Wildlife Habitat Conservancy

An Ohio Non-Profit Land Trust

Our History:

WHC was incorporated in October 2003 by founder, David A. Kidd of Canton, Ohio. The impetus for WHC was the result of Kidd’s eleven year directorship of a Canton-based environmental project to buy and distribute for free 3 million tree seedlings in Stark County. After extensive travel and individual contacts for the Stark Free Tree Program, Kidd saw the need to seek the donation of unused land in NE ohio area to protect it as greenspace for wildlife habitat. WHC applied for and received its approval as a 501(c )3 non-profit organization.

In 2004, Executive Director Kidd worked with the late Massillon Rotarian Tom Ross, a retired architect, who asked him to develop and present a proposal to the City of Massillon to develop a $600,000 community park on a the last remaining greenspace in the downtown area. The project was considered, but the city eventually rejected it in favor of selling the land to a developer to build a 12-unit movie theatre complex. The land was historically an ox-bow of the Tuscarawas River, which still runs beneath it. That proposal failed.

In January 2005, Kidd completed the acquisition of the first donated land into the land trust, a contribution which began to be discussed in fall of 2004. Letti Adams and her husband gifted WHC three wooded vacant lots, totaling 1.5 acres, in Washington Township, near Alliance, Ohio, to keep it as wildlife habitat and avoid someone eventually developing it. It was appraised at $35,000.

Kidd next negotiated a contract with Wetland Systems, Inc., a Kent, Ohio wetland restoration consulting company started by Kent State University Biology Professor Dr. Sam Mazzer. Wetland Systems needed assistance in working on restoring a pond dredged by KSU Stark Campus. WHC received a contract to do the work from June to September 2005, with additional work scheduled in 2006 and 2007. This project was within our mission to ‘create and preserve’ greenspace. Kidd conducted the work within budget with the help of about 300 hours of volunteer time, including community service workers from the Canton Municipal Courts. WHC received $15,300 in 2005, and spent over $6,000 for materials and vendors on that project. Additional funds were received in 2006 and 2007 until the three- year project was completed.

In 2008, WHC received the donation of 2.8 acres of land and wetlands in Jackson Township, Stark County. The land is located on the north shore of Lake O’ Springs. One acre of the land is a fen, an alkaline swamp., and contains rare Ohio native plants. The land is valued at $65,000.

Over the last eight years, Kidd has developed an extensive E-library of scientific research on coyotes. The library is unique and one-of-a-kind in the world. WHC will be hosting the coyote information library on its web site as part of our mission to promote environmental education.

Future Activities:

WHC is now beginning the process of following up on over two dozen leads and referrals on file for unique lands in the greater Stark County area which may be available to be donated to WHC to maintain as greenspace.