Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

Saturday, June 26, 2021
Teasel Control at Daughmer Savanna State Nature Preserve
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
786 Marion-Melmore Road, Bucyrus
Crawford County

Daughmer Prairie Savanna is one of the finest prairie savannas in the country. It is a state nature preserve managed by the Crawford County Park District. The prairie has been grazed, but never farmed. Ever since ODNR purchased the site in 2011 and the sheep were removed, a number of invasive species have appeared, the most troublesome being common teasel. Work projects here over the last several years have greatly reduced common teasel numbers, but as yet, it has not been totally eradicated from the preserve. A few other herbaceous invasive plants have been documented as well.

We will be cutting the teasel flower heads off any plants getting ready to flower, then using a shovel to cut down on an angle about 4-5 inches below the base of the plant to sever the tap root, and then pulling the mature plant or rosette out of the ground. We will also control other invasive plants as encountered in the savanna.

Directions: Meet at the parking lot located at 786 Marion-Melmore Road, one mile north of State Route 294, in Crawford County about 9 miles southwest of Bucyrus.

What to bring: Bring lunch, work gloves, long-sleeved shirt and pants, hiking boots, a long-handled shovel, tick spray or repellent, and hand pruners. Soft drinks and water will be provided.

RSVP: If you would like to attend, please REGISTER. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.

Two field trips are back in 2021: Prairie ramble and seed collecting

After suspending our regular series of field trips last year and again early this year due to the threat of COVID-19, now, with so many of us fully vaccinated, we have decided to cautiously resume at least two events to see how things work out. We want to encourage particularly those who have been fully vaccinated against the covid virus to participate. Un-vaccinated participants will be required to wear face coverings and social distance. To sign up, email guydenny@centurylink.net.

Saturday, July 31
Denny’s Tallgrass Prairie Tour

Naturalists Dick Moseley, Jennifer Windus, and Guy Denny will give participants a walking tour around the tallgrass prairie. We will be discussing the origin of the tallgrass prairies of North America and Ohio and introducing folks to the various grasses and wildflowers comprising this ecosystem. Participants will not only learn how to recognize the various prairie species, but also learn interesting facts about their uses by Native Americans and early settlers.

Saturday, October 2
Annual Prairie Seed Collecting Event

If you have ever wanted to try your hand at growing native prairie plants, this is your opportunity to collect seeds and learn how to establish your own prairie garden. Participants should bring hand pruners, and containers such as bags in which they can deposit the seeds they collect. Several prairie specialists will be on hand to answer your questions and help you identify the various species of prairie plants.

Both of these events will begin at 10:00 am and take place at Denny’s Prairie. This 20 plus acre prairie is located in Knox County about 45 minutes north of Columbus. The street address is 6021 Mt. Gilead Road (SR 95) Fredericktown, Ohio. From the junction of Interstate 71 and State Route 95, follow State Route 95 east for just under five miles to the Knox County Line. Just about 20 feet beyond on the north side S.R. 95 is the driveway where there will be an ONAPA events sign directing participants up the driveway to the designated parking area.

No limits on the number of participants, but you must sign up so that if the event needs to be cancelled for any reason, we can let you know. Sign up by emailing Guy Denny at guydenny@centurylink.net. Pack a lunch, and dress for the weather.

Board member Randy Haar, above, holds a "bouquet" of Dame's rocket. ONAPA workers pulled 16 bags of this and garlic mustard.

Augusta-Anne Olsen SNP now has less Dame's rocket

On Thursday, June 3, eight ONAPA volunteers and stewardship assistants worked with DNAP staff at Olsen Preserve to pull and remove garlic mustard and Dame's rocket - 16 large bags!

We had a good day working in a large area in the woods to remove these two invasive plants, then went on a nice hike through the preserve and along the Vermilion River. Several new staircases are being built and will improve the hiking experience here.

Largest hatch of 17-year cicada broods returns: Let the singing begin

By John Watts

The return of this year’s 17-year cicada hatch is a noteworthy event. Known as “The Great Eastern Brood” or Brood X it is the largest of the 12 broods of periodical cicadas that occur in the eastern United States. As their name suggests, periodical cicadas only emerge during specific periods of 13 years in southern United States and 17 years in the northern portion of their range. Their emergence during those specific years is triggered by ground temperatures. As the soil warms to 64 degrees at a depth of eight inches, the nymphs begin to ascend their tunnels, emerge, crawl up a tree, and shed their skins to become adults. While their nymph stage represents the longest development of any of our insects, the adults only live a few weeks. After the mass mating period is completed, the females lay their eggs and by mid-July the brood is silent for 17 years.

Ohio has three species of periodical cicadas Magicicada cassinii, M. septendecula, and M. septendecim that are differentiated by the size of the body, differences in the abdominal sterna, and habitat. Thirteen and Seventeen Year Periodical Cicadas are unique to our eastern deciduous forests and some feel their long-term populations could be threatened by deforestation. In fact, Brood XI has been considered extinct since around 1954.

Mating cicadas

Three different broods of periodical cicadas occur in Ohio at different emergence times: Brood V, Brood XIV and our current Brood X.

Their adult life cycles end when the females make a V-shaped incision into a tree twig, inserts her ovipositor and deposits the eggs. While the end of the twig is damaged and leaves at the tips of the trees turn brown, rarely does this kill the tree. Occasionally small trees and shrubs can be weakened. So, if you live in the heart of an emergence, certainly the sound of their singing and the “crunch” as you walk across your yard can be annoying, but it will all be over soon - for 17 years.

