Plain Township opens 47-acre wetlands park as officials push to preserve green space

In a largely developed Stark County community, Plain Township officials are making a new push to preserve some of the green space that remains.

The township this week opened the Plain Township Wetlands Reserve, a 47-acre property just off Applegrove Street and Marquardt Avenue NW that officials purchased to conserve its natural habitat and wildlife.

For nearby resident Allyson Drinkard, the property has already become a place to enjoy the outdoors.

Its absolutely gorgeous the way that the fog settles in on the valley, Drinkard said.

Drinkard lives across the street and said she and her family regularly walk the old paths behind her home, an area the township is also targeting for preservation.

We have the great privilege of being able to walk around on the old pathways, and every day, were out there in the morning taking a walk with our dogs, she said.

The township paid $900,000 for the wetlands reserve property, but Trustee Scott Hawes said local taxpayers did not have to cover the purchase price. 75% of the funding came from the Clean Ohio Fund, with the remaining 25% coming from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.

The 75 and the 25 makes 100% funding to where it literally has cost our local taxpayers not even a single penny, Hawes said.

Plain Township covers about 28 square miles and is home to roughly 54,000 people. Much of the community is already developed with homes and businesses, making the remaining undeveloped land increasingly important to local officials.

In Plain Township, weve been blessed. Weve seen a lot of development, but also, needing to strike the balance, and theres a limited amount left, Hawes said.

Hawes said preserving natural areas can provide benefits beyond recreation and conservation. Wetlands can also help mitigate flooding.

The township eventually hopes to add paths and potentially a boardwalk through the property. Hawes said that could also turn the preserve into an outdoor classroom for students from North Canton, Plain Local Schools and Walsh University to study ecology.

And the townships preservation effort may not stop with the new wetlands park.

Across the street, on land that was formerly part of the Sanctuary Golf Club, plans call for single-family homes and senior living on approximately 90 acres.

Hawes said the township is working to finalize a deal to purchase and preserve the remaining 70 acres for $1.5 million, using the same funding sources that paid for the Plain Township Wetlands Reserve.

For Drinkard, who lives next to the former golf course property, preserving what remains is important.

I do think its important to continue preserving whatever land we can, she said.

If the township completes the additional purchase, the two preservation projects would protect roughly 117 acres of land in Plain Township.