Cleveland.com reports that the new Jesse Owens State Park and Wildlife Area will open this summer in southeast Ohio. Formerly known as ReCreation Land, open for public camping, hunting, fishing and hiking for decades by its owner American Electric Power (AEP), the new state park occupies 60,000 acres of land strip mined for its rich coal deposits from the 1940s until the 1990s. AEP and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) have been in talks since last summer to negotiate the state’s purchase of a major portion of AEP’s ReCreation Land property in eastern Ohio, according to a press release.

In past decades, AEP reclaimed the former mining land, planting over 63 million trees, creating 350 lakes and ponds stocked for fishing and 380 campsites, as well as hiking, mountain bike, and equine trails. A portion of the 1400-mile Buckeye Trail also runs through this site. The company estimates that more than 100,000 people enjoy the park every year. Thirty years ago, AEP donated about 10,000 acres of adjacent land to a nonprofit organization that runs the Wilds, an animal conservation park near Cumberland. The AZA-accredited facility, now a subsidiary of the Columbus Zoo, houses endangered animals from around the world, including a herd of Przewalski’s wild horses, white rhinos and more.

State officials say that the acquisition of the land by the state will ensure that it remains undeveloped and available to the public. Named for Olympics legend and former Clevelander Jesse Owens, the park will open as soon as this summer and represents Ohio's largest increase in public recreational land in recent memory. 

Read the full Cleveland.com story here.