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Preservation Parks acquires land for new county preserve Preservation Parks acquires land for new county preserve Originally appeared on "columbuslocalnews.com" By LAURA ENGLEHART February 4, 2010 Preservation Parks of Delaware County has purchased 104 acres of land to build a new district park in eastern Liberty Township. The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization for land conservation, facilitated the purchase of the $5.2 million property from National City Bank, to which the property was entrusted. To purchase the property, Preservation Parks used $930,000 of tax revenue from the levy approved in 2008. It also worked with the Trust for Public Land to secure $1.2 million in grants from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund and $70,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as well as an eight-year, $3 million loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The Trust for Public Land typically gets involved in complex transactions such as this one, said Neal Hess, project manager for the nonprofit's Ohio office. Hess said the funding structure and price tag on the property made it a complicated project, but it's a benefit for Delaware County in the end. "I think it's just a really fantastic process, and as Delaware County continues to grow, I think that this (property) is going to be a treasure for the citizens and residents," he said. The tract of land -- and another 79 acres already acquired by Preservation Parks -- will combine for a new park, Big Run Preserve. It's scheduled to open in 2012 in Liberty Township and a portion of Orange Township, west of U.S. Route 23 and south of Hyatts Road, said Rita Au, executive director of Preservation Parks. That would add to the district's eight other parks, which preserve more than 1,000 acres of land in the county. The recently purchased property sustains agricultural fields, but also cliffs, waterfalls, glacial remnants and tributaries that flow into the Olentangy River. Au said the stream corridor with its cliffs and shale bottom is unusual for Delaware County. Preservation Parks will protect those features and also prevent further agricultural runoff, enhancing the quality of the river and the water downstream. Au said the parks district cannot develop more than 20 percent of any property. Preservation Parks will add walking trails to sections of the land. Au said trails would extend from a parking lot built on the former agricultural fields to minimize impact on the environment. "We're going to utilize the agricultural fields -- that would be the best place for (a parking lot and trails), because we won't have to cut down any trees or destroy any habitats," she said. The parks district also plans to restore the agricultural fields to prairie. "Agricultural practices are not particularly kind to the land, so we'll be restoring those lands that were a monoculture to having native grasses and prairie seeds," Au said. Parts of Big Run Preserve are scheduled to open in 2012, but Au said any development on the 104-acre property might not be completed until a later date.
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