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Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves releases new map Today, 147 State Nature Preserves have been dedicated in Ohio. These diverse areas of land contain remnants of Ohio’s pre-settlement past, rare and endangered species, and wondrous geologic features. While the majority of preserves are owned and managed by the State, some preserves are leased to local park districts for management. Other preserves are owned by non-governmental agencies. Even private landowners have dedicated their lands as preserves in order to be protected by the State. Some preserves are accessible by permit at no charge from the Division. A new map showing the location of Ohio's natural areas and preserves has been released (and is now updated on our website as well). The newest preserves have been added. DNAP also provides a poster showing the order each preserve has been dedicated -- VIEW THAT NEW MAP HERE. |
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Tuesday, July 8, 10 am, enjoy a special tour of kettle lake sphagnum peatlands in Portage County
Leader ONAPA President Guy L. Denny and author of Peatlands of Ohio and the Southern Great Lakes Region will be exploring kettle lake sphagnum peatlands of Portage County. The tour will follow boardwalks in Kent Bog and Triangle Lake State Nature Preserves. If you have a copy of Denny’s peatland book, he will be glad to autograph it. Please register to receive directions on where to meet. To register, please email [email protected]
Registration Required --- participation limited to 15. |
Kent Bog - Photo by Ian Adams
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Thursday, July 10, 10 am, enjoy a walk with some good fronds
Steve McKee, naturalist and retired Director of the Richland County Park District and Gorman Nature Center will lead us through the woods at Malabar Farm State Park (Richland County). His focus will be on the ferns and other flora. Meet in the parking lot next to the Pugh Cabin and sugar shack. Participation limited to 20 -- please register. Registration REQUIRED - Email [email protected]. |
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Thursday, July 10, 2025
Woody Species Control at Travertine Fen 10:30 am - 3:30 pm SR 725, Spring Valley Greene County Travertine Fen contains a high-quality prairie fen with numerous rare species. The preserve is owned and managed by Greene County Parks and Trails. An access permit from Greene County Parks and Trails is required to visit the preserve. This 21-acre site is located northeast of the Little Miami Scenic Bikeway, just beyond the Bellbrook Avenue Bridge. It is a protected wetland fed by springs and is home to many rare species. This state nature preserve has had little management in |
the fen meadows for many years. ONAPA has offered to work with DNAP to restore the fen meadows which are overrun with woody species and cattails. On this first stewardship project, we will be working in one of the fen meadows to cut and treat woody species, pushing back the woody species around the fen meadow core.
Directions: We will be parking along on the southwest side of Bellbrook Avenue, near the bike trail and auto body shop at 200 Bellbrook Ave. We will walk back along the bike trail to access the preserve and fen meadows.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, hiking boots, gloves, and hand tools such as hand saws and loppers (if you wish). ONAPA will provide tools and herbicide and conduct herbicide application.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.
Directions: We will be parking along on the southwest side of Bellbrook Avenue, near the bike trail and auto body shop at 200 Bellbrook Ave. We will walk back along the bike trail to access the preserve and fen meadows.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, hiking boots, gloves, and hand tools such as hand saws and loppers (if you wish). ONAPA will provide tools and herbicide and conduct herbicide application.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.
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Two new Stewardship Assistants join us this summer
We are excited to share we have two new stewardship assistants this season, Annalora Nguyen and Camryn Ford. Annalora started in April and Camryn started in June. If you volunteer on our stewardship projects, you have probably met them already. Both will be working with ONAPA two to three days a week for at least six months. Annalora (on the right in photo) graduated from Ohio University in 2022 with a BS in Biology. She lives in Columbus and has been working at Krema Nut Company. She also volunteers with the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) in Columbus. She started volunteering with ONAPA last year, then applied to be a stewardship assistant. We are happy to have her with us! |
Camryn Ford (on the left in photo) graduated from The Ohio State University in May of this year with a BS in Ecology and Evolution. and also lives in Columbus. While taking courses at OSU, she also worked as an intern in the Office of Environmental Services for ODOT and as an undergraduate lab research assistant at the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity. She has a great background for this position with strong interests in plants and reptiles.
We had 18 applicants for the stewardship assistant positions this spring and conducted four interviews. Annalora and Camryn both have strong backgrounds for the stewardship team, are hard working, and very motivated to get more experience in the field and with our partners. You will meet them if you join us on a stewardship project or enjoy the field trip to Denny's Prairie July 26.
