Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo Inc. / petermooij
When the Stark County Park District in Canton, Ohio, in creating a Countywide Trail and Greenway Plan to expand its park system, built a 300-mile network of recreational trails, it could not have foreseen that preserving and restoring flood plains would become a valuable strategy in reaching its goals. But such has been the case. In the last 8 years, the district—which serves 375,000 rural and urban residents 1 hour south of Cleveland—has become the “go-to” agency for removal of flood-prone properties from flood plains. In exchange, the district receives the cleared land and preserves it in perpetuity as recreational green space, and some of it is used for hiking and biking trails.
Removing properties from floodplains:
- Reduces or permanently eliminates future risk to lives and property