Thursday, February 25, 2021 - (Rescheduled from February 16)
Woody Species Removal at Bonnett Pond Bog State Nature Preserve
Woody Species Removal at Bonnett Pond Bog State Nature Preserve
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10:30 am - 3:00 pm
State Route 179, Northeast of Loudonville Holmes County Bonnett Pond Bog State Nature Preserve is a small, 16-acre, high-quality sphagnum kettle-hole bog. A floating sphagnum mat with bog plants such as large cranberry, poison sumac, round-leaved sundew, swamp loosestrife, little prickly sedge, white beak-rush, highbush blueberry, and glaucous sedge surround the dark acidic waters of the bog lake. There are some large trees on the wooded slopes surrounding the kettle-hole bog. Our project includes removing woody shrubs such as highbush blueberry from the bog meadow. We will be using the cut stump treatment method. Each shrub will be cut with loppers and the stump will be treated with herbicide to prevent re-sprouting. Trained DNAP staff and ONAPA volunteers will conduct the herbicide application. |
Note that poison sumac is present in this bog, so special care will be taken to avoid it.
Directions: In Washington Township, the preserve is located on State Route 179. From Loudonville, proceed northeast on SR 3. Turn right on SR 179. The preserve will be on the left before you reach Lakeville. Parking is very limited; a few cars can park at the edge of the field near the electric substation, while others may need to park at the intersection of SR 3 and SR 179 (and be shuttled to the preserve). The preserve is mostly wooded and you will see state nature preserve boundary signs from the road. Due to the lack of facilities and the sensitive species present in the small bog, access is usually by permit only from the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. What to bring: Lunch, water, muck/knee boots, and gloves. RSVP: To attend, please REGISTER HERE. If you have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. |
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Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) Survey at Sheick Hollow State Nature Preserve 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Buckeye Lake, Hocking County RESCHEDULED from February 11 Sheick Hollow is a narrow canyon composed of Black Hand sandstone cliffs that create a boreal forest-like atmosphere supporting Canada yew, hemlock and birch on the cliff faces and steep slopes. Numerous waterfalls are common in the spring as water cascades from the various small tributaries of the main stream. We will be looking for signs of HWA infestation.
Directions: Access is by permit only - you will be emailed directions to this project after you register. |
What to bring: Lunch, water, hiking boots, trekking poles, hand lens (if you have one), gloves.
RSVP: To attend, please REGISTER HERE. If you have questions, contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. |
Looking for 2021 Stewardship Assistants to help with habitat management
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ONAPA is once again, for the sixth year, looking for stewardship assistants to help us with habitat management in natural areas, rare plant monitoring, preserve monitoring, and other stewardship and restoration projects with various partners in the state. Individuals may be recent college graduates, graduate students, or students just completing their junior year of college. For more information, visit our STEWARDSHIP ASSISTANT page. If you wish to apply for the position CONTACT US.
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First Lake Katharine HWA survey completed and second survey planned
On Thursday, February 4, three ONAPA volunteers and two Crane Hollow staff worked with preserve manager, Coleman Minney to survey for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) at Lake Katharine Preserve. HWA has been found there before and is unfortunately well-established in a large area of the preserve, despite on-going treatments. We hiked a large area on the north side of Lake Katharine, surveying the underside of hemlock branches to look for the characteristic white, fuzzy dots (see photo) of HWA at this time of year. With six of us doing the survey, we hiked in a well-spaced line so that we could survey as many trees with low-hanging branches as possible. We did find more trees infected with HWA, which was disappointing, but this information will help DNAP determine the best approach for treatment this year. We will be doing another survey at Lake Katharine on Wednesday, February 24, so please sign up to help us. It will be guaranteed to be a beautiful day of hiking! |
Did I just see a bat flying outside in the winter?
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By John Watts
Ohio hosts eleven species of bats. Bats are considered unique within Ohio’s animal species as our only true flying mammal (flying squirrels actually glide). We usually don’t think about seeing a bat during the winter months in Ohio as our bats generally migrate further south to avoid Ohio’s winter temperatures. Some species hibernate in cave systems or buildings to survive winter; however, the Red Bat utilizes trees and thick leaf cover to hibernate in the southern part of Ohio. During “winter thaw periods” if air temperatures warm to around 66-degrees they may be roused to fly for a few hours and even foraging on winter insects that have also been triggered to emerge. Your best chances to encounter a winter Red Bat will be in the southern part of Ohio. When found, they are generally very observable as they fly a pattern back and forth near the emerging insects. After a couple hours or so they return to their solitary winter roost well before dark and continue their winter hibernation. Red Bats are easily recognizable by their large size and distinguishing color as they are Ohio’s only red to reddish-orange bat.
The following references are recommended for additional information about Ohio’s bats.
Belwood, Jacqueline J. 1998. In Ohio’s Backyard: Bats. Ohio Biological Survey. Backyard Series No. 1.
Brack, Virgil Jr. et al. 2010. Bats of Ohio. Publ. No. 4. Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation.
See more of John's ongoing observations on the ONAPA FIELD NOTES page.
