Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

Thursday, July 16, 2020
Bush honeysuckle removal at Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
2381 State Route 343, Yellow Springs
Greene County

This 268-acre preserve protects one of the most spectacular dolomite and limestone gorges in the state. Registered as a National Natural Landmark in 1968, Clifton Gorge encompasses a 2-mile stretch of the Little Miami State & National Scenic River, just east of John Bryan State Park. The gorge protects one of the best examples of post-glacial and inter-glacial canyon cutting. The Silurian limestone and dolomite bedrock supports an abundance of plant life, including at least 347 species of wildflowers and 105 species of trees and shrubs. The cool north-facing slopes provide much needed moist, shady habitat for northern relics such as hemlock, Canada yew, arborvitae, red baneberry and mountain maple.
The limestone bedrock here provides an ideal habitat for bush honeysuckle, and other invasive shrubs.

This stewardship project will focus on removal of these shrubs in sensitive areas. We will be working on the south side of the river which is the Scientific side and usually requires an access permit to visit. We will be cutting shrubs and treating stumps with herbicide to prevent re-sprouting. Smaller shrubs may be pulled and removed from the site. Hiking on the Scientific side of the preserve may be difficult as there are no trails & it is very rocky, including some mild climbing down rocks to reach some areas.

Directions: Park at the main Clifton Gorge parking lot, just west of Clifton on State Route 343.

What to Bring: Bring lunch, water and gloves. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers.

RSVP: If you would like to attend or have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. Online registration is important for our planning.

Stewardship assistants and volunteers accomplish much in preserves during June

In spite of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, ONAPA stewardship assistants and volunteers have been busy with stewardship activities and rare plant projects throughout June. We had two scheduled stewardship projects at Milford Center Prairie June 4, and Chaparral Prairie June 18. At both prairies, we worked to remove herbaceous invasives such as sweet-clover and common teasel. Small groups of volunteers, combined with our four stewardship assistants, have been effective in accomplishing much needed work on the preserves so far this season.

We also visited Cranberry Bog to check on our stewardship projects last fall and were impressed to see so many orchids, both rose pogonia and grass-pinks. We collected purple loosestrife beetles from Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area to distribute at Jackson Bog Preserve. We collected Lakeside Daisy seeds from the Lafarge Quarry to be distributed later this year on the new portion of the preserve. We pulled garlic mustard at Davey Woods and Bonnett Pond Bog.

Our stewardship assistants have been busy at Brinkhaven Barrens,

working with Randy Carmel, president of the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, to begin control of Japanese stiltgrass. Most recently, we have been conducting surveys for the Eastern prairie fringed orchid in several locations, in cooperation with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

ONAPA Annual Meeting

CANCELLED

Due to concerns with the ongoing pandemic,
the Annual Meeting has been
cancelled for 2020.

We are sorry to cancel this meeting and will miss seeing everyone, but we feel this is the most responsible decision for the safety of our members, Board, speakers, and field trip leaders.

We encourage you to participate in ONAPA's activities on stewardship projects, preserve monitoring reports, and continued donations. Thank you for your support during The Big Give, which was extremely successful for ONAPA this year!

No ONAPA July prairie walk but Ohio's prairies are open for your personal ramble

ONAPA has decided to suspend our natural history membership field trips in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID – 19. However, you can enjoy your own walk through the prairies of Ohio: Kitty Todd Nature Preserve, Irwin State Nature Preserve and Erie Sand Barrens SNP in northwest Ohio and the Big Darby Plains that include Bigelow and Smith Cemetery State Nature Preserves in central Ohio. For more information on theses and other sites, visit OSU.edu.

We will also decide whether to offer other smaller group field trips later this year. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Boardwalk repairs at Fowler Woods completed, making wildflower walks safer

On Wednesday, May 6, three DNAP staff and eight ONAPA volunteers worked together to make final repairs on the boardwalk at Fowler Woods SNP.

Previously ONAPA had worked with DNAP for a day in January and February to remove damaged boards and begin to replace them.

This time we were able to replace approximately 50 boards in areas we had removed damaged boards, making the complete boardwalk trail accessible to preserve visitors now. The spring wildflowers looked spectacular and we were happy to make the boardwalk safer and easier to traverse with all the visitors looking at wildflowers and birds.

DNAP plans to have the entire boardwalk replaced this year, but it is not clear yet when the contract work will begin.

For more stewardship project opportunities, visit VOLUNTEER.

Volunteers find Highland County's Miller Nature Preserve lush with wildflowers

The first ONAPA stewardship project for the spring-summer season April 28 was an amazing day at Miller Preserve in Highland County. The weather was warm and sunny, and the spring wildflowers were spectacular. Six ONAPA volunteers and two DNAP staff, including preserve manager Josh Deemer, scouted several areas of the preserve searching for garlic mustard. Although we did not find very much, we did haul out several bags.

There were some extraordinary feats of bravery getting garlic mustard on the cliff faces and tops of slump blocks! It was a rewarding feeling to see that there is less garlic mustard present as the wildflowers are so dense and lush in this preserve. We were impressed to see three new bridges built by Josh and his staff. Some of the wildflowers we saw included bluebells, white trillium, miterwort, shooting stars, twin-leaf, and Greek valerian. We practiced social distancing, staying safe and rejuvenated.

Spring and summer small group stewardship projects back in business

We now have approval from DNAP to resume our stewardship projects on state nature preserves with the following restrictions:

Group size will be limited to 10 people or less, including DNAP staff.
We will be using social distancing, working in a scattered fashion at least 6' apart from each other.
Volunteers should plan to travel separately, unless they are part of a family living together.
Volunteers should plan to bring and wear face masks when working in the preserve.
Registration on the website is critical so that we can monitor attendance; if more than 10 people register, all volunteers will be contacted to confirm attendance and the most recent registrants will be asked to attend another project.

We appreciate your cooperation with these important coronavirus guidelines and we look forward to seeing you soon!

For descriptions of the projects and to sign-up, go to our VOLUNTEER page.

Twinleaf at Collier SNP

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 2020, 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 2020 ONAPA member field trip schedule has been put on hold due to the pandemic. Watch the website and Facebook page for updates.

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.