New Park Added on South Bass Island
A nine-acre parcel at the eastern tip of South Bass Island has been officially dedicated as a future park. Thededication of the Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve culminated from years of work by islanders and conservation groups, including Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Lake Erie Islands (LEI) Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy. It will be the first park owned by the Put-in-Bay Township Park District, which plans to eventually make the property accessible to visitors for walking, fishing and bird-watching.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-9, of Toledo, whose district includes the Lake Erie Islands, helped secure a $1.8 million federal grant to acquire the property. For several years, Kaptur has worked on the project with Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which protects important natural and agricultural property in 14 northern Ohio counties.
The Land Conservancy led a drive to raise the remaining $253,000 needed for the purchase. The drive, which was supported by individual donors and foundations, was put "over the top" by Rose Scheeff, who generously contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure the completion of this project. Her contribution was made in memory of her husband, Bill, and to the nearly 50 summers they spent on the island.
The Put-in-Bay Township Park District had been anxious to acquire the land to keep it from becoming a lakefront residential development, but has not had the funds to make the purchase. The Land Conservancy stepped in to acquire the property and hold it temporarily while money was raised for the purchase. Lisa Brohl, a township park commissioner and chair of the LEI Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy, has called the new preserve "truly a gift for the future of the islands." The parcel provides critical island habitat for thousands of migratory birds and the threatened Lake Erie Water Snake.
Kaptur and Rich Cochran, the Land Conservancy's president and chief executive officer, have praised the cooperative effort that led to the purchase. Kaptur has called the nature preserve "a gem in the crown of lake-related preservation and a gift preserved for future generations."
For more information contact Leah Whidden at the Western Reserve Land Conservancy at 440-729-9621, Ext. 108, or visit www.wrlc.cc.