Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER
Invasive Species Control at Myersville Fen State Nature Preserve
AND
Invasive Woody Species Control at Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve

The November 12 and 13 Stewardship projects will be rescheduled, possibly after the first of the year.

Several stewardship projects added to our calendar in November-December need your help

November 12 - Myersville Fen, Summit, POSTPONED
November 13 - Cedar Bog, Champaign, POSTPONED
November 19 - Whipple Preserve, Adams, 10:30 am-3:30 pm
December 4 - Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, Holmes, 10:00 am-3:00 pm

For a description of each project's activities, directions to the project locations and helpful information about what to bring, visit our VOLUNTEER page and scroll down to the last few projects on the page. To sign up for any of the projects or if you have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.

(Photo courtesy of the Friends of Crowell-Hilaka, Richfield Heritage Preserve.)

First project with Scenic Rivers works to restore Little Darby prairie remnant

On Thursday, October 24, five ONAPA volunteers worked with three Scenic Rivers staff and four Scenic Rivers volunteers on a Scenic Rivers property on the Little Darby Creek near West Jefferson to reopen a remnant prairie. This was ONAPA's first stewardship project on Scenic Rivers lands and it was a rewarding project. Heather Doherty, the Central Ohio Scenic Rivers Coordinator, requested ONAPA's help on this prairie opening. We removed woody species including bush honeysuckle, hawthorn, autumn-olive, elm, and cherry to restore a small prairie. We are all hopeful this restoration will invigorate the prairie species, including purple coneflower, gray-headed coneflower, scaly blazing-star, and others. We looked at another prairie opening nearby with lots of scaly blazing-star and hope to work there this winter.

Lakeside daisy population gets a helping hand from ONAPA, DNAP and USFWS

On Tuesday, October 15, 19 people from ONAPA, USFWS, and DNAP worked together to transplant over 400 Lakeside daisy plants from the active Lafarge Quarry in Marblehead to the new preserve addition. This effort continues an annual recovery program to salvage plants from the quarry and establish new populations on protected, public lands. In the past, plants were moved to Kelleys Island State Park. Plants are carefully dug from areas in the quarry slated for blasting, moved and planted in appropriate habitat, and watered. The hope is these plants will become established, flower and produce seed, and increase genetic diversity in the existing population.

Openings restored in Brinkhaven prairie

On Saturday, October 19, 14 ONAPA volunteers and Rick Gardner from DNAP worked with Randy Carmel, president of the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust (KWLT), at Brinkhaven Oak Barrens in Holmes County to clear woody species from the north barrens. It was a beautiful day and the group was able to clear two areas in the north barrens, cutting and treating winged sumac, hazelnut, black cherry, and some oaks that are invading this prairie opening. This is a great partnership between ONAPA and KWLT - we hope to assist the land trust more this winter and next year with stewardship at Brinkhaven Barrens.

Before volunteer work

After volunteer work

Groups join forces to clear bog of invasives

On Wednesday, September 25, a brave and hard-working crew of 20 ventured over to Cranberry Island in Buckeye Lake to work on restoration of some of the bog meadows. This included 8 ONAPA volunteers, 5 DNAP staff, and 7 dedicated members of the Native Orchid Preservation & Education Society (NOPES) from Cincinnati.

The bog meadows have grown up in thickets of glossy buckthorn and poison sumac over several years due to lack of management. At the request of DNAP, ONAPA decided to take on another new stewardship project, knowing this one will be a significant amount of work for 3-4 years (see BEFORE photo).

Despite the warm weather, most volunteers wore Tyvek suits provided by DNAP and NOPES, to prevent or minimize exposure to poison sumac, which we cut and hauled. DNAP staff cleared the boardwalk so you could see it and walk it! The crew worked hard to remove woody species in one of the meadows along the boardwalk, cutting and treating the woody stems, then hauling the woody stems to an area at the edge of the island. A significant amount of work was accomplished and we have scheduled another workday for October 31 - so appropriate for Halloween!

New Lakeside daisy addition features premier alvar habitat ready for more

For the last ONAPA field trip of our season, Jennifer Windus and Guy Denny led a group of 24 people on a tour of the new addition to the Lakeside Daisy Preserve on Marblehead Peninsula on Tuesday, September 10. DNAP acquired 118 acres in May, using a US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) grant, to add to the existing 19-acre preserve. The addition contains impressive glacial grooves and habitat for Lakeside daisy. While some daisies already occur on the property, ONAPA will be helping DNAP and USFWS to move plants and seeds from the active quarry to the new property. Field trip participants were able to see the glacial grooves and the southern portion of the property where more daisies will be transplanted. Despite the heat and humidity, it was a great day to see the new property along with glacial grooves, blooming ladies'-tresses, foxglove, stiff goldenrod, limestone savory, and spiked blazing-stars, to name just a few!

Volunteers remove woody species at Gallagher Fen in Clark County

On Saturday, September 7, 12 ONAPA and DNAP volunteers worked with preserve manager Michelle Comer at Gallagher Fen SNP in Clark County to remove woody species from the east fen and remove bush honeysuckle from the woods above the fen. The group accomplished a lot in the east fen as we continue to remove and stump treat invading woody species such as glossy buckthorn, privet, bush honeysuckle, dogwoods, and willows. It was a great day and we were happy to welcome three new volunteers, including a student from Wittenberg University.

7th Annual Meeting at the Goslin Nature Center gives attendees an up close look at Ohio's natural, often rare, treasures

The speakers were informative, the food was delicious and the weather held only a few raindrops for the afternoon field trips.

For more on this year's event, go to the 2019 Annual Meeting.

Volunteer Stewardship Project Reports

For the latest Stewardship Project Reports,
CLICK HERE.

Member Activities

For the latest Member Activity Reports,
CLICK HERE,

Stewardship
Projects

We have several stewardship projects planned for 2019, some of which are again on weekdays this year. We will include a short field trip on each project to see some of the preserve we are working at. RSVP HERE.

Member
Field Trips

Preserve
Monitoring

The 2019 ONAPA member field trip schedule can be found HERE. Please remember to RSVP in advance so that we can plan accordingly. Not a member? Join HERE.

Any state nature preserve in your area can be visited and a report completed to help inform ONAPA and the preserve managers about the condition of the preserve. Click HERE for information.