People driving on State Route 43 near Ravenna Road recently might have noticed a sign advertising a new park courtesy of the Portage Park District. 

The sign indicates the Franklin Bog Preserve, which is not currently open to the public, the Portage Park District website stated.

“Sometimes [the preserve being closed] is because of access,” said Jennifer White, education and outreach manager at Portage Park District. “On the flip side, the other reason that something might be considered a preserve, is just that it is not open yet. That is what a majority of our preserves are.” 

Franklin Bog is not currently open to the public due to a number of reasons.

“It is an example of a property that is a combination of access, and funding,” White said. “So its opening day will depend on when we have adequate funding to put in a trail, to have a sign, to have just the basics. But it is also limited by where you can access it.”

The preserve is located in Franklin Township and is surrounded by private property on almost all sides. This makes it difficult to create the basics like a parking lot or bathroom for the park, White said.

“There is not good access, because we like to be good neighbors to our private property neighbors,” White said. 

However, despite the preserve not being open to the public at this time, there will be a chance for the public to come check out the property on Sept. 30. This event is called the “Preserve Peek.”

“For the Preserve Peek, it is not open to the public normally, but we are going to be giving two guided hikes. One at 9 a.m. (spots have been filled), and a few spots available at 11 a.m.,” White said.

The property is home to three different wetlands, one of which visitors will be able to observe at the event.

“The total property is 58 acres, but there are three super high-quality wetlands that are located on it,” White said.

Many wetlands in Portage County were formed from glaciers that moved through the state, White said.

“These [wetlands] are what we call glacial kettle lakes. They were formed by the last glacier system that moved in Northeast Ohio,” White said. “In Portage County we are rich with these little areas.”

The wetlands at Franklin Bog Preserve are examples of some that were formed by glacial movements. This often creates an acidic environment for plants to live in.

“There’s some very interesting plants along the edge. There are eight state-listed rare plant species,” White said. “That would have been as of 2010 when the assessment was done on this property before purchase.”

This property is not new to the Portage Park District. It was purchased from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in 2013 through a series of funding and grants, White said.

Monetary contributions were made by LEAP (Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership) for Biodiversity, the Clean Ohio Green Space Fund and the North American Wetland Conservation Association (NAWCA), White said.

After the Preserve Peek, the public cannot visit Franklin Bog regularly, as the current opening date remains undetermined. 

“For timelines with preserves, it is really challenging, because it is dependent on available funding and access,” White said. “So, there is no timeline for Franklin Bog. But, it is on our list of sites that could be open in the near future.”

Despite Franklin Bog not being open to the public for the foreseeable future, there are still 10 parks and trails open for public access across Portage County. 

“You have places to safely get out and recreate, explore and just enjoy being out in nature,” White said. “But you also have these ecological functions that these properties are doing for us just by existing.”

Olivia Montgomery is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].