2021 FALL STEWARDSHIP PROJECT SCHEDULE
We will be following state health department guidelines during the pandemic.
We will include a short field trip on each project to see some of the preserve we are working at. When registering to volunteer, please allow at least 24 hours prior to the project as weather may impact conditions and we make every effort to inform our volunteers of changes.
Download the 2021 April-November List HERE.
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Questions: Contact us HERE.
Registration: Please let us know you are joining us, sign up HERE. Volunteer Forms: If you are joining us for volunteer stewardship training or for one or more stewardship projects, please complete our Volunteer forms found HERE. Volunteer Hours: At the completion of a project, please enter your time (Including travel time to and from the site) HERE. |
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Woody Species Control at Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Buckeye Lake, Licking County Now called Buckeye Lake, this lake was once a swamp that was to be converted into a reservoir to feed the Ohio and Erie Canal system. The plan did not work well because the new lake was too shallow to feed the canal for barge traffic, especially during the dry season. Strangely, it was the impoundment of the swamp in 1830 which made
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Cranberry Bog so unique. As the waters backed up behind the dike, all of the big swamp was inundated and destroyed, except the very youngest and therefore most buoyant segment of the bog mat. Instead of disappearing beneath the mucky waters, as did most of the adjacent swamp forest, a 50-acre upper segment of the bog mat along the north shore stretched and expanded like a giant water-logged sponge and rose 8 feet with the new water level. No longer did the floating bog mat surround the glacial lake as is typically the case with bogs. Now the lake surrounded the bog mat, the only known such occurrence of its kind in the world.
Little habitat management has been done on the bog during the past several years and the bog meadows are severely invaded by woody species, including poison sumac. We will be working in the main bog meadow where the boardwalk is located, to open the meadow up as much as possible. Activities will include cutting woody species, hauling cut stems to brush piles, and trained volunteers or DNAP staff will treat the cut stems with herbicides.
Directions: We will be meeting at the North Shore boat ramp at Buckeye Lake State Park at 10am to take a pontoon boat to the island. Take State Route 79 south from I-70, then follow SR 79 south until the curve where you enter the state park. Park in the large parking lot and look for the boat at one of the docks to take us to the island. Be sure to register if you wish to attend this project and more details will be provided in advance. We will need to know how many people are coming to arrange for sufficient boat transportation as the state park will be providing the boat.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
Little habitat management has been done on the bog during the past several years and the bog meadows are severely invaded by woody species, including poison sumac. We will be working in the main bog meadow where the boardwalk is located, to open the meadow up as much as possible. Activities will include cutting woody species, hauling cut stems to brush piles, and trained volunteers or DNAP staff will treat the cut stems with herbicides.
Directions: We will be meeting at the North Shore boat ramp at Buckeye Lake State Park at 10am to take a pontoon boat to the island. Take State Route 79 south from I-70, then follow SR 79 south until the curve where you enter the state park. Park in the large parking lot and look for the boat at one of the docks to take us to the island. Be sure to register if you wish to attend this project and more details will be provided in advance. We will need to know how many people are coming to arrange for sufficient boat transportation as the state park will be providing the boat.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
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Saturday, September 18, 2021
Aurora Audubon Preserve: Invasive Species Control in Woodland and Wetland Sites 10:30 am - 3:30 pm East Pioneer Trail, Aurora Portage County The Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland's Aurora Sanctuary is located north of Pioneer Trail, a few hundred yards east of Page Road in Portage County. It was |
purchased in 1941 by The Cleveland Bird Club. It is thought to be the oldest bird sanctuary in Ohio. The former owner of the property, the Smythe family, intended to develop it in the 1920's, but the economic depression forced abandonment of the pla preserve is n. The Cleveland Bird Club subsequently bought the property from the Cleveland Trust Company. The bulk of the 165-acre in second growth beech-maple-oak-hickory forest. Two field areas are preserved from an earlier time when the property was mostly farm and pasture. Approximately half of the property has been left in a natural state, without trails or other man-made alterations. A trail system on the western portion of the property is about two miles in length and lends access to a large variety of habitat types. The sanctuary is a State Nautre Preserve dedicated in 1999.
Our group will be working with DNAP staff and Augubon members to remove woody invasive species in one of the wetland areas. We will be cutting, hauling, and treating cut stems with herbicide to prevent resprouting. The project will included a short hike in the preserve with Audubon members.
