COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Supporters of a central Ohio wetland the state is turning over to a developer want the wetland and wildlife area preserved.
The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/QlrfDP ) reports about 60 environmentalists and neighbors of the Sawmill State Wildlife Education Area near Columbus rallied there Saturday to urge its preservation.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is turning the 18-acre woods and wetland over to a developer in exchange for 43 acres along the Olentangy River. The developer says he plans to preserve about half of the area's 7.5 acres of wetland.
Wetlands are valued as wildlife habitats.
State officials have said the land that Ohio is getting is more ecologically valuable.
Sawmill supporters say disregarding the permit that has preserved the wetland for years sets a bad precedent for Ohio's other wetlands.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
