Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Woody Species Control at Brinkhaven Oak Barrens
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.” 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 the northern opening, as the southern opening has had significant clearing in the past two years, as well as a spring burn in April 2016. We will be cutting larger woody stems and treating the cut stems with herbicide. Trained DNAP staff and ONAPA volunteers 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, gloves, and hand tools such as hand saws and loppers (if you wish). ONAPA and KWLT will provide tools and herbicide, and conduct herbicide application.

PLEASE RSVP: This is an added activity and we need you to use our CONTACT US link. If you would like to attend or have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE.

November projects enhance open habitats by clearing woody species

ONAPA had three stewardship projects in November:

The month started with a second project at Cranberry Bog on November 5. We accomplished a significant amount of clearing in the bog meadow near the boardwalk with four ONAPA volunteers, five DNAP staff, and two volunteers from the Native Orchid Preservation & Education Society in Cincinnati. We will plan another work day at the bog this winter.

On November 6, eight ONAPA volunteers and three DNAP staff cut, cleared, and treated woody species at the Medway site for Eastern prairie fringed orchids. ONAPA has been working with USFWS and DNAP at this site, which is owned by the City of Dayton, for several years to control woody species invasion and improve orchid habitat.

Finally on November 19, a small crew of three ONAPA volunteers and four DNAP staff cut and cleared red cedars from a newly acquired 10-acre property at Whipple Preserve in Adams County. We worked in some of the small prairie openings to enhance habitat for numerous prairie plants occurring there. We are excited to see the results next summer!

Three or four projects will be scheduled each month during January through March, so watch the website and eNews for the new dates and details. Some of the natural areas will include Cranberry Bog, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, Mallard Club Wildlife Area, Cedar Bog, Bonnett Pond Bog, and Flatiron Lake Bog.

November Cranberry Bog crew suited up

Medway PFO site volunteers

Bob Klips checking out lichens at Whipple.

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.

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.