Directions: Aurora Sanctuary is located southeast of the town of Aurora, south of SR 82 and east of SR 43. Procedd east on East Pioneer Trail until you reach the parking lot on the north side of the road.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, muck boots and gloves. ONAPA and DNAP will provide the tools. Herbicide application will be done by DNAP staff and trained ONAPA volunteers.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. If you have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.
Our group will be working with DNAP staff and Augubon members to remove woody invasive species in one of the wetland areas. We will be cutting, hauling, and treating cut stems with herbicide to prevent resprouting. The project will included a short hike in the preserve with Audubon members.
Directions: Aurora Sanctuary is located southeast of the town of Aurora, south of SR 82 and east of SR 43. Procedd east on East Pioneer Trail until you reach the parking lot on the north side of the road.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, muck boots and gloves. ONAPA and DNAP will provide the tools. Herbicide application will be done by DNAP staff and trained ONAPA volunteers.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. If you have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Woody Species Removal at Erie Sand Barrens State Nature Preserve 10:30 am – 3:30 pm Taylor Rd, Sandusky Erie County Erie Sand Barrens is situated in the sandy beach ridges of glacial Lake Warren, a predecessor to modern Lake Erie. Because of past intensive agricultural activities, the flora of this preserve is not very diverse. Nevertheless, many state-listed species still remain. The sandy soil of the preserve is well-drained and plants which survive here are adapted to its dry conditions. On the highest, driest ridges and knolls, prairie plants including green milkweed, partridge-pea and sand panic grass thrive. Wet depressions between the rises hold wet sedge meadow communities where plants more commonly found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts occur. These include lance-leaved violet, Virginia meadow-beauty, twisted yellow-eyed grass and least St. John's-wort. We will removing woody species in the barren areas of the preserve where rare plants occur such as the Virginia meadow-beauty, lance-leaved violet, and twisted yellow-eyed grass. DNAP staff or trained ONAPA stewardship assistants will conduct herbicide application to the cut stems. |
Directions: Located in Erie County, the preserve is easily accessed from SR 4. Proceed east on Mason Road, and take Taylor Road to the left. The preserve is located on the right side of the road with a small parking lot and sign.
What to bring: Lunch, water, hiking boots, and gloves. RSVP: To attend, please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. If you have questions, please contact the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. |
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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Woody Species Control at Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Buckeye Lake, Licking County Now called Buckeye Lake, this lake was once a swamp that was to be converted into a reservoir to feed the Ohio and Erie Canal system. The plan did not work well because the new lake was too shallow to feed the canal for barge traffic, especially during the dry season. Strangely, it was |
the impoundment of the swamp in 1830 which made Cranberry Bog so unique. As the waters backed up behind the dike, all of the big swamp was inundated and destroyed, except the very youngest and therefore most buoyant segment of the bog mat. Instead of disappearing beneath the mucky waters, as did most of the adjacent swamp forest, a 50-acre upper segment of the bog mat along the north shore stretched and expanded like a giant water-logged sponge and rose 8 feet with the new water level. No longer did the floating bog mat surround the glacial lake as is typically the case with bogs. Now the lake surrounded the bog mat, the only known such occurrence of its kind in the world.
Little habitat management has been done on the bog during the past several years and the bog meadows are severely invaded by woody species, including poison sumac. We will be working in the main bog meadow where the boardwalk is located, to open the meadow up as much as possible. Activities will include cutting woody species, hauling cut stems to brush piles, and trained volunteers or DNAP staff will treat the cut stems with herbicides.
Directions: We will be meeting at the North Shore boat ramp at Buckeye Lake State Park at 10am to take a pontoon boat to the island. Take State Route 79 south from I-70, then follow SR 79 south until the curve where you enter the state park. Park in the large parking lot and look for the boat at one of the docks to take us to the island. Be sure to register if you wish to attend this project and more details will be provided in advance. We will need to know how many people are coming to arrange for sufficient boat transportation as the state park will be providing the boat.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
Little habitat management has been done on the bog during the past several years and the bog meadows are severely invaded by woody species, including poison sumac. We will be working in the main bog meadow where the boardwalk is located, to open the meadow up as much as possible. Activities will include cutting woody species, hauling cut stems to brush piles, and trained volunteers or DNAP staff will treat the cut stems with herbicides.
