As Portage County continues to grow and develop, it is important to balance that growth with appropriate conservation of our natural and cultural heritage.  This draft plan was developed over the past year with input from community meetings across the county, and consultation with professionals in the field of parks and conservation.  It represents a combination of scientific natural resource information, consideration of local land use plans, and recommendations and comments from the public.  The Park District made notice of the planning project to news media throughout the process, postings on its web site, and through presentations at various community meetings.

As a county-level conceptual long-range plan, the ideas proposed do not always have specific boundaries, nor detailed planning to determine the feasibility of implementation.  To develop actual projects, additional investigation and planning would be needed, including consultation and agreements with landowners and local officials. 

Conservation of our natural and cultural heritage and the creation of parks and trails provide many important environmental, social, health and economic benefits.  Lack of conservation practices can result in lowered water quality, increased flooding and loss of wildlife, which affects our health and quality of life, and can lead to increased infrastructure costs. Parks and trails offer free places for people to enjoy nature through healthy recreation, while enhancing the attractiveness of our area for business and tourism.

This Plan is intended to be used as a reference guide to opportunities that could be pursued by a variety of partners.  These partners include: private landowners simply managing their land with good conservation practices or entering voluntary land protection agreements, consideration of trails and conservation as part of public infrastructure or private development projects, or non-profit conservation organizations and public agencies acquiring important conservation land and trail corridors from willing sellers and donors. The opportunities shown do not obligate action, nor guarantee that all the opportunities shown will be pursued.

The following definitions describe the concepts shown on the map:

Proposed greenway opportunities: These areas identify land that has significant conservation value due to the existence of high quality natural areas important for wildlife habitat, water quality protection and/or stormwater management.  The greenway layer was developed from mapping of critical natural resources originally identified as part of the County Watersheds Plan, (www.co.portage.oh.us/watershedmaps.htm), completed in 2006, in which aerial photos, wetlands maps and other information were used to identify significant woodland and wetlands systems. No assertions are made in regards to the specific accuracy of these maps at the parcel level, nor should they be used as a means of delineating wetlands or floodplains.

Proposed on-road routes and off-road trails:  These routes were identified to provide healthy recreation and alternative transportation opportunities for hiking and biking, with connections to community centers, schools, parks, businesses and neighborhoods.  Off-road trails are identified along corridors such as railroads, utility rights of way and rivers, and would need the cooperation of public and private landowners along the way. 
Off-road trails are preferable to on-road routes for safety reasons, however whenever off-road routes are not possible, on-road routes may be signed or improved to better accommodate cyclists.

For more information, please contact Christine Craycroft, Executive Director Portage Park District 330-297-7728; ccraycroft@portageparkdistrict.org