Mystic Forest and Farm Conservation Easement

As its name suggests, the Mystic Forest and Farm Conservation Easement covers a parcel of land that is just about evenly split between woodland and agricultural land. Located in southern Boone County near Ashland, the roughly 30-acre property is the site of Dan Kuebler’s sustainable farming operation, known as The Salad Garden, which occupies about 14 acres of relatively flat ridgetop in the eastern and northern parts of the site. The remainder of the property, on its southern and western sides, consists of approximately 16 acres of heavily forested land that slopes down toward Fowler Creek.

The placement of a conservation easement on Mystic Forest and Farm protects this land – both its wild, natural elements as well as its sustainable agricultural uses – from development pressures. Seeing the constant threat of large-lot residential construction in the immediate vicinity, Dan Kuebler donated this conservation easement on his property to Greenbelt in 2022 after having owned and worked his land since 1977. With the easement in place, Farmer Dan will be able to continue supporting a vibrant local food system by using his land to grow a wide variety of healthy produce such as peppers, cucumbers, and apples as well as to prepare fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles. Greenbelt, meanwhile, welcomed this easement donation not only because of the inherent conservation values of the land but also because the easement was consistent with the goal, established under Greenbelt’s Working Lands initiative, of conserving farmland for sustainable agricultural production by current as well as future generations of farmers.