{"id":326207,"date":"2025-12-02T14:54:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/326207\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T14:54:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:54:06","slug":"wilderness-center-acquires-36-acres-across-from-foxfield-preserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/326207\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilderness Center acquires 36 acres across from Foxfield Preserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUGAR CREEK TWP. \u2212 Jeanne Gural and Dan Volk hiked a newly acquired former farm property on Foxfield Street NW in Sugar Creek Township<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Wilderness Center purchased the 36-acre parcel at a recent land auction of the 153-acre Soehnlen family farm. The deal closed Nov. 12.<\/p>\n

Gural, executive director, and Volk, director of conservation and land management, are still noticing features of the land.<\/p>\n

“We haven’t been able to explore the whole property yet because we just signed the paperwork,” Gural said.<\/p>\n

She took interest in an area where water had accumulated, deciding it would likely become a shallow seasonal wetland habitat called a vernal pool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Volk examined the soil, raking his hands through an unexpected sandy area that he hadn’t noticed previously.<\/p>\n

“This is what gets nerds like me excited is looking at the soil,” he said. “How cool is that? There might even be some clay down here.”<\/p>\n

The land will undergo a habitat assessment before being transformed into a wildlife habitat and trail. The trail will connect to the nature center through Sigrist Woods and Foxfield Preserve.<\/p>\n

Additional plans include planting native trees and seeds to support pollinators and building nesting boxes for bluebirds. The land will also be used for Tree of Life<\/a>, a program that supports conservation while planting memorial trees for loved ones.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit had about a month to act on the land auction, which happened unexpectedly after former owner Patricia Soehnlen passed away. Gural said she believed in the mission of conservation.<\/p>\n

The parcel is across the road from Foxfield Preserve, a Wilderness Center cemetery for green burials<\/a> that is connected to its trail system. The new parcel contains former farmland, wooded areas and an unnamed creek.<\/p>\n

“We call it ‘a tributary of the middle fork of Sugar Creek,'” Volk said.<\/p>\n

Gural didn’t think that name would do.<\/p>\n

“That’s a very long name for a very short creek,” she said. “Let’s call it the Soehnlen Creek.”<\/p>\n

“The Soehnlen Creek on the Soehnlen Preserve.”<\/p>\n

More: ‘Really special.’ Foxfield Preserve in Stark County hosts growing trend of green burials<\/a><\/p>\n

Wilderness Center continues to grow<\/p>\n

Portions of the land were active farmland as recently as last growing season, so it’ll take considerable restoration work to be transformed to the natural prairie.<\/p>\n

The first step is the habitat assessment, which will give the Wilderness Center a full picture of existing habitats, including plants, trees and brush. It’ll also look at habitats within the creek, including sediments and rocks.<\/p>\n

Growing native plants will take at least three years, Volk said.<\/p>\n

“They sleep, then they creep, then they leap, is the saying,” he said. “First year, they’re just getting their roots established, second year, they’re starting to grow a little bit more but not a ton, third year is when they really start to take off.”<\/p>\n

Gural hopes the new habitat will become a part of the “mosaic” of conserved lands that wildlife like migratory birds depend on.<\/p>\n

Natural ecosystems need protecting, Volk said. Growing and preserving diverse habitats like prairies improves the local environment.<\/p>\n

“[Prairies] are shrinking in size and variety and quality,” he said. “By bringing some of those features back to the landscape, you’re increasing diversity of the environment.”<\/p>\n

The Wilderness Center protects over 3,000 acres of land in seven counties across the state. Gural said they’ve seen success in conserving wildlife habitats to attract native species.<\/p>\n

“If you build it, they will come,” she said.<\/p>\n

Land purchased from private donations<\/p>\n

The Wilderness Center quickly raised over $430,000 toward the $966,265 land purchase.<\/p>\n

Funds came from private donations and the center’s fund for emergency acquisitions.<\/p>\n

Gural said the land will eventually have a variety of uses at the Wilderness Center, including for education with school groups and landscapers.<\/p>\n

“Every single department came out and looked at the property and assessed it from their program-specific needs,” she said. “Think of everything we could teach.”<\/p>\n

Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or\u00a0gspringer@usatodayco.com<\/a> Follow her on X\u00a0@GraceSpringer16<\/a>.<\/p>\n