The land around the former Portage Manor could soon become public trails.

Ecologist Steve Sass and County Surveyor Derek Dieter are creating a nonprofit to restore the area and open it for hiking and biking.

The county council recently approved a plan for St. Thomas More Academy to move into the building while leaving most of the land untouched.

Sass and Dieter want the remaining 90 acres kept for public use and hope Portage Township will take over the nearby cemetery where about 1,300 former residents are buried.

The St. Joseph County Commissioners will decide what happens next.