Lake erie region conservancy

From Great Lakes Wiki

According to their website, the Lake Erie Region Conservancy is a “local, non-profit, membership organization dedicated to the identification, conservation, and protection of the Lake Erie region’s unique natural, cultural, and historical resources. LERC also promotes research, education, and sustainable development.”

Their central purpose is land preservation, by the cooperation between government agencies and the private sector through a process called conservation easement.

Conservation Easement

A voluntary agreement between a landowner and land conservation agency wherein monitored restrictions are put on the amount and type of land development. Incentives for the landowners are income tax reductions and reduced property and estate taxes, in addition to the warm feeling one gets protecting the area’s natural, cultural and historical resources.

Partnerships

Through a close relationship with Mercyhurst College the LERC has taken on numerous joint projects, collaborating with many Erie region groups including the Erie County Environment Coalition (ECEC), the Partnership for a Healthy Mill Creek Watershed (PHMCW), The Lake Erie Arboretum Foundation (LEAF), the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and the Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Association.

The community’s most permeating initiative has been the planting and maintaining of over 200 trees in the City of Erie. They have backed the enterprise with workshops and events to inform volunteers and citizens alike on the ways to create and preserve Urban forests.

Great Lakes Aid

LERC is currently a core group in the organization of an event known as Great Lakes Aid, modeled after Willie Nelson's Farm Aid. The designers have already received a large grant to get the show going, but much of the actual talent has yet to be found. Therefore, the location and times of the annual tour are yet to be announced.