In March 2006, the City of Cleveland released its Dike 14 Public Natural Area Master Plan. This is a blueprint for converting a former dredge disposal facility at the northern end of MLK Drive into a publicly accessible site that's "a verdant and thriving collection of vegetation communities and an important—and critical—landing and refueling station for thousands of migratory birds," according to a summary of the report.
Since dredge deposits ceased in 1977, Dike 14’s 88 acres began its own self-regeneration and has been evolving with little human intervention. Neither a conventional public park, nature preserve, or wildlife sanctuary, [the plan] was borne from the creative imagination of adjacent neighborhoods, nonprofit groups, governmental agencies, nature education advocates, and local naturalists who have worked for decades to gain public
access to this great asset. Now that the plan is complete, the next step is to complete a risk assessment and remediate any barriers to public access.
The plan includes preserving and adding wildflower meadows, lowland woodlands, upland woodlands, a group of conifer trees, and a wetland. And new features include a multi-purpose trail, 20-foot high raptor viewing ramp connected to a 30-foot high raptor tower and a grove encircled with an earthen observation mound at the tip of the dike.
Go here for the complete summary and link to the full plan.