We had 18 applicants for the stewardship assistant positions this spring and conducted four interviews. Annalora and Camryn both have strong backgrounds for the stewardship team, are hard working, and very motivated to get more experience in the field and with our partners. You will meet them if you join us on a stewardship project or enjoy the field trip to Denny's Prairie July 26.
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Eastern Least Clubtail – One of Our Smallest Dragonflies
Photo and story John Watts
When early to mid-summer heat pushes one to the water to stay cool, take the opportunity to watch for our various dragonflies and damselflies. While many of our species are very conspicuous as they cruise through on their hunting routes, special attention is required to see the Eastern Least Clubtail. This tiny clubtail of forested rocky streams is less than an inch and half in total length. Within clear rocky streams, Least Clubtails prefer the shallowest of riffles often perching on flat rocks and leaves just above the flowing water. Once they take flight they become very difficult to track due |
Eastern Least Clubtail
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to their small size but often return the same rock or leaf perch. Careful approach can reward the observer with very close views of this beautiful little clubtail.
While similar to other small clubtails (such as the Pygmy Clubtails), the males show a pale-yellow face, green eyes, and white cerci at the tip of their abdomens. The thorax is striped with greenish-yellow to dark brownish markings. The abdomen is dark with yellow rings on segments 3-7. The “club” at the end of the last couple of segments of the abdomen is fairly prominent for their size.
The Eastern Least Clubtail’s range in Ohio is fairly restricted to the eastern two-thirds of Ohio and are most common in the unglaciated forested hill country. Eastern Least Clubtails are considered uncommon to common within their Ohio distribution. This species ranges from Alabama northward through the Appalachian Mountains into northeastern United States and northern Great Lakes areas. Ohio’s flight period ranges from May to August peaking in June and July. So while cooling off this summer with a stroll through a small stream, keep an eye out for small dark flash of movement.
References:
McShaffrey, D., M. Spring, and J. McCormac. 2014. A Naturalists Guide to the Odonata of Ohio. Special Publication of the Ohio Biological Survey. viii+393.
Paulson, Dennis. 2011. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton University Press. pp. 311-315.
Rosche, Larry, Judy Semroc, and Linda Gilbert. 2008. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio, second edition. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Ohio. pp. 100-101.
While similar to other small clubtails (such as the Pygmy Clubtails), the males show a pale-yellow face, green eyes, and white cerci at the tip of their abdomens. The thorax is striped with greenish-yellow to dark brownish markings. The abdomen is dark with yellow rings on segments 3-7. The “club” at the end of the last couple of segments of the abdomen is fairly prominent for their size.
The Eastern Least Clubtail’s range in Ohio is fairly restricted to the eastern two-thirds of Ohio and are most common in the unglaciated forested hill country. Eastern Least Clubtails are considered uncommon to common within their Ohio distribution. This species ranges from Alabama northward through the Appalachian Mountains into northeastern United States and northern Great Lakes areas. Ohio’s flight period ranges from May to August peaking in June and July. So while cooling off this summer with a stroll through a small stream, keep an eye out for small dark flash of movement.
References:
McShaffrey, D., M. Spring, and J. McCormac. 2014. A Naturalists Guide to the Odonata of Ohio. Special Publication of the Ohio Biological Survey. viii+393.
Paulson, Dennis. 2011. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton University Press. pp. 311-315.
Rosche, Larry, Judy Semroc, and Linda Gilbert. 2008. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio, second edition. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Ohio. pp. 100-101.
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June projects start off with our two new Stewardship Assistants
June was another busy month for the ONAPA stewardship team, including our two new stewardship assistants, Annalora and Camryn, and hardy volunteers. We endured some hot and humid days during our annual prairie fringed orchid surveys (photo), but we accomplished three days of surveys with great results. We had nine days of stewardship and rare plant surveys including projects at Fowler Woods, Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, |
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Johnson Woods, and Clifton Gorge. We also had a training day at Gorman Nature Center for the new stewardship assistants and a few volunteers. Besides the orchid surveys, we were working on removal of butterweed, Japanese stiltgrass, garlic mustard, and Dame's rocket. We were happy to gain some new volunteers this month too!
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Save the date!
