Conservancy group hopes to preserve property near Richland B&O Trail

MANSFIELD - The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is looking to create a nearly 300-acre land conservancy in the area where Springfield, Troy, Washington and Madison townships meet, just west of the Mansfield City limits on the city’s south side.

Agency officials outlined plans for the Niss Waterfall Preserve at Monday’s regular meeting of the Madison Township trustees.

Conservancy vice president for western field operations, Andy McDowell, told trustees his organization is planning to apply for a grant from the Clean Ohio Conservancy Fund to buy four parcels that formerly made up the Weaver farm, near the intersection of South Home Road and Marion Avenue. The land, which is owned by Niss Marion LLC of Mansfield, is just east of Deer Park and partly abuts the Richland B&O Trail.

McDowell said Western Reserve is asking Madison trustees for a formal resolution of support to include with its grant application to Clean Ohio. If the application is approved, the goal is to have the land open as a public preserve once the conservancy determines what type of trails and facilities are needed.

“It looked better about a half-dozen years ago than it does now, but a lot of timber was removed recently,” McDowell said. “Based on my walk of the property, the seed base is pretty well intact and a lot of the young growth coming up is representative of the tree species that were there before.”

McDowell did not say how much the conservancy is looking to pay for the property. However, he pointed out that the B&O Trail is one of the most active bike paths in the county and that there is interest by the City of Mansfield to connect with other bike trails in the area.

Officials are seeking formal resolutions of support from Madison Township, Washington Township — where part of the property is located — and the Richland County commissioners. They are scheduled to meet with Washington Township trustees on June 21, and with county commissioners on June 26.

Richland County commissioners recently voted to support a similar application by the Richland County Park District for a Clean Ohio grant to buy Camp Mowana on Fleming Falls Road just off U.S. 42 near the Richland-Ashland county line.

Madison trustees indicated they support the application for the Niss conservancy project but did not want to act on a resolution until they’ve done more review.

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“I’d like to have (Richland County) Regional Planning look at this to see if this is a good idea or not,” said trustees chairman Dan Fletcher.

McDowell pointed out that Regional Planning is part of the grant review process for Clean Ohio and suggested that trustees show support before the commissioners, if they don’t approve a formal resolution before their first regular meeting in July. Officials also said that while establishing a conservancy would prevent the property from being developed and eventually result in a property tax exemption, the township would get still get some one-time money.

“There’s somewhat of a windfall in tax payment because a CAUV (Current Agricultural Use Value) recoup would be made,” said Joe Leslie, director of acquisitions for Western Reserve. “They would go back in time about three years for the discount and it’s a sizeable amount of money in this case.”

The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is the largest land trust in Ohio and is in the top 10 in the nation. It stretches from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border to Toledo on the north, and from Richland and Ashland counties to Jefferson and Columbiana counties on the south side.

The agency has preserved more than 50,000 acres of land through private land conservation leases, and has acquired land for agencies such as park districts, the Ohio Division of Wildlife and itself.

The Clean Ohio Fund was authorized by a public vote in 2000 to create and preserve green space, and has been renewed several times since. Money for projects comes from state issued bonds.