Common Ground - Western Reserve Land Conservancy

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KEN WOOD Bruce Springsteen played there. So did Frank Sinatra. And Michael Jordan. But when the Richfield Coliseum closed its doors in 1994, the building’s future was punctuated with far more question marks than stars. What do you do with a vacant 20,000-seat arena, a hulking concrete structure in the middle of a Summit County meadow? Some 60 parties approached Coliseum owners George and Gordon Gund about buying the 327-acre site. There were proposals for a mega-mall, an office park and a housing development – each of which posed a threat to the neighboring Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, now the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A National Park Service study showed that a shopping center would bring another 15,000 cars a day to the area. At the urging of local residents and leaders, The Trust for Public Land acquired the property, demolished the vacant arena, and transferred ownership to the national park. Today, the grassy 14 CHAPTER 2 WHERE WE STAND Birders now flock to place that once rocked Courtesy Cleveland Press Collection/Cleveland State University The Richfield Coliseum, above, and the property as it looks today, top. meadow is popular with birders; the Eastern meadowlark, American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, bobolink, turkey vulture, Henslow’s sparrow, Savannah sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, sedge wren and American goldfinch have been spotted there. “By returning the land to its natural state, we helped ease the imminent threat of sprawl that would have impacted the small CVNP communities and the surrounding area,” says Pamela A. Carson, director of TPL’s Ohio office. The Coliseum project is one of nearly 100 completed by TPL since it began working in Ohio in 1974. 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s 1900s Pre-1900 Unknown Land Protected & the Events that Influenced Land Protection CleanOhioprogram approved by Ohio voters - 2000 Ohio legislationallows landowners to create agricultural districts - 1982 Nonprofit Groups start holding conservation easements - 1980’s Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area created - 1974 Creation of Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund - 1964 Ohio Department of Natural Resources established - 1949 First Ohio wildlife area purchased with hunting/fishing license fee money - 1920 Cleveland Metroparks becomes first metropolitan park district - 1917 Ohio Commission of Fish & Game responsible for lakes & public parks-1902 First park district -Mill Creek Park -established - 1891 Ohio Fish Commission established - 1873 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000
even before it was a National Recreational Area. OARDC in Wooster is a national leader in agricultural innovation. Private land owners have been critical to the preservation, protection and enhancement of Ohio’s resources. Many have worked with local, regional, state or federal agencies to create parkland on their properties either through sales or donations. Other landowners have maintained ownership while donating or selling conservation easements restricting the development rights on the properties in perpetuity. Still others contribute to conservation through volunteering with land-protection agencies or organizations and through monetary donations for land-preservation projects. Public funding milestones Public funding has been critical to land conservation in our region throughout our history. Some of the earliest parks were established and maintained through government agencies, including the city parks in our region. In 1917, through the efforts of William Stinchcomb and the Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio passed a law allowing for the formation of regional park districts that included the authority to levy taxes to pay for their operations. Since the law was passed, each county in our study area has established a park board. Many, but not all, of these park boards are levy supported. In the counties that are levy supported, citizens value the districts so strongly that they regularly vote to tax themselves to build and maintain the parks. Much of our region’s state park land was acquired starting in the 1930s and 1940s. At this time, many of the large lakes were being built to expand fishing opportunities in the state, so some of the park funding was generated through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. This type of revenue stream continues to support our state’s open spaces. In 1965, the federal government enacted the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Its purpose is to “help preserve, develop, and assure access to outdoor recreation facilities to strengthen the health of U.S. citizens.” Northern Ohio has received LWCF funding for projects since 1968. Funds from this source were used by local, regional and state park districts to continue protecting land in the Cuyahoga Valley prior to the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. This money has also been used through the area to create and expand other public parks, including Euclid © DAVID LIAM KYLE $45,000,000 $40,000,000 $35,000,000 $30,000,000 $25,000,000 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $5,000,000 $0 Source: Clean Ohio Clean Ohio Funding for Region 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year Clean Ohio $ 2002 - $ 30,865,886 2003 - $ 22,528,993 2004 - $ 3,210,311 2005 - $ 30,514,292 2006 - $ 12,633,945 2007 - $ 29,257,101 2008 - $ 5,356,826 2009 - $ 40,585,270 2010 - $ 33,738,021 2011 - $ 8,480,540 CHAPTER 2 WHERE WE STAND 15
Page 2 and 3: © DAVID LIAM KYLE
Page 4 and 5: © DAVID LIAM KYLE 4 TABLE OF CONTE
Page 6 and 7: © DAVID LIAM KYLE At A Glance * Si
Page 8 and 9: In 1905, Cleveland was the nation
Page 10 and 11: AMANDA SKINGEL At A Glance * About
Page 12 and 13: AMANDA SKINGEL term. According to t
Page 16 and 17: Greenway now links Ashtabula, Warre
Page 18 and 19: 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 49.1% Op
Page 20 and 21: © DAVID LIAM KYLE 20 CHAPTER 2 WHE
Page 22 and 23: At A Glance * The number of acres o
Page 24 and 25: 24 CHAPTER 3 HOW AND WHY LAND IS PR
Page 26 and 27: Landowners, state protect Pymatunin
Page 28 and 29: © DAVID LIAM KYLE Dike 14, about a
Page 30 and 31: © DAVID LIAM KYLE The more than 3,
Page 32 and 33: 32 Stories of conservation 1. The 1
Page 34 and 35: At A Glance * A study showed that t
Page 36 and 37: © DAVID LIAM KYLE an active lifest
Page 38 and 39: A family’s generosity has permane
Page 40 and 41: © DAVID LIAM KYLE Each November, a
Page 42 and 43: © DAVID LIAM KYLE 42 CHAPTER 4 THE
Page 44 and 45: At A Glance * The scarcity of publi
Page 46 and 47: KEN WOOD She keeps watch over our i
Page 48 and 49: © DAVID LIAM KYLE A grave marker a
Page 50 and 51: Population 1970: 4,219,345 Source:
Page 52 and 53: 52 CHAPTER 5 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTU
Page 54 and 55: nonprofit-owned lands, as well as f
Page 56 and 57: 56 CHAPTER 5 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTU
Page 58 and 59: © DAVID LIAM KYLE 58 CHAPTER 6 CON
Page 60 and 61: 60 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMAR
Page 62 and 63: 62 Thank you We Ashland County Park
Page 64:
64 Printed on recycled paper with s
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