In October 2018, Geauga Park District approved the 15-year lease of 317 acres from Russell Township Park District that included the approximately 53 acres within Modroo Preserve. One trail totals .8 miles.

The loop trail in this park, established by Russell Township, is great for hiking year-round and cross-country skiing in the winter.

This property consists primarily of old field/meadow habitat, followed by mid-successional growth deciduous forest, then notable and biologically important swamp forests and their associated vernal pool wetlands. Geauga Park District hopes to foster these habitats for meadow/grassland-nesting bird species such as Bobolinks, which are listed as an Ohio Species of Concern, native pollinators, sensitive woodland amphibians, and other uncommon birds.

One small headwater tributary on this property flows into the Chagrin River watershed.

By way of history, Modroo Farm was built in 1873 by former community leader and farmer William Chamberlain, then acquired by Charles and Mamie Modroo in 1916. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, urban sprawl in eastern Cuyahoga County and western Geauga County consumed the working farms of these communities. The farm remained in the Modroos’ care until Western Reserve Land Conservancy partnered with Russell Township Park District in 2018 to purchase and conserve the former farmstead, land, and iconic barn.

Modroo Preserve represents one of the last farms in Russell Township and one of the few large parcels in the area. Its conservation comes thanks to Western Reserve Land Conservancy, many donors, a conservation buyer, Russell Township Park District, and the State of Ohio; State Senator John Eklund was instrumental in securing funding through the state to help “Save Modroo Farm.”