Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled... In the woods of the Ozarks, what some might call a "deep holler," you can truly escape and find serenity among the sights, sounds, and creatures of nature. Where worries become memory and now is all that matters. Land is My Serenity...
Vote Every Day Until the End of the Competition
We can't do it without your help! We need votes to get into the final round of judging. You can vote every 24 hours until November 18th. Click on the video above or here to vote: https://www.landismy.org/content/land-my-serenity/
The contest ends November 11 and voting continues until the 18th. The public will vote for their favorite videos until the end of the contest. The top 10 videos with the most votes will be judged by an independent contest panel and award the top three prizes.
McGee – 646 Acres Saved
Travis McGee's 646-acre plot sits alongside the Gasconade river in Central Missouri and is home to a diverse population of native Ozark plants and animals. The land is composed of approximately two-thirds woodlands with the remainder being primarily comprised of grasslands, beautifully carved with streams and rolling topography.
Travis operates the land as a working cow/calf operation with about 200 pairs on the property. With the conservation easement in place, Travis hopes to have this property be just as it is today 100 years from now.
"They are not making any more land. As the population grows and we use more and more resources, it is our responsibility to protect our natural landscape so they remain unpolluted and untainted by development. It is mine and my company's wish to help in any efforts to converse and protect this Ozark land for the future generations."
Dollard – 160 Acres Saved
Earlier this year, Robert Dollard signed the first of two conservation easements to permanently protect his 160-acre farm. Mr. Dollard’s farm has more than 1,700 feet of stream frontage on the Huzzah Creek, a major tributary of the Meramec River and a priority watershed for Ozark Regional Land Trust.
The property adjoins Mark Twain National Forest. More than half the property is forested, with a restored woodland, and the rest has important agricultural soils. Because of the important soils, the Natural Resources Conservation Service helped to fund the first easement. ORLT's Abigail Lambert is working on conservation easement number two as Bob moves forward to permanently protecting all of his property on the Huzzah.
Marler – 200 Acres Saved
Marty Marler owned forested land just south of Sullivan which contained vital habitat for the endangered Indiana bat. Mr. Marler was willing to permanently protect it with a conservation easement. This easement would be held and monitored by ORLT in perpetuity with the goal of maintaining and improving the available bat habitat on the property.
The USFWS, Menards, Mr. Marler, and ORLT negotiated a partnership and legal document (the conservation easement) that would assure Indiana bats will always have a home in Sullivan. It was a win-win for all the partners - especially, our winged friends, the Indiana bats.
