Ohio

In October 2011, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park—the tenth most visited in the United States—grew by 578 acres thanks to the efforts of The Trust for Public Land, the National Park Service and Blossom Music Center.

Connecting three University of Toledo campuses and numerous parks and trail systems, the Chessie Circle Trail project will convert an 11-mile long railroad corridor into a hiking and biking trail.

Through 2017 The Trust for Public Land will work with Cleveland and Sandusky communities to plan for investment in park and public spaces that both address climate challenges, human health, and other benefits. In Cleveland, for example, less than 25 percent of residents are within a 10-minute walk to a park. Improving stormwater management through potential park investments, while improving access to parks, is a win-win.

With the assistance of Cleveland businesses and foundations, in 1978 TPL began securing lands for eventual federal ownership. In thirty years, TPL has completed more than twenty acquisitions for the park

The Trust for Public Land worked with Erie MetroParks, the Sandusky/Erie County Community Foundation, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Nature Conservancy to create the 1,283-acre East Sandusky Bay Nature Preserve for public use and enjoyment.

The 90-acre Gateway Property contains the longest natural stretch of the Cuyahoga River within the boundaries of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, providing important wildlife habitat and resource protection.

Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs, Ohio had been saved many times from development before TPL stepped in to help Antioch College forever preserve this resource.

In 2012, we conserved 139 acres at Lake Erie Bluffs, including habitat important to rare, threatened, and endangered plants and wildlife.

Lakeview Terrace is one of the oldest public housing complexes in the country, and the grounds were a reflection of a time when greenspace and recreation areas weren’t a public priority. While it’s home to a multi-generational population of nearly 3,000, there were no safe and welcoming outdoor spaces to gather, play and celebrate with one another. That’s why we teamed up with L.L. Bean, Cleveland Housing Authority and residents of Lakeview Terrace to turns the grounds into a place where people want to be outside.

The Trust for Public Land spearheaded the acquisition of this 7.8-acre island property with extensive migratory bird habitat and a large population of the Lake Erie watersnake.

The Trust for Public Land is helping to create an infrastructure of parks and protected lands throughout the entire Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.

In the state's metropolitan areas beyond Cleveland, we're providing places to play, connecting existing greenspace, and re-imagining the urban core of target cities.

The Trust for Public Land,  in partnership with U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur and Ohio's congressional delegation, and the City of Port Clinton, worked to secure federal and state grants necessary to fund the acquisition and then turn the land over to Port Clinton.

The Trust for Public Land and the Cleveland Rowing Foundation are converting seven acres of commercial riverfront land into a vibrant new public park in the center of the Flats.

When Ebenezer Sheldon, a former Revolutionary War soldier, settled in Aurora in 1799, he set up his homestead on the 153 acres known today as Spring Hill Farm.

Students at the University of Akron use the Steiner Woods property for a long-term amphibian research study and have documented 13 species of salamander that use the extensive wetlands during breeding season.

The Trust for Public Land worked with local partners to protect these 254 acres of former farmland and connect it with the adjacent Forest Run Wildlife Preserve.

The Trust for Public Land acquired two long-sought after properties along the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland for the trail.