2019 ACTIVITY REPORTS AND EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
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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! 
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Spider search on the prairie leads to 21 arachnid species
On Saturday, August 24, Dr. Richard Bradley provided 24 ONAPA members with a fascinating look inside the world of Ohio spiders. Not only did Dr. Bradley share his amazing wealth of knowledge about spiders with field trip participants, but he also provided them with a firsthand look of 21 different species from the large and colorful Black-and-yellow Garden Spider and Marbled Orbweaver, to some species so small they would normally go unnoticed. Dr. Bradley demonstrated an extraordinary ability to locate spider webs and their occupants that would otherwise |
appear nearly invisible to the casual observer. This was another in a series of ONAPA field trips that was fun and informative.
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Perfect day for Odonata search
The ONAPA field trip to the Clear Fork of the Mohican river was well-attended on a very warm June summer day. The trip leaders were Judy Semroc and Larry Rosche, preeminent naturalists and odonata experts with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and authors of Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeastern Ohio. Jim Lemon, an odonata specialist (Ohio Dragonfly Survey), also provided information and fascinating observations. Some of the species seen were:
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Thank you to Jan Kennedy for photos of attendees, Rajat Saksena, for his excellent odonata close-ups, except for the American rubyspot by Susan Brauning.
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Lake Erie Shorebird ID May 19 kicked off 2019 field trips
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Leader Jason Larson, naturalist, expert birder, and Director of the Richland County Park District and Gorman Nature Center, lead a shorebird identification field trip to several of his favorite sites along Lake Erie during the peak of spring shorebird migration.
This field trip featured visits to several shorebird sites before noon, lunch at Jason’s favorite local restaurant, and then more birding at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. |
Dedication for Lakeside Daisy SNP expansion was May 7
ODNR has been successful in acquiring 118 acres as an addition to the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve in Marblehead after more than four years of negotiation with Lafarge-Holcim.
A brief dedication ceremony on Tuesday, May 7 at 4:15 pm at the Lakeside Daisy SNP on Alexander Pike celebrated this acquisition from Lafarge Quarry. For several years, ONAPA has been cooperating with USFWS and DNAP to collect Lakeside daisy seeds from Lafarge Quarry. The seeds are used to supplement several introduced populations on Kelleys Island. This year, the seeds collect in late May-early June will be used on the new acquisition to help establish more Lakeside daisy on this property. |
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2018 FIELD TRIP REPORTS & EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at Gorman Nature Center
October 28, 2018
ONAPA held its second Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on Sunday, October 28th, 1-5pm, at Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield. Approximately 30 people attended, including 8 ONAPA Board members. Despite the rainy weather, everyone enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch inside, followed by 11 volunteer awards, and an excellent presentation by Tim Snyder about Ohio's arches and pillars. After the presentation, it had stopped raining and a smaller group went for a hike led by ONAPA stewardship assistant, Brad Von Blon. While many volunteers could not attend, ONAPA truly appreciates all the hard work, support, and dedication from all our members and volunteers. Keep up the great work and thank you!
We also want to thank Jason Larson, Executive Director of the Gorman Nature Center, for hosting our event!
We also want to thank Jason Larson, Executive Director of the Gorman Nature Center, for hosting our event!
Volunteer awards included:
Randy Haar & Jan Kennedy - attended the most stewardship projects in 2017 (tied with 8 projects)
Scott Behrens - attended the most stewardship projects in 2018 (12 projects), worked the most hours, & consistently had a dirty ONAPA t-shirt due to his hard work
Bob Klips - for his educational contributions on stewardship projects & devotion to mosses & lichens
Pat Heithaus - for her courage & dedication to pulling garlic mustard
Randy Haar - for his innovative contributions on stewardship projects
Randy Carmel - for his entertaining spirit & leadership with KWLT
Jim Chaplin - for his endurance of a bad case of poison sumac
Tim Lavey - as our newest stewardship volunteer & most regular since August 2018
Delores Cole - for her tireless dedication to the ONAPA website, program/project registrations, & many hours
Randy Haar & Jan Kennedy - attended the most stewardship projects in 2017 (tied with 8 projects)
Scott Behrens - attended the most stewardship projects in 2018 (12 projects), worked the most hours, & consistently had a dirty ONAPA t-shirt due to his hard work
Bob Klips - for his educational contributions on stewardship projects & devotion to mosses & lichens
Pat Heithaus - for her courage & dedication to pulling garlic mustard
Randy Haar - for his innovative contributions on stewardship projects
Randy Carmel - for his entertaining spirit & leadership with KWLT
Jim Chaplin - for his endurance of a bad case of poison sumac
Tim Lavey - as our newest stewardship volunteer & most regular since August 2018
Delores Cole - for her tireless dedication to the ONAPA website, program/project registrations, & many hours
2018 Annual Member Meeting
ONAPA hosted its Annual Meeting at Owens Community College in Perrysburg on Saturday, August 18th. Approximately 75 people attended the morning and lunch session. There were 3 speakers in the morning and the lunch keynote: Guy Denny, Tim Schetter, and Greg Lipps (keynote). Guy spoke about the Oak Openings region, Tim spoke about the acquisition and restoration of Howard Marsh Metropark, and Greg spoke about conservation of reptiles and amphibians in northwest Ohio. They were all excellent presentations! The food was catered by Extra Virgin Food Services in Perrysburg and included morning pastries, sandwiches and wraps, salads, cookies, brownies, and beverages. After lunch, most people participated in one of 4 field trips to: Irwin Prairie SNP (led by Dick Moseley), Meilke Road Savanna WA and Girdham Road Dunes (led by Jennifer Windus and Tim Schetter), Wiregrass Lake MP (led by Karen Menard and Rick Nirschl), and Howard Marsh MP (led by Denis Franklin). It was a great day for celebrating the accomplishments of ONAPA and learning more about natural areas in northwest Ohio.
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.
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!