Butler County Engineer
Greg Wilkens announces that the purchase of a 21-acre addition
to the Gilmore Ponds Interpretive Preserve was completed on August
5. The Butler County Engineer's Office facilitated the land acquisition
for MetroParks of Butler County, providing all necessary documentation
to secure the $194,370 grant.
The purchase was made
possible from first round funding from the recently enacted state
Clean Ohio Fund grant program and is the first piece to be acquired
for the proposed Port Union - Gilmore Ponds Conservation Corridor,
according to Mike Muska, MetroParks Director. The land, which
will be reserved as open space and conservation acreage, is situated
in Fairfield along Gilmore Road south of the Miami-Erie Canal.
The Conservation Corridor
project is a collaborative venture among Butler County, the BCEO,
MetroParks of Butler County, and West Chester Township. The corridor
is anchored on the west end by MetroParks' Gilmore Ponds Interpretive
Preserve and on the east end by a planned park development at
Port Union. Lands along the corridor follow the Miami-Erie Canal
and Mill Creek and will be acquired for green space, conservation
use, flood plain preservation, and passive outdoor recreation
activities.
Because the Conservation
Corridor project crosses multiple jurisdictions, Butler County
acted as the grant applicant while the Butler County Engineers
Office has served as the project manager.
# # #
For more information contact:
- Chris
Petrocy, BCEO Public
Information Supervisor
- Greg
Wilkens, P.E., P.S.,
Butler County Engineer
Phone 513.867.5744 • Fax 513.867.5849
