Western Reserve Land Conservancy is protecting 64.8 acres of forest in the Village of Kirtland Hills, Lake County, Ohio. The forest consists of oak, pine, maple, beech, and other species of trees, up to 75 years old. Protecting the forest as part of a carbon project provides long-term open space for the surrounding community, watershed protection, human health benefits, and bird and wildlife habitat.

The Project area will eventually operate as a public park, allowing public access to over 1.5 miles of walking trails. Public access will allow pedestrian use for nature enjoyment, nature study, bird watching and other compatible uses not detrimental to the high-quality habitat. The location of this Project in the Village of Kirtland Hills, and its high density of residential occupants, will provide perpetual public access and human health benefits to the surrounding community.

With continued development throughout the Village of Kirtland Hills and Lake County, it is critical to conserve what is left of the forests that once dominated the region. The Project’s protection of open space will contribute to the social and psychological quality of life for residents. Additionally, preserving the forest will help mitigate flooding by absorbing rainwater, slowly releasing it back into the watershed. The mature forest’s stormwater retention capacity will facilitate percolation deep into the ground as opposed to impervious features that cause rainwater to rapidly rush into storm drains, culverts, and waterways carrying pollutants and sediment into the watershed. Lastly, because the Project is located within a migratory flyway, its forested habitat provides essential stopover habitat for neotropical migratory birds, species that rely on large, intact stands of deciduous trees in Northeast Ohio along their migration route. The Project’s loose-bark trees also serve as prime roosting habitat for bats. The forest provides these species with critical breeding, nesting, feeding, roosting, and stopover habitat.

Please visit the project pages linked below for information on other Western Reserve Land Conservancy projects in their carbon program.

More information coming soon.

More information coming soon.