2022 STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REPORTS
December projects wrap up a productive stewardship year for ONAPA
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Despite challenging weather and busy holiday schedules, we were able to conduct three ONAPA stewardship projects in December.
We had to cancel one project at Beck Fen with The Nature Conservancy due to rain forecast. We worked with Cleveland Museum of Natural History staff and volunteers at Geneva Swamp on December 1 with 11 people to remove glossy buckthorn at a wet woods site with rare plants. On December 6, seven ONAPA volunteers worked with five DNAP staff at Crabill Fen to remove woody species in the fen meadow. On December 13, ten ONAPA volunteers and one DNAP staff removed woody species in the understory at Daughmer Savanna. All were productive days to deal with invasive woody plants! |
Medway Prairie Fringed Orchid site
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Irwin Prairie
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Herrick Fen
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Lakeside Daisy Preserve
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November sees great progress for stewardship projects
As we finish up the year with stewardship in eight more natural areas, it has been a banner year for sure.
In November, we had stewardship projects at Myersville Fen, Tucker Preserve at Blacklick Woods Metro Park, Medway orchid site near Dayton, Lakeside Daisy Preserve, Karlo Fen, Kelleys Island State Park (in the Lakeside daisy areas), Herrick Fen, and Irwin Prairie. All of these projects involved removal of woody species, with herbicide treatment to the cut stems, to maintain open habitat for fen, sedge meadow, and prairie species. At Tucker Preserve, we were removing invasive shrubs such as Amur bush honeysuckle from the woods in the dedicated preserve. This is important work in the fall, when woody species uptake herbicide treatment at the highest rate. We have a few more projects in December, then take a break for the holidays. Photos by Jennifer Windus
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October projects take volunteers from far southwest to northeast corners of Ohio
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October was another busy month for the stewardship team, with key projects at Erie Sand Barrens (October 4), Newberry Preserve (October 11), the Heritage Garden (October 13), Brinkhaven Oak Barrens (October 15), and a Scenic Rivers site on Conneaut Creek (October 27).
Two of these natural areas are new for ONAPA, working with Great Parks in the Cincinnati area at Newberry Preserve and with Scenic Rivers staff on Conneaut Creek in far northeastern Ohio. We also worked at the Heritage Garden at the Governor's Residence to help with clean-up of the prairie. At the other four preserves and natural areas, we were removing and treating woody species. |
Stewardship projects target woody threats to natural areas in September
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September began our fall schedule with scaled-back projects for 1-2 days through November. Three of our stewardship assistants went back to college, but we still have Maddie and Lydia working with us. We have a busy fall schedule with partners including DNAP. In September, we had five stewardship projects at Myersville Fen (Sept 6), Kiser Lake Wetlands (Sept 8), Wolf Run Park with Knox County Park District (Sept 15), McCoy Fen with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Sept 20), and Cedar Bog (Sept 29).
We worked on woody species for most of these sites, except for Kiser Lake Wetlands where we cut and treated cattails in the Headwaters section along the boardwalk. At Myersville Fen, we removed purple loosestrife in addition to woody species in the southern meadow. At Wolf Run Park, we removed woody species in two prairie units that had been burned in the spring (with assistance from ONAPA). At Cedar Bog, we continued to open new areas for massasauga |
habitat which has been very effective. We removed plenty of large Asian honeysuckle, honey locust, autumn-olive, and more to generate a huge pile.
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Stewardship projects benefit preserves
North Bog
Herrick Fen
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August was another busy month for our stewardship program with six projects at North Bend Bog (August 9), Cedar Bog (August 11), Brinkhaven Oak Barrens (August 16), Herrick Fen (August 18), Meilke Road Savanna Wildlife Area (August 23), and Jackson Bog (August 30).
We also had several field trips for the stewardship assistants to Tucker Preserve in Blacklick Woods Metro Park, Singer Lake, and some Adams County prairies. Most of our stewardship projects were with other partners such as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cedar Bog Association, Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, and the Division of Wildlife, besides DNAP. We worked on woody species control at North Bend Bog, Cedar Bog, Herrick Fen, and Meilke Road Savanna. At Jackson Bog, we controlled purple loosestrife and cattails. Three of our stewardship assistants returned to college in August, but we still have Maddie and Lydia working with us through the fall. The new fall schedule is posted HERE with projects scheduled for most Tuesdays and Thursdays. 
Jackson Bog
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July busy stewardship month
The ONAPA stewardship team had a busy July, finishing up prairie fringed orchid surveys in early July at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area. Since then, we have worked at North Pond on Kelleys Island (July 7), Trillium Trails in Great Parks (July 12), Crabill Fen (July 13), Jackson Bog (July 14), Owens Fen (July 19), Herrick Fen (July 21), and Clifton Gorge (July 26).
