By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wallace “Wally” O’Dowd loved to hunt and fish, and he wanted to pass that legacy on to others. In 2007 he left a bequest of more than $4.5 million to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife (DOW).

O’Dowd died in 2007. His bequest, the single largest donation in the history of the DOW, was to acquire land for wildlife conservation and habitat management, said Randy Miller, with DOW. The land was to be open to public hunting, fishing and trapping. Legacy became reality when, this September, the wildlife division purchased 3,600 acres of wild, wooded land along the Athens-Hocking counties line. The DOW added $560,326 to the bequest to cover a few extra acres. The seller was the Sunday Creek Coal Co.
O’Dowd had minimal stipulations with the bequest, said Miller, who admitted he was “flabbergasted” when he learned of it. “He wanted the land to be contiguous acres in southeastern Ohio,” Miller said.
“We knew he was an avid grouse and woodcock hunter, so that would be the type of habitat that would support those types of species.”

The area is contiguous to the Trimble Wildlife Area and those lands will be combined to create one 6,694-acre site known as the Wallace H. O’Dowd Wildlife Area. This will be the sixth largest wildlife area in the state.

O’Dowd was a savvy businessman, Miller said. The language in his will stipulated that the land would remain open for hunting, fishing, trapping and other wildlife-related recreational uses, in perpetuity.
“So, he had language right out of the Ohio Revised Code that was part of the chief’s (David M. Graham, chief of the division of wildlife) authority to attach to the deed,” Miller said.

“I am sure Wally would be pleased that not only were we able to identify and purchase a sizeable portion of land, but that it is adjacent to an existing land holding that will result in more habitat and therefore, greater opportunities for enjoyment by the state’s sportsmen and -women,” Graham said.

The land is forested, Miller said. It has beaver ponds; one road, Jacob’s Hollow, transects the area. “Other than that, it is one big block of woods,” he said. “Forested wildlife is there – turkey, and deer.”

A dedication is planned for the spring of 2010. “One of Mrs. (Jill) King-O’Dowd’s wishes was that she would like to have a tree from the wildlife area planted in her yard in honor Wally,” Miller said.
After talking with King-O’Dowd, there was a small ceremony in which personnel from the DOW transplanted a buckeye tree from the Wallace H. O’ Dowd Wildlife Area to her back yard.

“Wally was a great guy,” Miller said. “Humble as could be.”
Those who might want to consider a bequest for wildlife conservation may contact the DOW at 800-945-3543.