MANSFIELD – More than 200 acres of wetland in northeast Richland County may be preserved from development using state grant funds.
The West Creek Conservancy is seeking to purchase 209 acres in Weller Township, nicknamed the Black Fork Mohican Wetland Preserve.
The nonprofit land conservancy purchases vacant urban landscapes and undeveloped land to protect natural wildlife and habitats by preventing development.
The conservancy has done other work in the area, including the Clear Fork Conservation Project, Oxbow Wetlands Preserve and Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area.
The Richland County Commissioners voted Thursday on a resolution expressing support for the conservation and preservation of the wetland.
The conservancy applied for the Clean Ohio green space grant and came to the commissioners to get a resolution confirming county support.
“It’s a pretty significant wetland area, which is the reason for our interest in this property,” said Joe Leslie, West Creek Conservancy’s director of real estate. “It’s a requirement (with Clean Ohio) to have a resolution of support from not only the community, the township or city, but also the county.”
Clean Ohio is part of the Ohio Public Works Commission, “offering grants to protect conservation properties in perpetuity,” its website says.
One member of the Weller Township Board of Trustees was less enthusiastic.
“We’re not really excited, just from the standpoint of potentially lost tax revenue, but ultimately, we feel that if this is the wish of the landowner, that we really don’t have any good arguments not to comply,” said Weller Township Trustee Board At-Large member Dale Hulit.
“(Though), if we’re going to lose a farm, it’s probably a good one to lose because there’s very little productive land on that farm.”
The wetlands’ connection to Black Fork River causes about 60 percent of the property to flood when the river gets backed up, Hulit said.
Upon the official transfer of the property, West Creek Conservancy will prohibit all development and camping on the wetland. The family that has owned the property for roughly 60 years has been one of the conservancy’s biggest supporters in this effort.
“We have a family that’s very interested in conservation, that have stuck with us (while) we put an extension in place, allowing us time to put this application in with Clean Ohio,” Leslie said.
Along with preservation, Leslie said West Creek Conservancy wants the public to enjoy the wetlands. Though it will not be a park, families, locals and anybody else will be able to access the land.
