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PRESS RELEASE
April 21, 2004 Contact: Mary Bradford-White Jerome M. Johnson Protection of Horizon Farms Wins Award The Barrington Area Conservation Trust’s first project, an ambitious yet successful effort to protect the 420-acre Horizon Farms from suburban development, is the winner of this year’s prestigious Garfield Farm Museum Agricultural Preservation Award. Only select organizations and individuals who significantly advance historic preservation, agricultural preservation and environmental conservation receive the award, said Jerome Johnson, the museum’s executive director. He noted the BACTrust’s collaborative effort with the William McGinley family earns a “select” title because the conservation easement the organization helped place on Horizon Farms – with its rolling hills, lush groves, and equestrian character -- is one of the largest private conservation efforts in Illinois history. A conservation easement is a legal agreement that leaves property in the owner’s hands, but severely restricts any development of the property. The easement stays with the deed, so protected land in most cases remains development-free. The story of protecting Horizon Farms is the result of the McGinley family efforts to preserve the farm after the deaths of land owner William McGinley in 2001 his wife Jane in 2003. At the time the Robert McGinley and his siblings, James and Margaret, began to research alternatives to selling the land to developers. That’s when the BACTrust stepped in. The organization, with the assistance of the Conservation Foundation and the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource, a co-winner of the Garfield award, worked with the preservation-minded family to help them understand the benefit of a conservation easement. Then, the BACTrust sought and found the necessary resources that helped the McGinley’s navigate the legal and fiscal roads to putting an easement place. “I think the fact that they were so successful at developing a good relationship with the family, with Horizon Farms, is so very key to their success,” Johnson said. He added: “They’re being recognized with this award in large part because they saw that if they didn’t do something, no one else would.” BACTrust President Mary Bradford-White said she hopes the award brings attention to conservation easements, which she said is “a useful and powerful tool” for landowners looking to make a real impact on development in their community. “This award should speak to land owners, letting them know resources are available to help them plan the future of their land and their community,” she said. “It should also speak to the general public and say beautiful land will remain so if and only if we think of the future and protect it.” The award will be presented a dinner and ceremony open to the public on May 6th at the historic Dunham Woods Riding Club in Wayne. The dinner starts at 6:45 p.m., and the ceremony starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40, and reservations are required. Please call the Garfield Farm Museum at (630) 584-8485 for more information on the event, or visit the museum’s Web site: Garfield Farms. You can also e-mail the museum at info@garfieldfarm.org. |
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