Bull Valley landowner preserves 80-acre farm through The Land Conservancy of McHenry County

Bull Valley land owner Karen Strano has preserved her 80-acre farm with the help of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

In 2023, Strano decided to preserve the farm and worked with TLC to place a conservation easement on it to ensure that it will never be developed.

On Oct. 18, Strano and TLC celebrated the signing of the easement with a small group of friends, along with representatives from the Village of Bull Valley and TLC.

“I’ve always loved trees and open space, and I wanted to be sure they will always be here,” Strano said.

Strano was living in Chicago when she and husband, Brian, decided to move to the country in 1987. They found a farm near Woodstock, on Greenwood Road. It included an 1800s house, a grand old barn and 80 acres of open, rolling land that included some of the oldest oak trees in the county. She wanted to raise sheep and there was plenty of room for pasturing them.

One of the tools TLC uses to protect farms is a voluntary conservation agreement known as an easement. This type of an easement permanently limits nonagricultural development while allowing the owner to continue living on or leasing their land, expanding their farm business, and transferring the farm to a new generation.

These easements can be donated, purchased, or a combination of the two.

“Protecting farms not only protects our natural resources and prime agricultural soils, it also helps support our local economy by maintaining a viable agricultural base,” said Linda Balek, TLC’s Farm Program manager.

She added, “With a growing interest in local food, coupled by a new movement of young people who want to be farmers, the need to preserve the county’s prime farmland is critical to everyone’s future.”

If you would like more information on preserving farmland in McHenry County, contact Linda Balek at lbalek@conservemc.org.

Learn more at conservemc.org. Follow on Facebook or LinkedIn.