MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Five Rivers MetroParks’ conservation efforts now have financial support from a new federal grant program, a spokesperson from MetroParks said.
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Conservation projects are ongoing at the Possum Creek MetroPark and Spring Run Conservation Area.
A $1.45 million grant was awarded to the park by the Urban and Community Forestry Program to fund project activities at both natural areas in west Dayton and Trotwood, the spokesperson said.
The program aims to increase biodiversity and public awareness of the importance of urban forests.
It also strives to protect the land from invasive species and climate change while enhancing various ecosystem services, the spokesperson said.
“This grant presented MetroParks with an opportunity to fund substantial habitat restoration during the next several years. This work will have lasting impacts on the ecological health of these natural areas, as well as the surrounding communities, which is an incredible opportunity,” MetroParks’ interim director of conservation Grace Dietsch said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service funds this program.
“These federal investments support the very work we do at Five Rivers MetroParks, such as climate change mitigation, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and energy infrastructure,” MetroParks CEO Karen Hesser said.
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Possum Creek is 556 acres and became a MetroPark in 1976. It was previously farmland and a 1930s historical amusement park, the spokesperson said.
Since becoming a MetroPark over 40 years ago, more than 100 acres of degraded farmland have been cleared and planted into native Ohio prairie, the spokesperson said.
Despite the restoration efforts by MetroParks staff, contractors, and volunteers, there are still many invasive species throughout the land.
The Spring Run Conservation Area is 550 acres and has two land parcels.
A 360-acre Great Miami Mitigation Bank which was once planned to become a landfill, and the 190-acre former Larch Tree Golf Course make up the area.
This grant will help build upon the restoration of wetlands.
“This project will help MetroParks protect forest plant communities and sensitive natural habitats as we find balanced ways to provide access and recreational and educational opportunities to the visiting public. In addition, this project will support MetroParks’ diversity, equity and inclusion goals by serving underrepresented and disadvantaged communities in the Dayton area,” Hesser said.
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Five Rivers MetroParks received one of 19 grants awarded in Ohio, the spokesperson said.
The grants are investing more than $1 billion into communities across the nation as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the spokesperson said.
“Five Rivers MetroParks plays a critical role in addressing forest equity in and around urban areas,” Dietsch said. “We believe everyone should experience the health, economic and climate benefits healthy forests provide, regardless of socioeconomic status.”
The work at Fiver Rivers MetroParks will begin in 2024 and continue through 2028, the spokesperson said.
The MetroPark will measure its success by monitoring select wildlife populations beginning in the second year.
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