The Park District added 120 acres to the existing 260 acre Stillwater Prairie Reserve. The two properties join in an area which is a southern boundary for both properties and below the Stillwater River. The Coy property, now Maple Ridge, runs northwest with its eastern boundary encompassing the east side of the Stillwater River. The rest of the property spreads west and south. "With Miami County continuing to grow, these natural corridors are extremely important for the protection and conservation of wildlife," said Mr. Jerry Eldred, Executive Director for the Park District.
Included on the property are woods that cover 70% of the land as mature woods and successional fields, including a sugar maple grove along with an old sugaring shack. Additionally there are three ponds and several crop fields.
In the early 1970’s, The Miami County Park District considered the Coy property, found in Newberry Township, as land that needed to be preserved and saw it as a logical extension of the Stillwater Prairie Reserve, located off of St. Rt. 185. This same property was noted in the 1990 Miami County Green Space Plan as an area which fit into its creed… "to preserve river corridors and greenways so that wildlife and natural vegetation can survive and to protect the beauty of the natural landscape for the people of Miami County."
Since the Coy family has always been conservation minded, it was met with great pleasure when the family decided to sell the property to the Park District. The Ohio chapter of the Nature Conservancy worked out a land trade with the family and then gave the Miami County Park District a letter of intent to sell them the property. The Park Board approved a grant request to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help the Park District finance the purchase of the property.
Park Activities
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
- Fishing
- Wildlife Observation
- Hiking Trails
- Nature Programs
Park History
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