Coalition Closes on Junction Group Earthworks

Early in 2014, the Heartland Earthworks Conservancy heard that the Junction Group Earthworks were going up for auction. With only three weeks notice, HEC leapt into action and mobilized a coalition of conservation organizations to spread the word and raise funds to purchase the property. And it worked! The coalition prevailed at the auction on March 18, 2014, a historic day for ancient earthworks preservation.

The director of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, Nancy Stranahan, managed and received a major grant from the Clean Ohio Fund, which funded 75% of the cost of the property. Nancy Stranahan and HEC Director Bruce Lombardo then met with the owners at a law office in Hillsboro, Ohio, to close on the property. The property will now become a public park to open some time in 2015!