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Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Woody Species Control at Brinkhaven Oak Barrens State Nature Preserve 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Township Road 13, Brinkhaven (Gann) Holmes County Brinkhaven Oak Barrens was designated as a state natural landmark in 2005 for being the best example in north central Ohio of what famous Ohio ecologist, Paul Sears called “oak openings.” It was just dedicated as a state nature preserve this year. The 114-acre preserve, owned by the private non-profit organization, Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, protects two oak barrens containing 6 state-listed plants, including the threatened thyme-leaved pinweed. ONAPA has been assisting the KWLT with habitat management to restore the two oak openings. We will work in one of the two openings, cutting woody stems and treating the cut stems with herbicide. Trained ONAPA stewardship assistants will conduct the herbicide application. Directions: From Brinkhaven (Gann) on U.S. Rt. 62, drive about 4 ¼ miles east on U.S. Route 62 to Holmes Co. Rd. 25. Drive about ¾ mile north to an intersection and turn |
left (west) on to Township Road 13. Drive for about 1.2
miles and the parking lot will be on the right. The parking lot is about 500 feet beyond the old railroad overpass, on the right (it is hard to see as it is a grass parking lot with no signage). What to bring: Bring lunch, water, hiking boots, and gloves. ONAPA and KWLT 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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Registration is open for the
ONAPA Annual Meeting Saturday, August 23, 2025 Alley Park 2805 Old Logan Road SE Lancaster, OH 43130 To register, visit EVENTBRITE! 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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Thursday, August 14, 2025
Woody Species Control at Wolf Run Regional Park 10:00 am – 3:00 pm 17621 Yauger Road, Mt Vernon Knox County The state-endangered yellow-bellied sapsucker, a small woodpecker, utilizes wooded habitat in the park for foraging and shelter. Granite boulders carried by Ohio’s last ice age 100,000 years ago dot the landscape. Small streams that comprise the headwaters of Wolf Run, which flows to the Kokosing River, grace the landscape. This park is adjacent to Knox Woods State Nature Preserve.
We will be assisting the Knox County Park District to control woody species invading grassland units which have been burned recently (ONAPA helps the park district with prescribed burning). We will work in at least two units in or adjacent to Wolf Run Park, which is located on the east side of Mount Vernon. DIRECTIONS: We will meet at the parking lot on Yauger Road, near the dog park. |
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, hiking boots, gloves, and water. ONAPA and the Park district staff 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. |
Silver-spotted Skipper: Ohio’s most recognizable and likely most common species of skipper can be found on nearly every mid-summer hike.
Variegated Fritillary on a zinnia: A migrant from the south, it prefers low grass and open meadows with nectar sources.
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August in Ohio is the peak of butterfly season
Photos and story by John Watts
The month of August is a great time to get out and chase the last flood of butterflies before fall arrives. August ushers in the second brood groups such as Tiger, Spicebush, and Pipevine Swallowtails in fairly large numbers, especially around Joe-pye Weeds. Other second brood species such as Zabulon and Silver-spotted Skippers’ and Clouded and Orange Sulphurs’ numbers become increasingly more noticeable as well as Monarchs. Several Monarchs have been observed over the past few weeks. Another group of butterflies that we tend to find in mid-summer are the southern migrants that have worked their way northward. Species such as Gray Hairstreaks, Cloudless Sulphurs, Sleepy Oranges, and Variegated Fritillaries appear in good numbers during invasion years and can be absent in other years. With peak numbers of second brood species, a few late season holdovers from June, and an influx of a few migrants, it is possible to observe 15-20 species of butterflies in a single day during August. Areas with a diversity of flowering plants along or near old field and woodland edges are often most productive. Areas near clover hayfields and even a yard with a good supply of white clover can be productive. Gardens with a variety of native summer plants and even a few zinnias will attract a surprising number of butterflies to your yard. |
Big bluestem --
Photo by Guy Denny
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Saturday, September 13, 10:30 am, enjoy a prairie fen
ONAPA President Guy L. Denny will lead a tour of Resthaven Wildlife Area, located in Castalia (Erie County). Meet at the Resthaven Wildlife Office parking lot at the end of Cement Street. Participation is limited to 30, so please register. The grassland is home to a variety of native plants characteristic of prairie ecosystems.
Registration REQUIRED -- Email [email protected]. |
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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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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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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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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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