David Melick Protects His Family’s 126-Acre Farm with a Conservation Easement

David Melick’s farm, located in the northwest corner of Burlington Twp along the North Fork of the Licking River, has been in the Melick family since the 1870s. In December 2022, the Licking Land Trust placed a conservation easement on all 126 acres of the farm. A mix of forest and field, the farm is unique and has an interesting story to tell.

Back in the 1960s the Army Corps of Engineers proposed the construction of a reservoir in the northern section of Licking County along the North Fork of the Licking River. The idea was that a dam and reservoir would provide flood control for the City of Newark. The Melicks, in particular Aunt Gertrude, were concerned the farm would be submerged by this reservoir. They fought to protect their land. They argued that the reservoir wasn’t necessary and by the Corps’ own analysis would only have provided one inch in flood reduction for the city of Newark downstream. In the end, the Corps, determined that the soils and geology of the area posed too many obstacles to the reservoir project…or that’s how the story goes.

David Melick was a young man when this was all the locals could talk about. He remembers how clearly it impacted his family and how it further instilled a love of the farm and a desire to protect it in perpetuity. As Dave recalls, “grandpa and dad used to always say that they aren’t making good farm land anymore.”

Fast forward to 2019 when Dave reached out to LLT to inquire about placing a conservation easement on his property. The moment board member Doug Spieles and I stepped out of the car, we knew this property was special. During our initial visit we learned about the reservoir project, a certified American Indian mound and a pair of nesting bald eagles. Dave told us about his childhood visiting the farm and the land ethic of his family. To Dave, conserving the family farm was never up for debate.