Common Ground - Western Reserve Land Conservancy

A family’s generosity has permanently
preserved one of Ohio’s largest and
best remaining old-growth forests.
Johnson Woods, a 155-acre tract
in Wayne County, was a gift to the
Ohio Division of Natural Areas and
Preserves from Clela Johnson and
her family in memory of Clela’s late
husband, Andrew C. Johnson. In
addition to the gift, the family sold
51 acres of adjacent old-growth
forest to the state; the land was
purchased with donations from the
checkoff on Ohio Income Tax forms.
According to the Ohio Department
of Natural Resources, many trees in
Johnson Woods rise 40-50 feet before
the first limbs are present. Several
trees are more than 400 years old.
Some trees in this forest are 120 feet
tall and have a diameter of 4 to 5
feet; the largest trees are white oaks,
red oaks and hickories.
The site survived the sawmills of
the Depression era of America due
to Anna (Graber) Johnson, the
mother of Andrew Johnson. While
the property today is commonly
referred to as the “Big Woods,” the
woodland historically was known as
Graber Woods. Its significance was
recognized by renowned ecologist
Dr. E. Lucy Braun, who studied the
property.
Some trees in Johnson Woods, right, are
more than 400 years old.
38 CHAPTER 4 THE BENEFITS OF LAND CONSERVATION
Saving ‘Big Woods’ was a family affair
© DAVID LIAM KYLE
air and provide oxygen. And the benefits are significant:
Cleveland Metroparks reservations together create a value of
$63.9 million per year in air pollution removal.
The economic benefits of land conservation can often be
hard to quantify. At this time, there is no one study that can
be used to fully identify the economic value of our preserved
land to our region. The examples above do give an idea of
the benefits in some local areas that can be extrapolated for
our larger region.
Preserved land, preserved wildlife
Northern Ohio is rich in wildlife and wild species.
The Natural Heritage Database for our region lists more
than 400 unique species, including 16 known federally
endangered species and 41 known federally threatened
species. Sixty-seven percent of the 3,376 natural heritage
records – known locations of rare plant and animal species –
for our region occur on park, protected or managed land.
Northern Ohio’s success with the recovery of declining
and extirpated species, including brook trout, Lake Erie
water snake, the bald eagle, the snowshoe hare and the
Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, is in part attributed to the
preservation of natural habitats. Black bear have been seen
in the eastern portion of the region.
There is a reason why Cleveland, in the heart of our region,
is known as The Forest City. If not for preserved land,
however, the forests that catch the attention of first-time
visitors to the region might be far less impressive.
Fifty-two percent of the forest land in our region is on park,
protected or managed land, based on the 2006 National
Land Cover Dataset. Our region’s mature forests -- those
with canopy heights of 90 feet or taller – cover less than
1% of our land. An additional 12% of our land has canopy
heights between 60 and 90 feet. Of our region’s tallest trees
– those more than 90 feet high -- nearly 30% grow on park,
protected or managed land.
What does conservation have to do
with community?
A community’s livability is based on many things, but the
existence of parks, open space and agricultural land is
always a positive factor. Farmland and parks are a tangible