to us at the “contact us” tab on OHC web
site, www.ohclandtrust.org.