Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

Saturday, August 15
Glacial Geology Auto Tour

Tim Snyder, naturalist and ONAPA board member, will conduct a driving auto tour across the landscape of west central Ohio. The landscape has been shaped by deep stream valleys and glacial activity, leaving behind a landscape with a deep geological history.

Registration REQUIRED - participation is limited to 6 vehicles with carpooling required - email [email protected].

Illustration courtesy of ODNR

SAVE THE DATE! ONAPA Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, September 19

Plan to join ONAPA for its Annual Meeting at the Dawes Aboretum, Saturday, September 19. Our speakers will be Jim McCormac, photographer and retired ODNR botanist, and Dr. Randy Mitchell, distinquished professor of biology at the University of Akron, specializing in pollinator research. Field trips will be scheduled near the aboretum, Newark, Ohio. More information and registration will be posted soon.

Photo courtesy of Thompson Township

Saturday, August 29, 10:30 am
Unique view of Thompson Ledges Township Park

Dan Best, retired Chief Naturalist for the Geauga County Park District, will lead this walk. He will focus on the unusual ecology and geology of the Sharon Conglomerate cliffs and caverns of Thompson Ledges in Geauga County - these features are also found at Nelson Ledges and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Registration REQUIRED - email [email protected].

April stewardship: prescribed burns added to regular projects

April was a busy month for ONAPA stewardship! Between eight prescribed burns and six stewardship projects, our volunteers and one stewardship assistant, Annalora were busy. Along with a team of partners, we accomplished eight prescribed burns at:

Crall Woods & Blackfork Bottoms Parks, Ashland Co. Park District
Daughmer Savanna & Salem Prairie, Crawford Co. Park District
Gorman Nature Center, Richland Co. Park District
Honey Run Highlands & Wolf Run Regional Parks, Knox Co. Park District
North Kingsville Sand Barrens, Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Our stewardship projects were focused on garlic mustard control at Shallenberger Preserve, Brinkhaven Barrens, Christmas Rocks, Olsen Preserve, Knox Woods Preserve, and Salem Prairie. The stewardship project at Salem Prairie was after the prescribed burn and was an effort to cut and treat the woody species, primarily autumn-olive, in the burned part of the prairie. It will likely look spectacular this summer.

Bonnett Pond Bog

W. Pearl King Savanna

For February, we were able to accomplish six projects, so it was a productive month:

February 4 - Bonnett Pond Bog - worked on the bog mat as the pond was frozen thanks to long-term frigid temperatures
February 11 - Daughmer Savanna
February 17 - Pearl King Savanna with Columbus Metro Parks - large group of almost 40 people, many staff and volunteers from Columbus Metro Parks
February 19 - North Kingsville Sand Barrens with Cleveland Museum of Natural History - cleared more trees and burned brush piles to open more units for prescribed burning in the spring
February 25 - Kitty Todd with The Nature Conservancy - worked on fire breaks for two burn units
February 26 - Wolf Run Regional Park with Knox Co Park District - cut and treated woody species in a grassland unit to be burned this spring

ONAPA is preparing to help several other partners with prescribed burns this spring including at Daughmer Savanna, North Kingsville Sand Barrens, Ashland County Park District, Knox County Park District, Crawford County Park District, and Richland CountyvPark District. These burns will be conducted in March and April. (Photos by Jennifer WIndus)

Bonnett Pond Bog

Only two projects to start 2026

Due to the holiday break, we did not start our stewardship projects until January 15 at Lakeside Daisy Preserve. We had a good turnout of 10 people on a snowy day and lots

of cedars were removed. At the second project - Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area - we removed woody species from one of the prairie fringed orchid sites. Brinkhaven Barrens, cancelled January 28 because of snow depth, was rescheduled for February 12.

Crall Woods & Blackfork Bottoms Parks, Ashland Co. Park District
Daughmer Savanna & Salem Prairie, Crawford Co. Park District
Gorman Nature Center, Richland Co. Park District
Honey Run Highlands & Wolf Run Regional Parks, Knox Co. Park District
North Kingsville Sand Barrens, Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Attendees at ONAPA 12th Annual Meeting August 23 enjoy great weather at Alley Park

ONAPA held its 12th Annual Meeting on Saturday, August 23 at the Gosling Nature Center at Alley Park in Lancaster. Two guest speakers, Andrew Lane Gibson from the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and Heather Stehle from Crane Hollow, Inc., shared their experience, often with a side of humor. Andrew took the audience on a trip around Lake Superior, highlighting the orchids of the region’s many habitats. Heather shared the legacy of Crane Hollow Preserve.

Guy Denny and Jennifer Windus also gave updates about ONAPA activities in the past year. It was a good turnout with 72 people attending. Two vendors selling nature-related items were available for attendees -- Savannah Freeman with Moonville Print Shop and Nora Steele. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the four field trips in the afternoon -- Crane Hollow, led by Heather Stehle and Jennifer Windus, Wahkeena Preserve, led by Tom Shisler, Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, led by Tim Snyder, and a short hike around Alley Park, led by Dick Moseley.

Volunteer Stewardship

Stewardship Project Reports

Member Activities

2024 Event Highlights

Stewardship
Projects

We plan stewardship projects year-round throughout Ohio and we are always looking for volunteers. We will include a short field trip on each project to see some of the preserve where we are working.

2025 Member
Field Trips

Preserve
Monitoring

Field trips are scheduled from late spring into early fall. Most are easy walks through our state's Division of Natural Area's preserves. Watch the website and Facebook page for updates.

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.