By Kimber Caito, Media Coordinator
Fairfield County Park District
It was a very pleasant surprise when the 40-acre property that separated the two sections of Two Glaciers Park in Madison Township was offered for sale to Fairfield County Park District! We applied for a grant to help pay for the purchase. An unexpected delay in the application process made it impossible to meet the agreed timeline with the seller. We feared the opportunity to get the land had vanished.
On December 13, 2022, Joyce Hague and David Hague of The Bill and Joyce Hague Foundation presented a check for $160,000.00 to Marcey Shafer, Director of Fairfield County Park District. The donation made it possible to procure the property!
David Hague said regarding the Foundation, “Our purpose is to restore and protect. There are times it is necessary to act
quickly, or opportunities are lost forever. We chose to help Fairfield County Park District obtain this piece of property since it
connects the two sections of Two Glaciers Park. It was an easy decision because they are good stewards of the land they
already own.”
As stated, Two Glaciers Park consisted of two non-contiguous properties. If park visitors want to visit both Johnson and Hannaway covered bridges, they must drive from one to the other. This connective property will allow the development of trails that will make it possible to access both on foot. Compared to those at Mambourg Park and Smeck Park, trails at Two Glaciers Park will be much longer and provide a very different experience for hikers – one that is more rugged with a higher level of difficulty.
The first two parcels were purchased with Clean Ohio funding. Work on those has been done to improve and protect the natural resources. A partnership with US Fish & Wildlife Service and private donations helped reestablish native habitats there. In 2019, another partnership with The Nature Conservancy was created. After some preliminary work, the restoration of a wetland close to Johnson Covered Bridge got underway in December 2022. Money from the Ohio Stream and Wetland In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program, overseen by The Nature Conservancy, is paying for that project.
Wetlands help prevent soil erosion and soil runoff; that will improve the quality of the water in Clear Creek and surrounding habitat. Not only will it attract more wildlife including birds, amphibians, and reptiles, it will encourage a greater diversity of plant life – making the park even more interesting for visitors!
“On behalf of Fairfield County Park District, I want to say that we are enormously grateful for the Bill and Joyce Hague Foundation,” said Marcey Shafer. “Making the park district’s largest property a contiguous 356 acres is a gift to wildlife and people. In the coming years the wildlife habitat at Two Glaciers Park will continue to improve. Residents will have access to trails that include forest, meadows, covered bridges, wetlands, and fantastic Fairfield County views.”
If you’ll ‘pardon our dust’ during the wetland restoration (mentioned above) that is now in progress, we invite you to see the Johnson and Hannaway covered bridges at Two Glaciers Park and. in the next few years, to a new park experience. Get Out to Explore & Discover Fairfield County Parks! — fairfieldcountyparks.org
