Greg Lipps with a spotted turtle
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ONAPA ANNUAL MEETING
JOIN US TO EXPLORE NORTHWEST OHIO DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER! Saturday, August 18th, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Owens Community College, Veterans Hall Perrysburg, Ohio. Registration closes Wednesday, August 15th. 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 short business meeting and lunch, before field trips to NW Ohio. Event details and registration can be found HERE |
Wiregrass Lake Metropark Howard Marsh Metropark Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve
American Elm Experiment Needs Volunteers in Central Ohio
American Elm
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Kathleen S. Knight, a Research Ecologist with the US Forest Service is planting experiments this fall to test survivor American elms for resistance to Dutch elm disease. This project is a partnership between the Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the Columbus Metroparks which has provided space in some old fields for the plantings. The elms identified as having resistance will be used in seed orchards to generate seeds for restoration planting throughout the region. Elms with good resistance and good growth form may also be used as selections for urban planting. I’m attaching a short summary of the project. We are gearing up to plant the experiment the weeks of September 10 and 17 at Glacier Ridge and Rocky Fork Metroparks in Columbus. We are going to be short on staff in September and need volunteers to help plant >1000 trees.
Anyone interested should e-mail Kathleen at ksknight@fs.fed.us |
Testing Elm Trees for Resistance to Dutch Elm Disease
Thousands of elm trees will be planted this spring and fall in old fields at Glacier Ridge and Rocky Fork Metroparks. The plantings are a research experiment to find elm trees that can survive Dutch elm disease infection. This year’s plantings are the culmination of three years of work by USDA Forest Service scientists and partners at The Nature Conservancy propagating and breeding large survivor American elm trees, supported by a generous grant from The Manton Foundation.
Dutch elm disease (DED) is an introduced fungal pathogen, spread by bark beetles, that has killed many large American elm trees. Rare genetic resistance to DED has been found in some American elm trees, some of which are now commercially available (Princeton, Valley Forge, etc.). These trees are able to tolerate DED, which means they get infected and may exhibit symptoms or lose a limb, but generally ultimately recover. There is a need for additional DED-tolerant American elm trees for planting in urban areas and to create genetically diverse stock for restoration in natural areas. Forest Service scientists are testing large survivor American elm trees, and crosses among American elm trees, for resistance to DED. The trees will be grown in fenced plantings (to protect them from deer) at the Metroparks for five to seven years, until they are old enough to be infected by DED. Then, the scientists will inoculate the trees with the DED fungal pathogen. The trees that stay healthy will be kept as valuable genetic sources of resistance to the disease for propagation for future restoration. Ultimately, the fences will come down, and an orchard of stately American elm trees, serving as a regional resource for restoration of this species, will remain.
For more information about this American elm research, please visit:
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/ded/
Dutch elm disease (DED) is an introduced fungal pathogen, spread by bark beetles, that has killed many large American elm trees. Rare genetic resistance to DED has been found in some American elm trees, some of which are now commercially available (Princeton, Valley Forge, etc.). These trees are able to tolerate DED, which means they get infected and may exhibit symptoms or lose a limb, but generally ultimately recover. There is a need for additional DED-tolerant American elm trees for planting in urban areas and to create genetically diverse stock for restoration in natural areas. Forest Service scientists are testing large survivor American elm trees, and crosses among American elm trees, for resistance to DED. The trees will be grown in fenced plantings (to protect them from deer) at the Metroparks for five to seven years, until they are old enough to be infected by DED. Then, the scientists will inoculate the trees with the DED fungal pathogen. The trees that stay healthy will be kept as valuable genetic sources of resistance to the disease for propagation for future restoration. Ultimately, the fences will come down, and an orchard of stately American elm trees, serving as a regional resource for restoration of this species, will remain.
For more information about this American elm research, please visit:
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/ded/
Tour of Guy Denny's Prairie
It was a wonderful morning for the Tour of Guy Denny's prairie in Knox County on Saturday, July 28th. Approximately 45-50 people attended to learn about Ohio's tallgrass prairies and how to establish your own prairie. Guy led the group on a tour of his 22-acre prairie, pointing out many of the beautiful, blooming prairie forbs and grasses.
Controlling Narrow-leaved Cattail at Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve Stewardship Project
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On Tuesday, July 24th, 10 adventuresome ONAPA volunteers worked on a hot day with 3 DNAP staff, including preserve manager, Ryan Schroeder at Springville Marsh SNP to control narrow-leaved cattail and woody shrubs invading the sedge meadows along the boardwalk. Hand-wicking cattails is a tedious job, yet effective at selectively controlling cattails. Woody shrubs such as dogwoods in the meadows were cut and treated with herbicide. This important habitat management helps to maintain the native plant diversity in the remnant sedge meadows.
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Jackson Bog SNP Stewardship Project
On Saturday, July 7th, 11 ONAPA volunteers and 2 DNAP staff including preserve manager, Charlotte McCurdy worked at Jackson Bog SNP for about 4 hours to remove purple loosestrife and woody, invasive species in the fen meadows along the boardwalk. We pulled 7 large bags of purple loosestrife and worked in most of the fen meadows to cut and treat (with herbicide) invading woody species, such as common and glossy buckthorn, privet, and autumn-olive. There is plenty more to do in these meadows, but we made great progress!
ONAPA Members Went to Kansas . . . See What You Missed!
ONAPA held another wonderful out-of-state trip this year (our third trip) to Kansas to visit some of the prairies in the eastern part of the state during June 12-14th. Twenty-four ONAPA members participated, including Guy Denny, Dick Moseley, and Jennifer Windus as trip leaders. We visited the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Emporia, the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, and Konza Prairie near Manhattan. All three sites were spectacular, despite the heat, chiggers, and ticks. We saw a wide variety of prairie plants, as well as bison, collared lizards, ornate box turtles, and scissor-tailed flycatchers. Here are a few photos from the trip, but we will show more at the ONAPA Annual Meeting on August 18th!
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.
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
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DONATEONAPA is a 501(C)3 Ohio, volunteer run organization. Your donations are fully tax-deductible. Donate today using PayPal.
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VOLUNTEERWe have many volunteer opportunities available throughout the year. Invasive control, preserve monitoring, etc.
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