ASHLAND — Hikers, bikers and hunters could soon have more land in the Mohican-Memorial State Forest to enjoy.
Ashland County commissioners signed a letter of approval Thursday for a project that could lead to the expansion of 116 acres for the Mohican-Memorial State Forest.
Kevin Joyce, project manager for the Trust for Public Land, said the land — currently owned privately — is located on the southern tip of the 4,500-acre state forest.
The Trust for Public Land is a nonprofit organization that works to secure funding for the transferring of private land to public land like parks and green spaces.
Joyce said the organization hopes to secure funding for this project through an appropriation from the state’s general assembly and through a grant from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.
The value of the property is still unknown. Joyce said it is currently under the process of being appraised. He hopes the appraisal to be complete by March 18, the deadline for applying for state money.
“The owners would like to see the land kept undeveloped, and it was their idea to transfer ownership of the property to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources,” according to a brochure on the project.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources owns and manages Mohican-Memorial State Forest.
A map of the land places it between township roads 3364 and 3414, or about a mile from the county’s border with Knox County.
Chad Sanders, manager of the Mohican-Memorial State Forest, said the land is a young forest, made up primarily of soft maple and poplar.
“It was a farm field back in the (1930s and 1940s), most of it, and so it’s reverted farm land,” Sanders said, adding the property is mostly flat with some rolling hills throughout.
The land — currently occupied by a storage Columbia gas well — would join the forest’s network of bridle, hiking, snowmobile and mountain biking trails. It would also be open for public hunting grounds, Sanders said.
Joyce said local support for this project could lead to better outcomes in securing funds from the general assembly and Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. He declined to comment on any entities that may oppose the project.
He said the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce has also signed a letter of support and is awaiting a response from the Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District.
