putinbayreservations.com is proud to present this piece from the Put-in-Bay Gazette. For the best South Bass Island journalism, visit putinbay.news and subscribe to the Gazette today!
Duff Vineyard Update – Newest Island Preserve!
The Put-in-Bay Township Park District and the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy are excited to report that the purchase of the 11-acre Duff Vineyard was finalized on Thursday, March 27th. A few weeks prior, funding for the purchase was still short, but on March 4th the Park District of Ottawa County approved an additional $50,000.00 from their Land Protection Fund that sealed the acquisition of the Duff Vineyard.
$175,000 in no interest loans from private individuals and entities, donations, a Clean Ohio Conservation Fund Grant, a Randolph J. and Estelle M. Dorn Foundation grant and funding from the Park District of Ottawa County also helped the Put-in-Bay Township Park District raise $1.1 million to acquire the Duff property. The PIB Twp. Park District and the LEIC are very grateful to the Park District of Ottawa County for their continued generosity and to all the others who helped financially.
Donations are still welcome! We would like to have as little debt as possible!
If you would like to be a part of this lasting legacy, your donation would be gratefully accepted. Checks should be written to Put-in-Bay Township Park District. Note “Duff Fund” in the memo of your check. Any donation over $100 will receive a Conservancy 2025 calendar or a Conservancy tote bag.
Donations can also be made by using the QR code below.
A dedication of the property will be held August 3rd, 2025 at 2 p.m. Those who sponsored vineyard rows will have their names affixed to the vineyard end posts before the dedication. Special recognition will be made of those who donated or assisted.
Watch for details of a special celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy at their annual meeting on Sunday, September 14, 2025 to be held at the Duff Vineyard Preserve! We hope to have a meal and celebration worthy of the hard work of this past quarter of a century!
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
