The Athens Conservancy is a 501 (c) (3) land trust based in Athens County, Ohio

Athens County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...

. It was founded in 2003. It owns and manages four nature preserves in Athens County:

• Blair Preserve, 75 acres (30.4 ha) adjacent to Strouds Run State Park
  Strouds Run State Park
  Strouds Run State Park is an Ohio state park located primarily in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio, with a small part in Ames Township. It comprises , and includes Dow Lake, a artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow...
  
  . This preserve was purchased in two sections using Clean Ohio Conservation Fund
  Clean Ohio
  The Clean Ohio fund is a state fund authorized by Ohio taxpayers in 2000 to support four types of conservation and outdoor recreation measures. It was reauthorized in 2008.-Clean Ohio Funds:...
  
   moneys.
• Tucker Run Preserve, 47 acres (19 ha) adjacent to Strouds Run State Park
  Strouds Run State Park
  Strouds Run State Park is an Ohio state park located primarily in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio, with a small part in Ames Township. It comprises , and includes Dow Lake, a artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow...
  
  . This preserve was purchased privately.
• Bluebell Preserve, 65 acres (26.3 ha) adjacent to the Hockhocking-Adena Bikeway. This preserve was donated to the Conservancy by AEP
  American Electric Power
  American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
  
  .
• The Plains Preserve, 13 acres (5.3 ha) in The Plains, Ohio
  The Plains, Ohio
  The Plains is a census-designated place in Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,931 at the 2000 census.-Geography:The Plains is located at ....
  
  ,. This preserve was purchased using Clean Ohio Conservation Fund moneys. This preserve is located adjacent to the Dorr 2 Mound, a Native American
  Indigenous peoples of the Americas
  The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
  
   burial mound.

In addition, the Conservancy holds a conservation and trail access easement on the 264 acres (106.8 ha) Baker Tract, near Strouds Run State Park

Strouds Run State Park

Strouds Run State Park is an Ohio state park located primarily in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio, with a small part in Ames Township. It comprises , and includes Dow Lake, a artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow...

, which features hiking, bicycling, and horse trails open to the public. This easement was purchased using Clean Ohio Conservation Fund moneys. The Conservancy is also working on acquiring land for a trail-head area for the Moonville Rail-Trail

Moonville Rail-Trail

right|thumb|King Switch TunnelThe Moonville Rail-Trail is a sixteen-mile rail-trail in southeast Ohio, located in Vinton and Athens Counties. It is largely embedded in the Zaleski State Forest and passes close to Lake Hope State Park...

, and has acquired additional right-of-way from the former B&O Railroad to expand rail-trail options in the area, using Clean Ohio moneys.

One of the Conservancy's greatest successes to date was the establishment of the Riddle State Nature Preserve

Riddle State Nature Preserve

Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, outside the city of Athens, Ohio. It comprises 106 acres "within the Low Hills Belt section of the Allegheny Plateau". Of these 106 acres, about 85 acres are in the area cited as old-growth forest...

, which contains Hawk Woods, one of the most significant old-growth forests in Ohio, again using Clean Ohio moneys. The preserve is owned by the city of Athens, Ohio

Athens, Ohio

Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

 and is dedicated as a state nature preserve, but the Athens Conservancy initiated and coordinated the project, and raised $40,000 in public contributions plus $50,000 from the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources was created in 1949 by the Ohio Legislature. It is a government agency in the U.S. state of Ohio charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, and recreation areas.Divisions of ODNR...

.

The Conservancy operates the Southeast Ohio Mapping Center on-line (see at the website, below) as a public service. The Conservancy also offers a backpacking campsite on the Blair Preserve. This campsite was created using funds from the Athens Foundation.

Several private conservation easement

Conservation easement

In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...

s have also been negotiated with the Conservancy, in order to enhance private property holders' future management of their lands.