Directions: We will be meeting at the North Shore boat ramp at Buckeye Lake State Park at 10am to take a pontoon boat to the island. Take State Route 79 south from I-70, then follow SR 79 south until the curve where you enter the state park. Park in the large parking lot and look for the boat at one of the docks to take us to the island. Be sure to register if you wish to attend this project and more details will be provided in advance. We will need to know how many people are coming to arrange for sufficient boat transportation as the state park will be providing the boat.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Invasive Woody Species Control at Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve 10:30 am – 3:30 pm 980 Woodburn Road, Urbana Champaign County Cedar Bog has been referred to as "The Crown Jewel of Natural Areas in Ohio." While there are many crown jewel nature preserves in Ohio, this special preserve is located in southern Champaign County in the Mad River Valley between the Farmersville and Springfield moraines. The moraines were left behind when the Wisconsin Glaciers receded 10,000-15,000 years ago. Cedar Bog is actually a fen (not a bog), with a constant source of alkaline water flowing through it. Cedar Bog has the highest biodiversity index of any preserve in the state and is home to many rare, threatened and endangered animal species.
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Photo by Ian Adams.
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ONAPA volunteers will be helping DNAP and the Cedar Bog Association remove woody and invasive species in several locations. The stems will be cut and treated with herbicide in most locations and the woody stems removed from the meadows.
Directions: Cedar Bog is located off of US 68 at 980 Woodburn Road, about 3 miles south of Urbana and 1 mile north of the Clark/Champaign County line.
What to bring: Water, lunch, sunscreen, insect repellant, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by trained staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. ONAPA will provide the tools.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE.
Directions: Cedar Bog is located off of US 68 at 980 Woodburn Road, about 3 miles south of Urbana and 1 mile north of the Clark/Champaign County line.
What to bring: Water, lunch, sunscreen, insect repellant, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by trained staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. ONAPA will provide the tools.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important to our planning. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE.
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Thursday, November 4, 2021
Woody Species Control at Medway Prairie Fringed Orchid Site 10:30 am – 3:30 pm Union Road, Medway Clark County This site is a small wetland, primarily an alkaline wet sedge meadow surrounded by farm fields, and is owned by the City of Dayton’s Water Department as a wellfield. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and DNAP have been cooperating
have been cooperating with the City of Dayton by verbal agreement since a significant population of the 
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Eastern prairie fringed orchid was reported at this site in 1993. Regular habitat management is necessary to maintain the open sedge meadow, which has been
declining for several years due to woody species encroachment. ONAPA will be cooperating with USFWS and DNAP on this project to cut and treat woody species in the area where most of the orchids are located. Directions: From Columbus, proceed west on I-70. Take exit 26B to exit onto Spangler Road north towards Medway. After crossing the Mad River, turn right on to Union Road. The site, owned by the City of Dayton, is on the right. Parking will be along the roadside on the right, and near the gate. What to Bring: Lunch, water, hat, muck/knee boots, insect repellent. DNAP, USFWS and ONAPA will provide tools and conduct the herbicide application.RSVP: If you would like to attend or have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE. Online registration is important for our planning due to the pandemic. RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions. |
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Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Woody Species Control at Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Buckeye Lake, Licking County Now called Buckeye Lake, this lake was once a swamp that was to be converted into a reservoir to feed the Ohio and Erie Canal system. The plan did not work well because the new lake was too shallow to feed the canal for barge traffic, especially during the dry season. Strangely, it was the impoundment of the swamp in 1830 which made Cranberry Bog so unique. As the waters backed up behind the dike, all of the big swamp was inundated and destroyed, except the very youngest and therefore most buoyant segment of the bog mat. Instead of disappearing beneath the mucky waters, as did most of the adjacent swamp forest, a 50-acre upper segment of the bog mat along the north shore stretched and expanded like a giant water-logged sponge and rose 8 feet with the new water level. No longer did the floating bog mat surround the glacial lake as is typically the case with bogs. Now the lake surrounded the bog mat, the only known such occurrence of its kind in the world.