At North Pond, we were removing frogbit, a nasty aquatic plant that has invaded the open water. We are helping Great Parks of Hamilton County with some of their dedicated preserves, so at Trillium Trails we helped with Amur bush honeysuckle removal. In the four fens, we removed woody species and vines (e.g., Asiatic bittersweet), cattails, and teasel and Canada thistle (at Owens Fen). At Clifton Gorge, we worked on the scientific side removing invading bush honeysuckle, privet, and other woody invasives. We continue to have 10-20 people on our projects, including partners and volunteers. We are especially thankful for our five stewardship assistants and loyal volunteers. We are always looking for new volunteers, so please join us! |
ONAPA, DNAP and Great Parks groups at Trillium Trails
Jackson Bog
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(Left to right): Lydia Radcliffe, Peter Zimmermann, Rachael Patterson, Edison Cigany, and Maddie Brown.
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Stewardship assistants key to ONAPA mission
ONAPA is very proud of our stewardship assistant team this year, our first year with five stewardship assistants! Three are returning: Maddie Brown, Lydia Radcliffe, and Rachael Patterson.
Our two new assistants are Edison Cigany, a college student at The Ohio State University with a major in plant biosciences, and Peter Zimmermann, a college student at Oberlin College with majors in biology and geology. We are pleased to have them with us this season, working alongside our loyal and dedicated volunteers. |
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Stewardship volunteers and assistants lend a hand in many ways
The stewardship program has been super busy from mid-June through early July. This included counting showy lady's-slippers at Cedar Bog on June 16, helping with downed trees at Knox Woods on June 22 and 28 (due to the storms), another day at Daughmer Savanna working on teasel and woody species on July 2, and surveying for Eastern prairie fringed orchids at elevent sites over four days. The prairie fringed orchid surveys were conducted in cooperation with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, DNAP, and the Division of Wildlife. We now have five stewardship assistants on board, so combined with our loyal and hardy volunteers, we have a great crew this season! Come out and join us in the field soon.
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Cedar Bog rare plants counted, Knox County downed trees cleared and rare orchids surveyed
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Several projects continue to focus on herbaceous invasives in May and June
cand started into June with four stewardship projects. We worked at Irwin Prairie in Lucas County on May 24 with seven people pulling garlic mustard in the north woods, hauling out several bags of this invasive plant. On May 31, six people worked at Milford Center Prairie digging out common teasel, pulling sweet-clover and Canada thistle, as well as cutting woody species in the prairie. Smooth rose was in full bloom at this time. Nine volunteers worked together at Brinkhaven Oak Barrens on June 7 to pull garlic mustard and Dame's rocket in the woods, as well as assessing the oak barrens for upcoming projects later in the season. The two oak barrens are looking good after the last several years of woody species control projects there. On June 9, seven people from ONAPA worked with Kyle Bailey from Crawford County Park District at Daughmer Savanna to remove common teasel (very little this year) and other herbaceous invasives, plus woody species that are present in the savanna. |
Smooth rose at Milford Center Prairie
Tim Lavey (left) and Randy Carmel with pulled garlic mustard and Dame's rocket. Randy is president of the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust which owns Brinkhaven Oak Barrens.
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Volunteers go into the woods after garlic mustard in May
May continued to keep our stewardship team busy in the woods with garlic mustard, Dame's rocket, and butterweed. Photographer and stewardship projects leader Jennifer Windus captured some action shots at Davey Woods (top row) and Fowler Woods (bottom row).
On May 10, seven ONAPA volunteers worked with one DNAP staff person at Davey Woods and pulled 20 bags of garlic mustard and Dame's rocket. The woods was beautiful with spring wildflowers and we had a nice hike after pulling.
On May 11, a small group of five worked at Hueston Woods to remove garlic mustard in the Big Woods. On May 12, ten ONAPA volunteers and two DNAP staff worked at Fowler Woods, pulling garlic mustard and butterweed. Butterweed continues to invade the wet areas of the preserve, so we made a concerted effort to reduce these populations. On May 19, eight ONAPA volunteers worked with preserve manager, Warren Dunegan to pull garlic mustard, Dame's rocket, and butterweed in the upland woods at Olsen Preserve.
On May 10, seven ONAPA volunteers worked with one DNAP staff person at Davey Woods and pulled 20 bags of garlic mustard and Dame's rocket. The woods was beautiful with spring wildflowers and we had a nice hike after pulling.