ONAPA Annual Meeting Saturday, August 23, 2025 Alley Park 2805 Old Logan Road SE Lancaster, OH 43130 Watch for more information on registration coming soon! Speakers - Andrew Gibson - field botanist with the Ohio Division of Natural Areas & Preserves and Heather Stehle, Executive Director/Preserve Manager, Crane Hollow Preserve. Afternoon field trips: Crane Hollow, Rock House, Wahkeena, and an easy hike around the lake at Alley Park
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Stewardship projects and field trip to Lakeside Daisy preserve highlight ONAPA work
Our stewardship team busy with a few stewardship projects and several days of rare plant monitoring on Lakeside daisy, running buffalo clover at Boch Hollow (photo), and prairie valerian. We spent a day at Milford Center Prairie removing common teasel and other invasives in the right-of-way prairie. We worked with DNAP and USFWS staff for three days on Kelleys Island to conduct a complete survey of the Lakeside daisy population. We also collected Lakeside daisy seed at Holcim Quarry for restoration at the preserve. Two projects at Greenbelt Preserve and Irwin Prairie were cancelled due to rainy weather.
Lakeside daisies were also the highlight of the May 10 field trip on a great day with 11 people visiting the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve, both the original and new portions of the preserve. We talked about this federally listed plant and our recovery efforts, associated plants in the preserve, the geology and alvars, as well as the glacial grooves.
Join us for a project or field trip in June and watch for the July-August schedule coming soon!
Our stewardship team busy with a few stewardship projects and several days of rare plant monitoring on Lakeside daisy, running buffalo clover at Boch Hollow (photo), and prairie valerian. We spent a day at Milford Center Prairie removing common teasel and other invasives in the right-of-way prairie. We worked with DNAP and USFWS staff for three days on Kelleys Island to conduct a complete survey of the Lakeside daisy population. We also collected Lakeside daisy seed at Holcim Quarry for restoration at the preserve. Two projects at Greenbelt Preserve and Irwin Prairie were cancelled due to rainy weather.
Lakeside daisies were also the highlight of the May 10 field trip on a great day with 11 people visiting the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve, both the original and new portions of the preserve. We talked about this federally listed plant and our recovery efforts, associated plants in the preserve, the geology and alvars, as well as the glacial grooves.
Join us for a project or field trip in June and watch for the July-August schedule coming soon!
Invasive herbaceous plants primary targets of April stewardship
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ONAPA was busy in April working on garlic mustard and Dame's rocket in several preserves. Fortunately garlic mustard was found in reduced numbers at each preserve, so we hope our efforts are slowly eliminating the populations. We had 6 projects at the following preserves:
- April 1 - Crane Hollow (photos by Jennifer Windus), clean-up in the pine plantation
- April 9 - Bonnett Pond Bog, garlic mustard & Dame's rocket in the woods
- April 16 - Rhododendron Cove, garlic mustard
- April 19 - Howard Collier Preserve, garlic mustard
- April 23 - Clifton Gorge, garlic mustard & Dame's rocket
- April 30 - Lake Katharine, garlic mustard
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Seven stewardship projects completed in February and March
The ONAPA stewardship team kept busy in February and March with seven projects total. The weather cooperated for most of the projects, and we were able to accomplish some excellent habitat management. In February, we worked at Singer Lake, Travertine Fen, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, and Cedar Bog, with large volunteer groups at both Travertine Fen and Cedar Bog. In March, we worked at Medway prairie fringed orchid site, Daughmer Savanna, and Wolf Run Regional Park. At all these natural areas, we cut and treated woody species. We were also able to conduct prescribed burns on hree days in March.
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Three stewardship projects completed in January with no cancellations due to weather
Lakeside Daisy SNP
Bonnett Pond Bog
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Lakeside Daisy SNP
Brinkhaven Oak Barrens
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Despite some cold and snowy days in January, ONAPA started off the new year with three stewardship projects and did not have to cancel any of them. We appreciated the hardy volunteers and DNAP staff that joined us as we accomplished good work on these preserves all three days:
- Lakeside Daisy Preserve (January 14) - red cedar removal with six people
- Brinkhaven Oak Barrens (January 23) - woody species removal in the north barrens with five people (photo)
- Bonnett Pond Bog (January 28) - woody species removal in the bog meadow with nine people
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VOLUNTEERWe have many volunteer opportunities available throughout the year. Invasive control, preserve monitoring, etc.
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