Several property owners in Wasatch County’s North Fields have committed to placing their land under conservation easements, which permanently preserves the land. They include the 57-acre Giles property between West Potter Lane and West 2400 North, and the 165-acre Gertsch and 44-acre Christian Michel properties along River Road.
Utah Open Lands is spearheading the three conservation easements. It still needs more funding for the Giles property and hit a roadblock with the Gertsch property — plans for a bypass to pull traffic from Heber’s Main Street may go through the area.
However, the nonprofit made headway with the Christian Michel property this week.
During an open space open house in Midway Saturday, Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher announced all funding needed to preserve the Christian Michel property has now been secured after three years.
The property sits on the entry corridor to Midway from River Road. According to Utah Open Lands, the property includes habitat value, expands upon existing open space reserves and contributes to scenic open space in Midway.
Fisher said local, state and federal agencies helped secure enough money to make a conservation easement possible.
Midway provided around $250,000 through an open space bond and Wasatch County gave $750,000. On Thursday, Fisher said the nonprofit received good news — a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service was unfrozen and can now be allocated.
“Between the money that Utah Open Lands raised through our North Fields Protection Initiative and these other grants, we were still shy of about $15,000,” Fisher said. “That's when the amazing community effort that Preserve Midway put forward at their Volksmarch to bring in the last $15,000.”
Preserve Midway presented the check to Fisher at the open house Saturday.
The money was raised during the nonprofit’s annual Volksmarch in September. Board member Holly Bodily said the event stems from Midway’s european roots.
“It brings the community together to highlight something that is special to that area,” she said. “When we were looking for a fundraiser for Preserve Midway to kind of help raise these funds and for, mostly for education and awareness, somebody came up with this idea for us, and we just ran with it.”
Each fall over the last six years, hundreds of Midway locals walk to land the organization is working to preserve to see what they’re supporting. Bodily said there are also food trucks, educational booths and lots of farm animals.
Fisher said this level of local support to preserve land was unprecedented.
“I've been doing this for 35 years, and the amount of leveraging that Midway City has been able to accomplish for your tax dollars — incredible five to one, nine to one, just doesn't usually happen,” she said. “The other thing is to see the community pride and support of your local landowners, of your local farms, to make sure that they can stay thriving is absolutely incredible.”
Now that funding for the Christian Michel property has been secured, Fisher said the conservation easement will go through a series of federal reviews.
Once officially protected, the 44-acre property will remain working land, upholding the agrarian culture of the area.
