Wayne, Stark conservation projects to get funding from state
Several projects in Wayne and Stark counties are expecting funds from the Ohio Public Works Commission's Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program.
The state commission announced Wednesday plans to provide about $8 million in grants to various environmental conservation projects across the state. Projects are vetted by Ohio's 19 regional natural resource assistance councils.
In Wayne County, the city of Orrville is expected to get $200,000 in grant money to help with the Heartland Trail wetlands and greenspace project.
Ashley Ellrod, program representative for the Ohio Public Works Commission, said this project involves a 22-acre property located on Collins Boulevard. The completed Heartland Trail will connect to the Ohio-to-Erie Trail, which runs from the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Lake Erie in Cleveland. It will also be a part of the Great American Rail Trail, which runs from Washington, D.C., to Washington State.
Another project, the Killbuck Creek Headwaters Preserve, is slated to receive $457,300. The project is a partnership between the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Natural Areas Land Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The organizations will acquire roughly 43 acres of agricultural land in Canaan Township.
The project will "allow for the restoration of the wet fields to create wetlands, upland grass and wildflower habitat and expand the riparian forest buffer," Ellrod said.
She said the goal is to create about 6.6 acres of wetlands, 4.1 acres of riparian forest buffer, and 28.2 aces of upland grass and wildflowers. It aims to increase native habitat to improve water quality and wildlife.
Stark County projects also receiving grants
The Western Reserve Land Conservancy expects to get nearly $500,000 to help pay for the purchase of more than 150 acres of woodlands in Stark County's Lawrence Township that will eventually become a public park.
Andy McDowell of Western Reserve Land Conservancy said in an email that these funds, combined with grant money from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act program, will enable the organization to buy the property.
The purchase is expected to happen this summer.
The property belongs to Carl Dorn, a retired postal carrier who inherited it from his aunt. Dorn made a deal with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in 2019 to put an easement on the property to prevent it from being developed.
Stark County's Plain Township will acquire a 19.7-acre property to preserve as greenspace.
The land, currently owned by Compassion Church, will be purchased by Plain Township for $550,000 using a combination of grants from the Ohio Public Works Commission and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.
"Between the two (grants), it will cover the entire purchase price with closing and all that stuff for that property," township Trustee Scott Haws said.
The property abuts Veterans Park in Plain Township and will ultimately become an addition to the park for passive recreation. Haws said previous studies conducted on the land found quality wetlands and several rare bats species living there. Township officials do not expect the property to incur significant operational costs, he said, as the goal is to preserve the land in its natural state.
"Knowing how much development has happened in Plain Township and knowing how limited amount of greenspace is really left, (we) saw this as an opportunity," Haws said.
The township will have the ability to go back one time and request additional funding through the Ohio Public Works Commission for improvements to the land such as foresting certain types of trees or putting in a boardwalk for nature observers.
Haws estimated the township will close on the property in March.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577, pmbennett@gannett.com or on Twitter @paigembenn.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wayne, Stark counties receive grant funds for conservation projects
