Wintergarden/St. John Nature Preserve soon will grow, and the new land will make it impossible for new
development to go up adjacent to the park.
The nature preserve, which is now more than 100 acres, will grow by 20 acres with the purchase of the
land immediately east of Wintergarden Road, owned by the Creps family.
According to the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Foundation, an opportunity arose this year to
preserve and expand the nature preserve.
Carlene Creps has signed an agreement with the Black Swamp Conservancy to protect the land from
development. The conservancy chose the parks department as the land manager.
The conservancy has agreed to help purchase the land for $480,000 with the majority of funding from state
and federal grants.
The applications are being written in the city’s name; the city will take ownership once the money is
raised, said Rob Krain, conservancy executive director.
The parks foundation has agreed to conduct a fundraising campaign to complete the purchase price, with
the goal of $100,000.
The nature preserve caters to those residents who desire a walk in the woods and a chance to study
wildlife.
“Their whole property is not part of this, the barns are excluded,” said Kristin Otley, Bowling Green
Parks and Recreation director.
This purchase is the last remaining land contiguous to the park, she said.
Otley said her department hasn’t determined a use for the land yet, but she said ideas floating around
include expanded trails and a shelter house, “very much the same sort of uses that exist at the
preserve.”
She added that the department is about the begin the master planning process; the plan will be updated in
2021.
“We have a purchase agreement in place,” Krain said, adding they have been talking with the family since
2016.
“Our interest is protecting it as a natural habitat,” he said.
The conservancy is seeking grants from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program and NatureWorks.
The Black Swamp Conservancy is a local non-profit with a mission of protecting and preserving natural
habitats and agricultural lands.
