Conservation group hopes to bring wildlife back to once toxic area
SALEM, Ohio - Barrels of hazardous chemicals and truckloads of toxic soil were removed from the Nease Chemical Manufacturing Plant in Salem, Ohio back in the 1990’s.
The plant made household cleaning products, pesticides and more. The mishandling of the products led to the contamination of the ground, wildlife and Little Beaver Creek.
“We wasn't even supposed to be in the creek. We used to when we was younger though. We used to walk up and down it,” Jim Chuey, President of the Columbiana County Archer Association said.
In 2016, the US EPA oversaw a more than $18,000,000 project to clean up the land and Little Beaver Creek.
This month, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy is taking things one step further. The conservancy paid $35,000 to the Columbiana County Archery Club to make a part of their land a nature reserve. The land that the archers occupy is miles downstream from the old Nease plant but was still affected by the toxic chemicals.
Chuey said the wildlife population in the creek lessened when the chemical plant was there. Now, the conservancy is working to restore the land and creek to its natural state for the wildlife to come back.
“The fact that it was a spot that was once poisoned and unhealthy, it's a big motivating factor for the land conservancy,” Jared Saylor, Director of Communications at the Western Reserve Land Conservancy said. “We want to make sure the wildlife on the land has habitats that are clean and are healthy.”
Under agreement, the archers can’t build any structures or cut down any trees in the 32 acre area. Additionally, the agreement states “no native trees, ground cover or other vegetation shall be removed from the Conserved Land” and the “Conserved Land shall at all times be kept free of garbage, waste (and) debris.”
The conservancy works with other organizations to make sure the site is healthy and clean including making sure the water quality is of the highest standard, any invasive species are removed, the wetlands are healthy and more.
“We want to make sure any pollution that might have existed before is cleaned up and removed,” Saylor said. “When you’ve got land that's in its natural state it really helps with a lot of other environmental issues and concerns in the surrounding areas.”
Western Reserve does not own the land; they only have a lifetime agreement to maintain the 32 acres.
