Barrington Area Conservation Trusts Receives $100,000 Grant

The Barrington Area Conservation Trust announced that it has received a $100,000 two-year grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

The funds will be used for the conservation group to hire a Development Director and develop a Capital Campaign to preserve critical land parcels in the Barrington area that are essential to the environmental health of the community.  The program will also fund efforts to increase membership and marketing efforts.

“This grant recognizes that the Barrington area has some of the greatest biodiversity in the state, and that our remaining open lands and critical watersheds are important to regional, state and national conservation efforts,” said Karen Yancey, Executive Director. “We appreciate the confidence that the Donnelley Foundation has placed in our board and staff as a professional land trust organization working to protect land of high conservation value.”

In the last decade the Barrington Area Conservation Trust has protected almost 500 acres of land in Barrington through conservation easements, land donations and bargain land sales. With more than 500 members, the BACT is also dedicated to protecting the open lands, scenic roads and equestrian character of the Barrington-area communities. This is the second grant that the BACT has received from the Donnelley Foundation in the last six years.

The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation has a mission of land conservation and artistic vitality for communities in the Chicago region and the South Carolina low country. The foundation fosters land conservation through preservation, restoration and protection of strategic lands.  The foundation encourages vitality by nurturing excellence, participation and appreciation in the professional arts.

The Barrington Area Conservation Trust has completed more than 20 conservation easements and protected almost 500 acres of private property in Barrington since it was formed 12 years ago. It also uses conservation easements along scenic roads to protect them from being altered in the future. For more information on BACT and conservation easements, visit www.bactrust.org.