Litchfield Wetlands Nature Preserve officially opens

LITCHFIELD TWP. — Representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Medina County Park District and Litchfield Township cut a ribbon to celebrate Litchfield Wetlands Nature Preserve officially being open on Tuesday. Director of Medina County Parks District Nate Eppink said the land was formerly a soybean field. It is 150 acres in total, and 80 of the acres are wetlands that are designed to treat surface runoff and reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients that flows into Lake Erie. The site also functions as a habitat for local wildlife, and there are 1.7 miles of loop trails for the public to use. "We basically had a blank slate to work on in terms of what we wanted to see this site be in the future," Davey Resource Group Project Manager Christina Znidarsic said. "Right now it's looking pretty open because there weren't many mature trees on the site … We wanted to eventually transition this into a forested environment. This whole area over here is going to eventually be a forested wetland someday." A $900,000 H2Ohio grant, which is administered by ODNR, funded the design component, earthwork, seeding and planting for the project, Eppink said. The Medina County Park District spent an additional $300,000 for trail surfacing, the parking lot, restrooms and signage. "For the most part, we grant the money to local communities, and they know more about their lands," ODNR Director Mary Mertz said. "They're quicker and more effective in getting the programs done. This is one instance where you can say government saved itself and stepped out of the way and let the people in the field do a great job with it. We're just here to celebrate." The idea for the project came up about two years ago, Eppink said. The preserve is the Medina County Park District's first property in Litchfield Township, and it is the first MCPD-completed H2Ohio project that is open to the public. "People can actually see the transformation in person over time," he said. "Over multiple seasons and years, they'll see the site evolve and really become something even more special." According to H2Ohio, the initiative was created by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019 to address water problems throughout the state. "At the Department of Natural Resources, our role in this program has been how do we use nature to clean the water to make it more abundant and available?" Mertz said. "We have focused on building wetlands … (We have) over 140 projects across the state now." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.