Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association

SAVE THE DATE!

ONAPA ANNUAL MEETING
Saturday, August 18th,
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Owens Community College, Veterans Hall
Perrysburg, Ohio.
This location is conveniently located just off I-75 and will be easy access to a number of excellent field trip locations in NW Ohio in the afternoon. There will be 3 morning speakers, a business meeting and lunch, before the field trips. More information is coming soon on our website and registration will likely begin in early July. Mark the date and be sure to come!

Invasive Shrub Removal at Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve

On Tuesday, June 5th, 14 ONAPA volunteers worked with preserve manager, Michelle Comer at Clifton Gorge SNP to remove invasive woody shrubs, as well as some garlic mustard and Dame's rocket. The group worked on the scientific side of the preserve where there are a number of rare plants, so it is particularly important to remove the invading woody shrubs there. The group got a lot of work accomplished and was fortunate to avoid thunderstorms in the area.

Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve Stewardship Project

It was a beautiful day at Sheldon Marsh on Wednesday, May 23rd. Fifteen (15) ONAPA volunteers and 4 DNAP staff worked together to pull garlic mustard in the woods, where there were scattered plants almost going to seed already. We pulled enough to make a large impressive pile (shown in the photo). We also got to hike out to the large American chestnut tree and beach area, so it was a successful day. The wildflowers were spectacular too.

Lawrence Woods State Nature Preserve Stewardship Project

On Tuesday, May 8th, 14 ONAPA volunteers and preserve manager, Ryan Schroeder scouted various parts of Lawrence Woods SNP searching for garlic mustard and pulling it when found. We spent about 3 hours searching for garlic mustard and fortunately did not find a lot in the interior, although larger patches were found in the younger woods and along the edges of the woods. We also went on a hike with Ryan along the boardwalk loop, looking at spring wildflowers and birds, pulling any garlic mustard along the way. We saw the rare heart-leaved plantain (Plantago cordata) in bloom along the boardwalk. It was a beautiful day in Lawrence Woods!

Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve Stewardship Project

On Wednesday, April 25th, 10 ONAPA volunteers and preserve manager, Josh Deemer searched for garlic mustard at Lake Katharine SNP. We walked for more than 3 hours in areas we had pulled garlic mustard last year and pulled only one bagful. While the volunteers were disappointed not to pull more, Josh was excited that there was less to pull! Maybe our work in the past is paying off or maybe garlic mustard is just down this year. Either way we had a good time, enjoyed the spring wildflowers, and Josh took us to a beautiful waterfall after our garlic mustard survey.

Rhododendrum Cove SNP Stewardship Project

On Thursday, April 5th, 13 ONAPA volunteers and 2 DNAP staff worked together at Rhododendron Cove SNP to pull garlic mustard. This continued work that ONAPA helped with last year to remove garlic mustard that is competing with the native spring wildflowers on the slopes below the rhododendron.

Richard E. Moseley, Jr., Awarded the Glenn Thompson Leadership Award

Dick Moseley, former First Lady, Hope Taft, and Eric Partee

On February 28, 1968, Ohio became a pioneer in river preservation with the passage of the Scenic Rivers Act, the nation’s first scenic rivers law and seven months prior to the passage of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Congress. In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Ohio Scenic Rivers Act, the Ohio Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and the Little Miami Conservancy, along with numerous other conservation organizations, including ONAPA, sponsored a special state legislative reception this past February 28th in the Statehouse Rotunda.

At the conclusion of this very special event, Richard E. Moseley, Jr. retired ODNR administrator and currently ONAPA’s Secretary was awarded the very prestigious Glenn Thompson award for Dick’s pioneering efforts in developing the Ohio’s Scenic Rivers Program as the first administrator of the program. The late Glenn Thompson, publisher of the Dayton Journal Herald, was a major force behind the passage of the state’s as well as federal scenic river laws. Presenting the award to Dick Moseley were former First Lady Hope Taft and Eric Partee, Executive Director of the Little Miami Conservancy.

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Stewardship
Projects

We have several stewardship projects planned for 2017, 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 2017 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.