Ohio hosts eleven species of bats. Bats are considered unique within Ohio’s animal species as our only true flying mammal (flying squirrels actually glide). We usually don’t think about seeing a bat during the winter months in Ohio as our bats generally migrate further south to avoid Ohio’s winter temperatures. Some species hibernate in cave systems or buildings to survive winter; however, the Red Bat utilizes trees and thick leaf cover to hibernate in the southern part of Ohio. During “winter thaw periods” if air temperatures warm to around 66-degrees they may be roused to fly for a few hours and even foraging on winter insects that have also been triggered to emerge. Your best chances to encounter a winter Red Bat will be in the southern part of Ohio. When found, they are generally very observable as they fly a pattern back and forth near the emerging insects. After a couple hours or so they return to their solitary winter roost well before dark and continue their winter hibernation. Red Bats are easily recognizable by their large size and distinguishing color as they are Ohio’s only red to reddish-orange bat.
The following references are recommended for additional information about Ohio’s bats.
Belwood, Jacqueline J. 1998. In Ohio’s Backyard: Bats. Ohio Biological Survey. Backyard Series No. 1.
Brack, Virgil Jr. et al. 2010. Bats of Ohio. Publ. No. 4. Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation.
See more of John's ongoing observations on the ONAPA FIELD NOTES page.
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January ends with fen and woods projects
On Tuesday, January 19, four ONAPA volunteers worked with DNAP preserve manager, Maureen Bogdanski at Springville Marsh to cut and treat woody species which are invading the sedge meadows along the boardwalk. We accomplished a significant amount of removal of dogwoods, buckthorn, willows, and red maple. This should reduce shade in the sedge meadows and improve habitat for the native fen plants at the site.
On Thursday, January 28, ten ONAPA volunteers joined five DNAP staff and volunteers at Halls Creek Woods to cut and treat Amur bush honeysuckle in the woods. With recent snowfall, it was a beautiful day to work in the woods. We broke into two groups and covered a large area in the woods, searching for scattered honeysuckle, cutting it and treating the cut stems with herbicide. |
Three projects start off winter 2021 with removing woody species from open habitat
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ONAPA started its winter stewardship projects on Thursday, January 7, at Erie Sand Barrens (photos top right) . We are happy to have hosted three projects before mid-January, and the weather has cooperated. At Erie Sand Barrens, seven people from ONAPA and DNAP worked together to clear and treat woody stems growing in one of the high-quality sand barren areas with several rare plants. It has grown up in aspens, willows, and dogwoods, but we got a great start in opening it up again. DNAP plans to conduct a prescribed burn at the preserve in the spring, so this should also help to control the woody species.
On Wednesday, January 13, ONAPA and DNAP worked with Beaver Creek Wetlands Association (BCWA) at Zimmerman Prairie near Dayton to cut and treat woody species invading the small wet prairie. There was a great turnout with 14 people, including six from ONAPA. BCWA now manages the site in cooperation with DNAP and they have worked hard recently to control cattails and woody species. They were very grateful to have our help. We have another project scheduled with them in February. (Photos middle right). On Thursday, January 14, seven people from ONAPA and DNAP |
worked together at Kiser Lake Wetlands (bottom photos) to cut and treat woody species in the fen meadow in the Grandview Heights section. This continues the work we did last September. Between both
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days, the meadow adjacent to Kiser Lake is looking much more open, so we are excited to see the response this summer. We removed willows, autumn-olive, dogwoods, multiflora rose, privet, and bush honeysuckle, while avoiding the poison sumac. |
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Hocking Hills Preserve asking for volunteer help with HWA surveys through March
Crane Hollow will once again be monitoring for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) this winter. If you are interested in helping with HWA surveys at Crane Hollow Preserve in Hocking County, please visit the Crane Hollow website and REGISTER. Details will be sent via email after you register. Scheduled HWA surveys at Crane Hollow are: Saturday, February 20 Wednesday, March 3 Sunday, March 14 Wednesday, March 24 Groups must be kept to 10 people or less so be sure to register and receive confirmation before you go. |
Crane Hollow
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New boardwalk at Fowler Woods a pleasure to walk during any season
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By Dick Moseley
Fowler Woods Nature Preserve opened again to visitors October 26 after the new boardwalk was completed ahead of schedule . The Division of Natural Areas and Preserves held a ribbon-cutting ceremony October 23 to reopen the preserve for visitation on the preserve’s new boardwalk. ODNR Director Mary Mertz and DNAP Chief Jeff Johnson spoke to the small gathering of ten invited guests at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the walkway that replaced the 40-year-old boardwalk. Jagger Construction Company of Lima replaced the 1-1/4 mile trail with a fully accessible trail from the entrance parking lot. Whether physically challenged or accompanied by young children, everyone has an opportunity to experience this beautiful Beech-Maple Swamp Forest. The trail winds through the wetland swamp forest and the upland beech and maple forest, offering a variety of habitats and flora. The project. costing $ 486,200, was funded by an 80 percent Federal Recreation Trail Grant, matched by the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves' 20 percent, which was financed from the Income Tax Checkoff Program. Come enjoy this beautiful Nature Preserve, whether snow-covered in winter or when spring wildflowers are on full display. |
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