Hellbranch Headwaters Restoration Project

Hellbranch Run © TNC

Some key tributaries to Big Darby Creek will be protected for future generations through the work of The Nature Conservancy and a consortium of conservation partners working in western Franklin County.

In 2002, a series of legal transactions signaled the completion of the Phillips Hellbranch Headwaters Restoration Project, a $600,000 land deal developed by the Conservancy that will protect 2.7 miles of stream and 225 acres of wetland and river corridor habitat along the Hellbranch Run in western Franklin County.

The Nature Conservancy in Ohio received a $200,000 Clean Ohio Fund grant for the project from the Ohio Public Works Commission. Conservancy staff had worked with the landowners (the Phillips family), Prairie Township and a consortium of conservation partners since early 2000 toward preservation of this important piece of floodplain. 

Hellbranch Run is a significant tributary to Big Darby Creek, a state and national scenic river, and one of The Nature Conservancy's top conservation priorities. This land, which was owned by central Ohio's Phillips family, is the wellspring of this tributary -- the place where three small streams converge to form the Hellbranch. This environmentally sensitive area is rapidly being developed, and conservationists are concerned that poorly planned development will lead to irreversible harm to the Hellbranch, and the Big Darby.

Now, with perpetual federal and state conservation easements in place, this area has been transferred to Prairie Township, which will operate the property as a nature preserve and passive recreation park. Most of the property is considered well-suited for stream and wetland restoration, which will help filter the impacts of the construction upstream.

In addition to the Clean Ohio Fund grant, the project received help from the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, which assisted the Conservancy with an application for Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The application resulted in approval for one of the largest WRP projects approved in Ohio in 2001 totaling more than $260,000 for perpetual easement funding. The funding will also include more than $65,000 for restoration of wetlands and prairie habitats on the property.

Perpetual preservation and restoration of this property is a significant step toward preserving endangered species and aquatic species diversity of Big Darby Creek. It is a tribute to the patience and conservation intent of the Phillips Family, Prairie Township, the teamwork within the Conservancy and the partnership of conservation organizations that supported this project.