Reference: Wong, Kate and Sinnen Cherle. Scientific American. Brood X Cicadas Are Emerging at Last. May 10, 2021. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brood-x-cicadas-are-emerging-at-last1/.

Brood X individual

ONAPA's help with Lakeside daisy mapping important to species recovery plan

During the month of May, three ONAPA stewardship assistants and Jennifer Windus assisted DNAP and USFWS with an important mapping and population estimate project for the Lakeside daisy on all six locations for this Federal threatened species. Every five years, the USFWS is expected to conduct a five-year status review to evaluate how the species is doing on a national level. In Ohio, this involves visiting the sites (two on Marblehead Peninsula, one at Castalia Quarry, and three on Kelleys Island). We are mapping the existing patches with a GPS unit and estimating densities so that we can develop an accurate map of its distribution, as well as a estimate of population size. It is very tedious work and must be done consistently so the results can be compared to the 2015 status review. ONAPA has already spent nine days on this project, with a couple more to go. ONAPA is a significant part of this important project and it gives our stewardship assistants great experience.

Lakeside daisy in early May

Volunteers pull butterweed and garlic mustard at Fowler Woods, Clear Fork preserves

Butterweed

Pulling invasive plants at Fowler Woods

On Tuesday, May 4, seven ONAPA volunteers worked with two DNAP staff at Fowler Woods SNP to scout the preserve for garlic mustard and butterweed. Butterweed is a new invasive plant expanding its range in Ohio (native further south) and impacting wet woodland areas in natural areas. While we did not find much garlic mustard, we did find a lot more butterweed than last year in the wet areas at Fowler Woods. We pulled a significant amount and identified some dense areas that the DNAP preserve manager will selectively spray with herbicide. Watch out for this new invasive and let us know if you see it in a nature preserve!

On Thursday, May 13, six ONAPA volunteers worked with two DNAP staff at Clear Fork Gorge SNP, within Mohican SP and SF, to pull garlic mustard. While there is plenty of garlic mustard in the surrounding state park and state forest, we are working hard to control it in the nature preserve. This small, majestic preserve holds large white pine and hemlock trees with some rare plants in the understory. It is always a beautiful hike!

At left and above, volunteers at Clear Fork

Fowler Woods boardwalk comes alive during spring wildflower season

By Dick Moseley
Spring wildflowers are on display along the new boardwalk at Fowler Woods Nature preserve, which opened again to visitors October 26 when it 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 when spring wildflowers are on full display.

Dwarf ginseng along the new boardwalk at Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve.

April is time for . . . pulling garlic mustard!

ONAPA had two more garlic mustard control projects at the end of April. On Tuesday, April 27, eight ONAPA volunteers worked with three DNAP staff at Rhododendron Cove State Nature Preserve to pull garlic mustard. There is a huge infestation there this year and we pulled 15-20 large garbage bags filled with garlic mustard. On Thursday, April 29, three ONAPA volunteers worked with three DNAP staff at Hueston Woods SNP and pulled 23 large garbage bags of garlic mustard. While some sites have had declines in garlic mustard this year, these two preserves had plenty to pull!

Clockwise from top, left: taking a lunch break at Rhododendron Cove; Lead Stewardship Assistant Madison holds not-so-fragrant bouquet of garlic mustard; truck full of pulled garlic mustard at Hueston Woods; long trail through Hueston Woods, registered as a National Natural Landmark.

Clearing the way for wildflowers at Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve

On Tuesday, April 19, four ONAPA volunteers worked with preserve manager Coleman Minney at Lake Katharine scouting the floodplains for garlic mustard, pulling as we went. We have covered these areas of the preserve before and it was encouraging to see that there is much less garlic mustard at present. We pulled the plants and carried them out in plastic bags to make sure they did not produce seeds as they were already in flower. The wildflower display in the floodplains was impressive, full of bluebells, large-flowered trillium, spring-beauty, chickweed, and Dutchman's-breeches.

Prescribed burns help prairie habitat during March and April with ONAPA help

ONAPA has been busy in late March through mid-April conducting prescribed burns in cooperation with several of our partners. ONAPA has a small burn team and we work in cooperation with other agencies and private landowners to implement prescribed fire as needed on natural areas such as prairies and savannas. This spring we conducted burns on 10 different sites, including units at Daughmer Savanna SNP with Crawford County Park District, Wolf Run and Honey Run Highlands with Knox County Park District, Deep Cut and Archery Range with Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District, and five privately-owned prairies. Guy Denny and Jennifer Windus served as the certified fire managers for these burns.

March weather finally cooperates for Medway Prairie Fringed Orchid project

On Tuesday, March 30, four ONAPA volunteers worked with DNAP and USFWS at the Medway Prairie Fringed Orchid site to remove invading woody species. This project had been cancelled twice in March due to the weather, so we were glad to finally get some work done there removing willows and dogwoods. ONAPA has worked with DNAP and USFWS typically in the spring and fall to remove woodies for the past several years and the site is finally looking more open again. We are hopeful that the prairie fringed orchids will respond well this summer!

Volunteer Stewardship Project Reports

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CLICK HERE.

Member Activities

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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.