The West Central Ohio Land Conservancy (WCOLC) will hold its Annual Meeting at 7 p.m. on November 18 on the third floor of Bluffton Town Hall, 154 N. Main St. The meeting is free and open to the public.

The evening will include election of board members, a year-end report, and a program about the making of the educational film Conservation and Agriculture: Where Land Meets Water. Lauren Sandhu, Executive Director of the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership (BRWP) will introduce their organization and their partnership with WCOLC. 

Landowners Amanda Wischmeyer and Jim Spurgat, who own properties featured in the film, will share their experiences being part of the video and will also answer questions on land preservation and conservation easements.

The West Central Ohio Land Conservancy (WCOLC) is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization  that actively works to conserve land by assisting landowners in the conservation easement process, or by its stewardship of such land or easements. The purpose of WCOLC is to protect land that has agricultural, natural, recreational, scenic, historic, and/or other productive value. 

Between 1950 and 2000, Ohio lost more than 6.9 million acres of farmland, representing nearly one-third of Ohio’s agricultural land and a size equivalent to 23 Ohio counties. In order to protect these important areas of land and the natural resources they represent, WCOLC works with private landowners who are interested in protecting their land perpetually through a conservation easement. 

WCOLC represents Allen, Auglaize, Hancock, Hardin, Mercer, Putnam and Van Wert counties.