A Conservation Buyer In Action

Helping to Protect 474 Acres In Cheboygan County

Loren Jahn (above) protected 474 acres in Cheboygan County in 2001

"The main reason for putting a conservation easement on my property was to ensure that the property will stay in its natural state for generations to come.”

For Loren Jahn, it was as simple as that.

Jahn, a Cheboygan County property owner, had been thinking about conservation easements for quite some time. Last year, when he received a letter from the Conservancy notifying him of adjacent protected property that was for sale, he got the process started. And while he was in the midst of protecting his own 120 acres with a conservation easement, he decided to purchase the adjacent land. All told, Jahn made possible the protection of 474 acres of contiguous land.

“Our natural wilderness is diminishing at a rapid rate,” Jahn said. “Animals are continually being squeezed out of land that is being developed. This is one of my ways to preserve and protect our limited land resources.”

Loren Jahn’s 474 acres of conservation increased the amount of Cheboygan County easement acreage by 32 percent and increased the total amount of Cheboygan County protected acreage by 19 percent. “It has been a privilege to work with Loren to protect his land,” said MaryKay O’Donnell, the Conservancy’s director of land protection. “He has quietly, and single- handedly protected one of the largest blocks of privately owned land within our service area.”

The Importance of Large Blocks of Undeveloped Land

When the Conservancy prioritizes land for conservation, one of the top considerations is whether or not the land is adjacent to existing protected land. And, as is most obvious from the view of an airplane, the last few decades have brought a dramatic decrease in the number of large, undeveloped tracts of land in our region. The trouble with this is certainly aesthetic, but also ecologically threatening for all facets of our natural world’s functions.

Black bears have been known to use more than 100 square miles for their territorial range. Male bobcats require 25-30 square miles. Human development creates several problems for wild species, including an increase in dangerous roads for animals to cross to reach their food supplies.
The ecological web is tightly woven and small species, which are often part of the food chain of larger species, do not go unaffected. Plants also rely on the success of animals to help with their dispersal or to maintain the balance between growth and overgrowth that ensures a healthy ecosystem.
The Conservancy commends Loren Jahn for the magnitude of his land protection which will have a positive effect on all living things in that region.