Preserved Land

Map of Protected Land | Success Stories | Stewardship

Since 1988, the vision of the founding members of the Gates Mills Land Conservancy has become a reality through the generosity of Villagers, who have donated land, funds or granted conservation easements. In fact, the majority of Village citizens have continuously supported the conservation movement by passing and then renewing multiple times, a 1 Mil tax levy to fund the acquisition of land. This tax support is unique in our country and continues to be the major source of revenue for the purchase of land. As noted earlier, The Gates Mills Land Conservancy currently owns 167 acres of land and has Conservations Easements on an additional 302 acres for a grand total of 469 acres, preserved in perpetuity.

While not an organizational entity of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, we consider ourselves a partner in the truest sense of the term and have teamed with WRLC on more than one occasion with excellent results. Our missions are virtually identical, but our activity is limited to land within the Gates Mills Village boundaries. We realize that we are an integral part of the larger geographical landscape and a major entity in the Chagrin River Watershed and take that responsibility seriously. Our recent successes with the Wick Property on Epping and Chagrin River Road as well as "Beecher's Brook" at the border of Mayfield and Gates Mills on Wilson Mills Road could not have happened without teamwork. We owe a vote of thanks to Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Cleveland Metroparks, Mayfield Village, the Clean Ohio Commission and many other organizations with similar objectives.

The purpose of the Gates Mills Land Conservancy map or Map of Protected Land is to depict the protected properties within the Village of Gates Mills. Different colors are used to show the land owned outright by the Conservancy, those properties with Conservation Easements as well as the 306 acres owned by the Village and the 546 acres owned by the Cleveland Metroparks within the Village.

The parcels shaded GREEN are owned by the Gates Mills Land Conservancy. As of January 15, 2008 the Conservancy owns 20 different parcels of land ranging in size from 1.2 acres to 25 acres.

The parcels shaded in BLUE are protected with comprehensive conservation easements, still owned by Village citizens or the Village, but limited to the extent of future development. There are 27 individual parcels of land ranging from a right of way of approximately 0.67 acres to 48.7 acres of wooded hillside.

The Village and Metroparks properties are shaded TAN or BEIGE on the map. The majority of this land is "protected".

Use your mouse to click and drag the map to view all areas of the Village. Click on a property number un a red circle for a brief description, use the slide at the right to zoom in and out. On Conservancy owned parcels in green, you have the option of accessing the habitat assessment by clicking on: "For a Full Habitat Assessment of this Property, Click here."

Enjoy your virtual tour of our Western Reserve Village!