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She said MetroParks is also working with the state of Ohio, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Three Valley Conservation Trust to implement a protection plan for the Salamander Run Project. MetroParks will assume stewardship of the site located at 4821 Layhigh Road, which includes unique habitat diversity and serves as a refuge for many noteworthy wildlife species, including Streamside Salamanders and Blue Spotted Salamanders.
Barkley said the property is one of the largest undeveloped acreages in the Paddy’s Run Conservation Project Area. The agreement is a product of a natural resources damages settlement between the state and the USDOE regarding contamination at Fernald and is funded by a $13 million settlement fund that was established to protect and improve the Paddy’s Run watershed and the underlying Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer.
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She said the agreement is being accomplished through the purchase of conservation easements and fee-simple property, along with habitat restoration.
Barkley said adding Salamander Run to MetroParks has been in the works since 2014, when MetroParks’ commissioners executed a donation agreement to accept Salamander Run Preserve from Three Valley Conservation Trust, which acquired the land in early 2014 purchased with Fernald Settlement Funds through the Ohio EPA. The Fernald Natural Resource Trustees also provided acquisition expenses, closing costs, a legal and monitoring endowment and funding for Three Valley.
She said the Three Valley Conservation Trust and Fernald Trustees paid $549,456 for the property and invested more than $464,544 in improvements prior to completing this easement. MetroParks current investment will be that of estimated closing costs of $3,000. Additionally, upon transfer of the property to MetroParks, $80,000 from the restoration budget will be transferred to MetroParks to facilitate post-closing habitat restoration projects.
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Barkley said the area will be managed as a nature preserve and be open to the public at specific times through scheduled conservation and educational programming. To date, while habitat restoration was underway, MetroParks has already held numerous educational programs at the site.
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