Recent open space acquisitions

The following is a round-up of open space protection projects completed recently in Northeast Ohio. The land preservation deals involved the participation of local land trusts, environmental groups, governments and funds from the state and/or the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit organization working to conserve and protect land for human enjoyment and well-being.

Grant awarded to create Avon Lake park

A $1.25 million grant from the $400 million Clean Ohio Conservation Fund has been awarded for the creation of a public park in the heart of the City of Avon Lake. The award will enable a partnership of TPL, the Avon Lake Save the Woods Committee, the Lorain County Metro Parks, and the City of Avon Lake to acquire a 70-acre property of woodlands and streams. The City of Avon Lake and Lorain County Metro Parks will provide the matching funds required by the grant. More...

Historic Henninger House saved in Parma

Built in 1849 by Bavarian immigrants, Henninger House
is the oldest home in Parma, Cleveland's largest suburb.
It will become a landmark along the new West Creek
Preserve and Greenway, which will eventually encompass
more than 400 acres and will be an anchor site of the
new Quarry Creek Historic District. On May 5th (2003), the Trust for Public Land and the citizen-led West Creek Preservation Committee dedicated the deed to the historic Henninger House to the City of Parma at an event celebrating its preservation.

Protecting 574 acres at Geauga County's Bass Lake

The creation of Bass Lake Preserve, near the town of Chardon, is one of largest conservation projects in Northeast Ohio in recent decades. Bass Lake offers serene waters and shoreline for recreation, and is home to a nesting pair of bald eagles. The new public nature preserve surrounds the 160-acre Bass Lake, which is at the headwaters of the Chagrin River. Working with other partners, such as the Geauga Park District and Chagrin River Land Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land purchased the land in February 2003 with funds from the Ohio EPA's Water Resource Restoration Sponsorship Program, and transferred the land to the Geauga Park District, which will manage and preserve the property as a park. More...

Saving 98 acres of Burton headwaters land

Burton Township, the City of Akron, and the Trust for Public Land completed a deal in January (2003) to preserve 98 acres in the heart of rural Geauga County. The property will become a park for local residents connecting two of the townships most notable historical featuresa Revolutionary War cemetery and Veterans Memorial Park. Preservation of this site helps to maintain the history and rural landscape of Geauga County, protects a highly productive groundwater system, and protects wildlife habitat for a diversity of bird species, including the Ohio State Endangered Sedge Wren. More...

Ward Property in Newbury

The following is a recent (May 2003) land conservation deal involving the Chagrin River Land Conservancy (CRLC), a private, nonprofit conservation organization that works with landowners to preserve the scenic beauty, rural character and natural resources of the Chagrin River watershed.

Several years ago, the Chagrin River Land Conservancy began talking to Grace Ward about her spectacular 98-acre property in Newbury. After extensive negotiations, Ward sold her property to CRLC at "a bargain" to honor the memory of her husband who loved the land and had always wanted it to be preserved. The Land Protection Fund, coupled with financing from Sky Bank, gave CRLC the ability to acquire this beautiful parcel. Subsequently, the CRLC replenished it's investment by transferring the property to conservation buyers, Rick and Marilyn Hyde. Today the property is permanently protected by a perpetual conservation easement held by CRLC.

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EcoCity Cleveland
3500 Lorain Avenue, Suite 301, Cleveland OH 44113
Cuyahoga Bioregion
(216) 961-5020
www.ecocitycleveland.org
Copyright 2002-2003

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Bass Lake: Protecting critical headwaters
of the Chagrin River.