The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Smith Farms, Ohio © TNC

The Clean Ohio Fund is a $400 million state bond initiative first approved by Ohio voters in 2000 and overwhelmingly renewed in all 88 counties in 2008.  A public-private partnership, it restores, protects and connects Ohio's natural and urban areas by preserving green space and farmland, improving outdoor recreation and cleaning up brownfields for redevelopment. 

Accomplishments

All 88 counties have received funding and benefitted from the Clean Ohio Fund.  This important state investment has:

• Cleaned up nearly 400 abandoned, polluted sites
• Preserved more than 26,000 acres of natural areas.
• Protected nearly 40,000 acres of family farms.
• Created more than 200 miles of multi-purpose, recreational trails.
• Leveraged additional investments to create a total economic impact of approximately $2.6 billion in public and private investments to date.

Benefits

• Helps catalyze economic activity in Ohio by creating new jobs and retaining existing ones in construction, goods, services, recreation, eco-tourism and high-tech industries. 
  
• Helps keep Ohio’s drinking water safe.
• Helps secure our agricultural base, Ohio’s #1 industry, by helping to preserve family farms.
• Cleans and redevelops polluted abandoned industrial properties, protecting neighborhoods and spurring redevelopment.
• Protects natural areas and develops miles of multi-use trails for public.
• Generates new tax revenues for schools and communities with redevelopment project spin-offs across Ohio.
• Does not raise taxes – each $25 million in Clean Ohio Fund bonds requires $2.3 million in annual debt service.
• Helps keep Ohio environmentally sound, economically viable, and poised for the future.
   

Places to Visit
The Clean Ohio Fund has funded more than 700 projects, so it's likely there's one to visit near your neighborhood.  Here are some of our favorites:

• Prairie Oaks MetroPark, Franklin/Madison Counties
• Buzzard Roost Nature Preserve Addition, Ross County
• Oak Openings Preserve, Lucas County
• North Chagrin Reservation, Cuyahoga County
• Miami Whitewater Forest, Hamilton County

The Nature Conservancy and partner organizations are seeking $52 million in conservation bonds in spring 2013: 

• $39 million for open space conservation
• $6.5 million for farmland preservation
• $6.5 million for multi-use trails

 Additional Information

• Clean Ohio Fact Sheet
• Clean Ohio letter of support to Speaker of the House William Batchelder
• The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation (September 2011 report)
• The Economic Benefits of Clean Ohio Fund Conservation