Nature preserves dedicated under section 1517.05 of the Revised Code are to be held in trust, for the uses and purposes set forth in that section, for the benefit of the people of the state of present and future generations. They shall be managed and protected in the manner approved by and subject to rules established by the chief of the division of natural areas and preserves. They shall not be taken for any other use except another public use after a finding by the department of natural resources of the existence of an imperative and unavoidable public necessity for such other public use and with the approval of the governor. Except as may otherwise be provided in the articles of dedication, the department may grant, upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, an estate, interest, or right in, or dispose of, a nature preserve, but only after a finding by the department of the existence of an imperative and unavoidable public necessity for the grant or disposition and with the approval of the governor.
Effective Date: 06-06-2003.