Western Reserve Land Conservancy, a nationally accredited land trust, is partnering with landowner, Lake Metroparks, to preserve in perpetuity 255.2 acres of the Hemlock Ridge Forest. This area is part of a 338-acre property in Concord and Leroy Townships, Lake County, Ohio. This project is part of a larger preservation effort to benefit wildlife habitat, water quality, green space access and connection, and provide carbon sequestration.

The Hemlock Ridge Forest is located along a major interstate and provides a critical buffer for over a mile of a state designated Wild River. The forest stands range from early to mid-successional and are dominated by a variety of maples and oaks supplemented by black cherry, American beech, eastern hemlock, shagbark hickory, and white pine. With frontage along a mile of the State Scenic Grand River, this tract of land is strategically located to protect high-quality, regionally significant resources and connect more than 4,500 acres of other parks and preserved lands.

The preserved forest habitat is critical to the health of the 15 identified headwater tributaries that flow through the property. The project’s high-quality habitat and location have resulted in its identification in several regional plans as an important piece of land to protect the water quality of the Grand River. The forest will be managed as a passive-use park and be open to the public only a few miles from the City of Painesville, Ohio. The project will also provide access to a currently inaccessible 280-acre property also owned and managed by Lake Metroparks, and it will connect 1,388 contiguous protected acres along the Grand River. This is a unique chance to fill in a gap in public, preserved areas. Visitors will be able to fish, hike, and paddle a large block of forested parkland.

Please visit the Bainbridge Forest, Sandy Cross, Whittlesey Beach, Black Fork Forest and Shelter Hill pages for information on other Western Reserve Land Conservancy projects.

More information soon.

More information soon.