'Progress' Takes on a Different Meaning for Carmel

This article was originally published in the Daily Record on April 1, 2021 by Art Holden.

For some, progress is building a business, adding jobs, increasing production or turning nothing into something.

For Randy Carmel, it's somewhat of the opposite. The president of the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, Carmel volunteers to help landowners find ways to preserve and conserve their land through the writing of conservation easements.

"Through word of mouth, farmers come to us and explore ways to conserve their land," said Carmel, who has been a volunteer with the organization for 18 years. "There's a lot of folks who don't want their land subdivided. They don't want their heirs to break up their farms.

"We write easements so farmers can rest assured by law that their property can't be sold off," Carmel continued. "Like oil and gas rights, we write conservation into their titles. The easements stay with the property forever, and anyone who buys the land knows they can't subdivide it."

Killbuck Watershed Land Trust in its 20th year

The Killbuck Watershed Land Trust was started by Maryanna Biggio, attorney Ron Holtman and Amish author David Kline. Now in its 20th year, there are 10 board members and Carmel. All are volunteers.

"Most of the work falls on our shoulders," said Carmel.

Board member Karen Goddard, who by day works for the Holmes County Soil and Water Conservation District, says Carmel does more than his fair share.

"He's so passionate about it, even in retirement he's out there doing hands-on things, not just writing easements," said Goddard. "He recognizes something unique and of value, and he preserves the area. He wants to lock it up so it can't be subdivided. ... He just exudes passion about conservation across the board."

To date, the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust has over 10,000 acres of easements in Wayne, Holmes, Richland, Ashland and Coshocton counties.

"Wayne and Holmes are the predominant counties, properties in the Killbuck Watershed," said Carmel. "But, we conserve land outside the Killbuck Watershed if farmers come to us."

Retired science teacher at Wooster High School

Carmel, who spent his working years as a science teacher at Wooster High School before retiring in 2015, always has had an interest in areas with rare plants and animals. As a teacher, he became involved with the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust project called Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, an area right on the Holmes and Knox County border along the railroad grade going out of Glenmont.

"Native Americans used to burn off the landscape to keep areas open for bison and elk, which like open areas, and were once native to Ohio," said Carmel. "When the white settlers moved in, they burned too, as they learned fire is a very useful tool."

One of the areas that turned into a prairie due to continued burning was what is now called Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, with barren describing the landscape. Instead of a wooded forest, it was filled with native prairie plants, most of which are now gone from Ohio's countryside.

"When I was teaching, we'd take the students down there and collect seeds from prairie plants growing along the railroad grade," said Carmel. "The students would stratify the seeds and grow them in our greenhouses and in the spring, we'd take them back down there and plant them and watch them expand the size of the barren by plugging these plants in.

"At one time in the early 2000s, it was still open and had a lot of rare prairie plants."

Maintains the Brinkhaven Oak Barrens

Carmel to this day continues to maintain the Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, as he can't let the teacher in him go. The Brinkhaven Oak Barren is 114 acres, features more than two dozen rare plants and last year was dedicated as a state nature preserve.

Since the dedication, Carmel has been able to get help from the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserve Association.

"They're statewide, and they get teams of volunteers to come and help," said Carmel. "We have a big volunteer day in October, and this year it'll either be the second or third weekend in October."

Currently, Carmel is working on qualifying for a Clean Ohio grant to preserve a wetland area near the village of Killbuck.

"It's 150 acres, it's a big project, and it would be big for our organization," said Carmel. "We're also working to solicit donations from the public for an endowment to help pay to maintain it."

The project, along with all the others Carmel has worked on, is just another example of his dedication to keep Wayne and Holmes counties from turning into suburbia.

"I volunteer because I want to keep these areas rural," said Carmel. "Writing land easements is just one tool to do that.

"We also advise landowners on oil and gas wells and timbering. We want them to at least consult with us first.

"We work with the farmers so they aren't changing the land and doing something for short-term profit."

Thanks to Randy Carmel, and folks like him, progress sometimes is taking a step back in time.

Name: Randy Carmel

Age: 61

Residence: Holmes County

Years volunteering: 12

Why volunteer? “Because I care about our local natural heritage and realize its importance to quality of life. I'm a former science teacher and this keeps me active and utilizing my strengths in the fields of biology and ecology.”