Howland Township was recently approved for a Clean Ohio Conservation Program grant to purchase an 84-acre tract along Mosquito Creek.

Officials say the purchase of this land is extremely important because it can benefit in the preservation of wetlands crucial to supporting its own ecosystem.

Dr. James LApolla, Vice Chairman of the Howland Board of Trustees said, "The land ENCOMPASSES NOT JUST MOSQUITO CREEK BUT IT ALSO HOUSES A LOT OF NATURAL WETLANDS THAT ARE HOMES FOR MIGRATING BIRDS IN THE FALL AND WINTER TIME AND IS HOME TO SEE LOTS OF NATURAL ANIMALS THAT ARE FROM THIS AREA."

The 84-acre parcel sits midway along the 36-mile Mosquito Creek Corridor, south of the Mosquito Creek Reservoir and in the Mosquito Creek Watershed.

The corridor begins in Southern Ashtabula County and extends south through Niles City, bifurcating Howland Township.

ACCORDING TO WETLAND SOURCES OVER 75 PERCENT OF THIS SITE CONTAINS WETLANDS. UNFORTUNATELY, 90 percent OF oHIO'S HISTORICAL WETLANDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED

"IT'S OUR JOB TO PROTECT APART OF OUR CONTRY. APART OF OUR INHERITANCE OF THIS LAND. PART OF OUR INHERITNACE OF JUST OUR BEING TO PROTECT IT FOR THE FUTURE OF OTHER PEOPLE."

According to The Trust for Public Land's, their 2013 publication of The Economic Benefits of Clean Ohio Fund Conservation, found that every $1 invested in land conservation returned $4 in economic value.