Little habitat management has been done on the bog during the past several years and the bog meadows are severely invaded by woody species, including poison sumac. We will be working in the main bog meadow where the boardwalk is located, to open the meadow up as much as possible. Activities will include cutting woody species, hauling cut stems to brush piles, and trained volunteers or DNAP staff will treat the cut stems with herbicides. Directions: We will be meeting at the North Shore boat ramp at Buckeye Lake State Park at 10am to take a pontoon boat to the island. Take State Route 79 south from I-70, then follow SR 79 south until the curve where you enter the state park. Park in the large parking lot and look for the boat at one of the docks to take us to the island. Be sure to register if you wish to attend this project and more details will be provided in advance. We will need to know how many people are coming to arrange for sufficient boat transportation as the state park will be providing the boat. |
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. Tools will be provided. RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions. |
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RESCHEDULED Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Woody Species Control at Karlo Fen State Nature Preserve 10:30 am – 3:30 pm Summit County Karlo Fen is a ground water fed boreal fen exhibiting sphagnum hummocks, marl areas and some prairie species. Located in the Portage Lakes area near Nimisila Reservoir, this fen was once part of a much larger series of glacial relicts that have all but disappeared due to impoundments, agriculture and other developments. |
Karlo Fen is home to small fringed gentian, white beak-rush and Ohio goldenrod. Karlo Fen is currently managed under lease agreement by Summit County Metroparks. Project goals will be to remove invading woody species in the fen meadow such as glossy buckthorn, autumn olive and gray dogwood.
Directions: Karlo Fen is located on the east side of Christman Road near the Portage Lakes State Park campground, .25 miles north of the intersection of E. Nimisila and Christman Roads. A parking lot is located on the west side of Christman Road across from the preserve. We will meet in the parking lot and hike into the small preserve.
What to bring: Bring a lunch, water, long-sleeved shirts, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff and trained volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
Directions: Karlo Fen is located on the east side of Christman Road near the Portage Lakes State Park campground, .25 miles north of the intersection of E. Nimisila and Christman Roads. A parking lot is located on the west side of Christman Road across from the preserve. We will meet in the parking lot and hike into the small preserve.
What to bring: Bring a lunch, water, long-sleeved shirts, gloves, and muck boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by DNAP staff and trained volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
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Thursday, November 18, 2021
Lakeside Daisy Preserve (new addition): Woody Species Control 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Alexander Pike, Marblehead (Ottawa County) |
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Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve is home to Lakeside daisy and at least 11 other state-listed rare plant species. Lakeside daisy is listed as Threatened by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (1988) and Endangered by the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves (1980). It is only known to occur naturally in Ohio on the Marblehead Peninsula and two locations in Ontario. It has been reintroduced to Illinois and one small population of questionable origin occurs in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. DNAP and USFWS have introduced the daisy to Kelleys Island and Castalia Quarry Metro Park in appropriate limestone habitat. The Lakeside Daisy SNP was first acquired at 19 acres of abandoned quarry land in 1988, but fortunately DNAP was able to purchase another 118 acres from Lafarge-Holcim last year for daisy protection and restoration. Although the new addition has some Lakeside daisies, habitat restoration is needed; plants and seeds will be transplanted from the quarry to the new property.
Our project involves removal of woody species, primarily red cedars, to improve habitat for the daisies and other listed plants on the new addition. We will be cutting and treating woody species, and hauling the trees and shrubs either to brush piles or out to a chipper. Planning is still in progress.
Directions: We will meet at the main part of the Lakeside Daisy SNP on Alexander Pike where the preserve sign is located (north end). We will move south to the new section once everyone arrives so that we are all carefully parked on one side of the road without blocking any traffic. There is no parking area for the new addition as it is only accessed by written permit from DNAP.
What to bring: Lunch, water, hat, hiking boots, insect repellent. DNAP, USFWS, and ONAPA will provide tools and conduct the herbicide application
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.
Our project involves removal of woody species, primarily red cedars, to improve habitat for the daisies and other listed plants on the new addition. We will be cutting and treating woody species, and hauling the trees and shrubs either to brush piles or out to a chipper. Planning is still in progress.
Directions: We will meet at the main part of the Lakeside Daisy SNP on Alexander Pike where the preserve sign is located (north end). We will move south to the new section once everyone arrives so that we are all carefully parked on one side of the road without blocking any traffic. There is no parking area for the new addition as it is only accessed by written permit from DNAP.
What to bring: Lunch, water, hat, hiking boots, insect repellent. DNAP, USFWS, and ONAPA will provide tools and conduct the herbicide application
RSVP: Please REGISTER HERE. Online registration is important for our planning. Please contact The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association HERE if you have questions.