The Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership for Conservation Fund has been established to finance projects that promote and protect our region’s biodiversity.
The goal of the Conservation Fund is to attract funds for conservation projects from sources not previously available to our individual members and to distribute these funds through a collaborative, community driven process. The Fund is positioned to capture environmental settlement monies that might otherwise leave the region, corporate, philanthropic and personal donations.
| Organization | Representative (*chair) |
|---|---|
| Chagrin River Watershed Partners | Josh Myers |
| Cleveland Metroparks | Kristen Trolio* |
| Holden Forests & Gardens | Mary Lineberger |
| Lake Metroparks | Justine Wylie |
| Medina County Park District | Natalie Peacock |
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History | Julia Mitchell |
| Portage Park District | Bob Lange |
| Presque Isle State Park | Holly Best |
| The Wilderness Center | Maureen Kampman |
| Wild4Ever | Gary Riggs |
| Western Reserve Land Conservancy | Renee Boronka |
Beginnings
In 2004, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) approached several conservation organizations in NE Ohio about ways to increase grant making in northeast Ohio. They were interested in providing a vehicle for capturing new (or previously unattainable) sources of funding to preserve and restore natural areas within the northeast Ohio region. As a result, a subcommittee of the Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership (LEAP) for Biodiversity was formed.
LEAP Fund Committee
From 2005 through 2009, the Conservation Fund Committee, an informal group, met periodically to develop an agreement between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on behalf of LEAP, reach out to the US Attorney’s Office, and prepare grant requests. In 2020, due to a lack of activity, the NFWF account was dissolved. The LEAP Conservation Fund is now at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and controlled by the LEAP Conservation Fund.
First Grant Awarded
In April 2008, LEAP received a $100,000 grant award from the Arcelor Mittal Great Lakes Restoration Program to open the LEAP Fund at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and to open the Fund and provide seed money for projects.
Fund Created at National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
In September 2009, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, on behalf of the LEAP consortium, entered into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish the Conservation Fund account. This NFWF Account was dissolved in 2020 and the Conservation Fund is now administered by Western Reserve Land Conservancy with direction from the LEAP Conservation Fund Committee.
Spring 2024: Camp Ho Mita Koda was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Restore Native Understory Shrubs and Groundcover Species at Summer Camp. Lead: Elizabeth Johnson
Spring 2024: Mill Creek MetroParks was awarded $1,000 for a deer exclosure project. Lead: Nick Derico
Spring 2024: Holden Forests & Gardens was awarded $1,000 for their projected titled Describing the Microorganisms of Wild Bird Legs to Understand Potential Dispersal of Organisms, including Pests and Pathogens. Lead: Mary Pitts
Spring 2024: Heights Tree People was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Free Front Yard Trees for Residents (Cleveland Hts and University Hts). Lead: Julie Gierke
Spring 2024: Baldwin Wallace University was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Investigating the Factors Causing Declines in Singing Insects (Orthoptera: Ensifera) Along Rural-to-Urban Gradients in Cleveland Metroparks. Lead: Andrew Merwin
Fall 2023: Holden Forests and Gardens was awarded $933.79 for their project titled Using AHDriFT Camera Trap Arrays to Monitor Herptefauna Community Response to Wetland Restoration at The Holden Arboretum. Lead: Mike Watson
Fall 2023: Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland was awarded $623 for their project titled Invasive Plant Species Management in Audubon Sanctuaries. Lead: Matthew Valencic
Fall 2023: Medina County Park District was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Utilization of Ultrasonic Recordings to Survey Rare and Threatened Bat Populations in Northeast Ohio. Lead: Jim Spetz
Spring 2023: Portage Park District was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Protecting, Preserving, and Restoring the State Endangered Primrose-leaf Violet Population at Towner’s Woods. Lead: Bob Lange
Spring 2023: Holden Forests & Gardens was awarded $967.70 for their project titled Transitioning Holden Forests & Gardens’ Core Natural Areas Spray Program from Glyphosate and Triclopyr-Centered to Largely Organic Herbicide-Centered. Lead: Rob Maganja
Spring 2023: Friends of Doan Brook Gorge was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Doan Brook Gorge Native Plant Restoration Phase 3. Lead: Greg Van Niel
Spring 2023: Forest Hills Park Cleveland Heights Team was awarded $1,000 for their project titled Biodiversity Improvement in Historic Forest Hill Park. Lead: Kathleen Greenberg
Fall 2022: Medina County Park District was awarded $1,000 for their project titled A utilization of the AHDriFT to assess critical habitat components for rare herpetofauna and small mammal populations in Medina County. Lead: Jim Spetz
Fall 2022: Holden Forests & Gardens was awarded $1,000 for their project Using autonomous recording units to capture migrating bird response to forestry treatments. Lead: Mike Watson
Fall 2021: Holden Forests & Gardens was awarded $991.87 for their project titled A Survey of Native Azaleas in Northeast Ohio. Lead: Connor Ryan
Fall 2021: Cleveland State University was awarded $1,000 for their project titled CSU Native Plant Initiative. Leads: Erin Avram and Emily Rauschert
Fall 2021: Holden Forests & Gardens was awarded $954.87 for their project titled *Invasive Plant Management in High Quality and Rare Habitats and Rare Plant Populations . Lead: Rebecah Troutman
2012: Portage Park District was awarded $44,000 towards purchase and protection of the 45-acre Franklin Bog in Portage County, OH.
2010: Pennsylvania Sea Grant was awarded $6,000 for their project titled Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plant Propagation at Presque Isle State Park.