By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP — Cleveland’s Museum of Natural History continues its love affair with Ashtabula County, purchasing another 56 acres along Conneaut Creek in the area of Kingsville Township, according to Jim Bissell’s the museum’s curator of botany.
A dedication ceremony commemorating the acquisition will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday on Fox Road at a spot about one mile east of Route 84, Bissell said. The site will be called the William Baum Preserve, in memory of a benefactor, he said.
The land contains a wide range of natural features, including a deep ravine, waterfall and a fast-moving stream, Bissell said. It also is home to some rare birds, he said.
Just as important, the property ties together two other museum-owned properties, creating one 400-acre parcel. The museum is a major local landowner —with the newest addition, the museum now possesses some 2,000 acres in Ashtabula County, Bissell said.
The previous owner was prepared to let a timbering company extract trees from the site, a potential blow to the local environment, Bissell said. The museum acquired the land for approximately $150,000, or the value of the timber, he said.
The museum buys its land with donated money, and the Baum preserve was no exception. Contributions were collected in just a matter of days, Bissell said.
“We get lots of support from the people in the county, and we appreciate it,” he said.
A few other locations have caught the attention of the museum, including land in Trumbull Township and Geneva, Bissell said. The county is rich in ecological treasures, he said.
A few years ago, the Ohio National Heritage Program listed the top 100 unprotected sites in the state, and 10 were in Ashtabula County, Bissell said.
“We have the best collection of natural areas in northeast Ohio,” he said. “We focus on collecting the best of the best.
