COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will transfer management of Jefferson Lake State Park to ODNR's Division of Wildlife and will create a new state park in the Akron area.

Jefferson Lake in Jefferson County is currently managed as a state park by ODNR's Division of Parks & Recreation. It has served the local population with land available for a variety of outdoor recreation uses.

With the management change, Jefferson Lake will remain open to hunting, hiking, wildlife watching and fishing. Whether the facility will continue to offer other opportunities, such as bridle trails, will depend upon local involvement by user groups.

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The ODNR Division of Wildlife recently purchased a portion of Wingfoot Lake near Akron, a property owned and operated for a number of years by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In a news release, ODNR officials said while the 371 acre lake at this property is ideal for fishing, the surrounding property is less suited as a state wildlife area due to the existing infrastructure on the upland portions of the property.

"This move will allow us to make more green space available to more people at a lower cost to the public," said ODNR Director Sean Logan. "These agreements improve efficiency, provide more services and open new recreational opportunities; all while preserving the quality and increasing the quantity of Ohio's natural public lands."

State officials said the management change will keep ODNR's management costs down because Jefferson Lake is very close to both Brush Creek and Highlandtown wildlife areas and Wingfoot Lake is close to Quail Hollow and Portage Lakes state parks. They said this will reduce the amount of time that staff will be commuting between the various properties and enable more hours of staff presence at the new park.

"We all know how important quality of life is to economic development and job creation," Logan said. "Agreements like this save taxpayer money. As important, they show more Ohioans the important connection that exists between quality of life and quality of place."

During the coming months, details of the new operating plans by each division will be developed and the transfers should be completed and the properties operational for the 2010 season. Both properties will be open to the public, but ODNR said "there will be some differences in user experiences."

For more information, visit the ODNR Web site at www.ohiodnr.com.