The Portage Park District’s mission to preserve natural land, especially that in the Eagle Creek Watershed, continued in partnership with the Portage Land Bank as it recently purchased three parcels of land that total 10 acres has consisting of the Eagle Creek flood plains in Windham Township for $860.
“Our entire mission is rooted in conservation so the mission of the Portage Park District is to conserve our rich, natural heritage and provide opportunities for its appreciation and enjoyment,” Portage Park District Education & Youth Outreach Manager Jennifer White told The Weekly Villager on May 29.
White said that the Portage Park District successfully made the acquisition drawing upon funds from its general fund.
According to White, the Portage Land Bank reached out to the Portage Park District about purchasing the land because of its interest in watershed conservation.
“Our natural areas team went out to look at it, it was a very nice section of Eagle Creek with its associated flood plain. Our board looked at that information and agreed that this fits within our mission,” she added. “This is part of the greater Eagle Creek watershed protection; this is an opportunity to preserve this section of land for future generations and for improved water quality in the community.”
White said that the Portage Land Bank has been an important ally in the Portage Park District’s watershed conservation mission.
“We have a good relationship with the Portage County Land Bank so they understand what our mission is and will occasionally reach out if a parcel comes up that they think would be a good fit for the park,” she added,
White noted that the Eagle Creek watershed is part of a chain of watersheds throughout the State of Ohio.
“Eagle Creek is part of the Mahoning River Watershed, and we currently have another parcel that will eventually become a park. That is in Hiram and it is part of Eagle Creek, which also runs through that parcel,” White added.
White said that Eagle Creek exists as a watershed for the Silver Creek, and Eagle Creek empties into the Mahoning River while the Mahoning River acts as a watershed for the Ohio River.
The three parcels of land that the Park District purchased is made up of Eagle Creek and the Eagle Creek’s flood plains, an area of land adjacent to the river. She said that although it is a small piece of land, it is part of a bigger picture of preserving land for the sake of maintaining the environment, not just for the benefit of building a new park.
White said that the Portage Park District found the land to be in good shape and that there was no immediate clean-up that was required.
“We are not taking away from any sort of residential or commercial development that could happen within the Township, but we are making sure that section is not impacted in a negative way,” she added.
White acknowledged that the land is too small for any development, but the Park District’s key purpose for acquiring the land was to protect it from any sort of invasive species.
White said that preserving natural land is part of the bigger picture of the Portage Park District’s priorities/
“We start with conservation in mind. That is the driver behind the decisions that we make about property acquisition, but we are not accepting all parcels,” she noted. “We are not purchasing everything that comes our way, we are instead being purposeful and thoughtful about which parcels we are acquiring, for what purpose and how they fit into the larger conservation puzzle in Portage County.”
She added that the Windham Township’s parcel fits into that puzzle of Portage County because of its connection to Eagle Creek.
“We have got these various sections,” White added. “Our park property that is in Hiram Township, the Hiram College property — that is protected. The Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve, that is protected. All of those are part of the Eagle Creek Watershed. This is just another very small way we can impact the environment by preserving that section of the creek.”