On May 11, a small group of five worked at Hueston Woods to remove garlic mustard in the Big Woods. On May 12, ten ONAPA volunteers and two DNAP staff worked at Fowler Woods, pulling garlic mustard and butterweed. Butterweed continues to invade the wet areas of the preserve, so we made a concerted effort to reduce these populations. On May 19, eight ONAPA volunteers worked with preserve manager, Warren Dunegan to pull garlic mustard, Dame's rocket, and butterweed in the upland woods at Olsen Preserve.
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Garlic mustard and Dame's rocket keep volunteers busy in preserves April into May
Spring stewardship projects continue to focus on garlic mustard, Dame's rocket, and butterweed. While garlic mustard populations have been down in some preserves, there is still plenty to pull, especially with Dame's rocket. On April 26, 13 people including four from DNAP, worked at Rhododendron Cove to pull garlic mustard.
On Thursday, April 28, six ONAPA volunteers worked at Clifton Gorge to remove garlic mustard and Dame's rocket. On Thursday, May 5, nine people including one from DNAP, pulled garlic mustard and Dame's rocket at Sheepskin Hollow Preserve in Columbiana County. All three projects had beautiful weather with awesome scenery and an abundance of spring wildflowers in bloom. |
We have been short on volunteers lately, most likely due to the price of gas, but we would love to have more participants. Come join us soon! |
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Winter work ends; spring projects arrive
In between rainy days, ONAPA finished the winter season with a stewardship project at Jackson Bog on March 29, clearing woody vegetation in the fen meadows and along the boardwalk. Twelve volunteers, including three new ones, worked with two DNAP staff to cut and treat invading woody shrubs, such as glossy buckthorn, common buckthorn, dogwoods, and alders. The first two spring projects were to remove garlic mustard at Miller Preserve (April 19) and Lake Katharine (April 21). A small group of volunteers worked with two DNAP staff at each preserve to remove garlic mustard, although there was much less present this year. |
Four prescribed burns completed with partners in April despite wet weather
Several people from ONAPA participated in four prescribed burns this spring where ONAPA was the lead, in partnership with other agencies and private landowners. Jennifer Windus and John Watts were the certified prescribed fire managers on these four burns. It was a challenging April to conduct burns given the wet weather, but we managed to complete the burns, two the Knox County Park District and Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and two for private landowners on their small prairies. We burned three units at Wolf Run Regional Park in Mount Vernon for the park district.
Photos shown here are from the North Kingsville Sand Barrens in Ashtabula County, a preserve owned and managed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. This is a very significant sand barrens with many rare plants and insects. We burned about a third of the barrens and plan to burn more next year. We had great cooperation from the North Kingsville Fire Department as they helped to manage traffic along the road and the four trains that went by on the south boundary while we were burning! The preserve had not been burned in about 20 years, so the Museum hopes the fire rejuvenates the barrens which has a large wild lupine population.
Several people from ONAPA participated in four prescribed burns this spring where ONAPA was the lead, in partnership with other agencies and private landowners. Jennifer Windus and John Watts were the certified prescribed fire managers on these four burns. It was a challenging April to conduct burns given the wet weather, but we managed to complete the burns, two the Knox County Park District and Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and two for private landowners on their small prairies. We burned three units at Wolf Run Regional Park in Mount Vernon for the park district.
Photos shown here are from the North Kingsville Sand Barrens in Ashtabula County, a preserve owned and managed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. This is a very significant sand barrens with many rare plants and insects. We burned about a third of the barrens and plan to burn more next year. We had great cooperation from the North Kingsville Fire Department as they helped to manage traffic along the road and the four trains that went by on the south boundary while we were burning! The preserve had not been burned in about 20 years, so the Museum hopes the fire rejuvenates the barrens which has a large wild lupine population.
Cedar Bog Visitor Center backdrop of work area
Clearing brush at Killbuck Marsh
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Cedar Bog and Killbuck Marsh 'opened'
So far, March has been a productive month and we have had six stewardship projects through March 17.
On March 15, we had a large crew of 20 people working at Cedar Bog to open up meadows for massasauga habitat behind the Visitor Center. Ten ONAPA volunteers worked with DNAP staff, Cedar Bog folks, and research herpetologists to remove invading willows and dogwoods. On March 17, a crew of eight ONAPA volunteers worked at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area at two different areas where Eastern prairie fringed orchids occur. We are hopeful this clearing will improve habitat for the orchids and we may see more blooming in July. 
Killbuck Marsh overview shows cleared area for more Prairie fringed orchid habitat. Photos by Jennifer Windus.
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Project pace picks up in March
After cancelling several projects in February due to the weather, we were back at work in early March. We now have two projects scheduled each week in an effort to reschedule projects that were cancelled. On Thursday, March 3, seven ONAPA volunteers worked with two DNAP staff on the barrier beach at Sheldon's Marsh removing encroaching woody vegetation such as white mulberry, dogwoods, cottonwoods, and willows. In this effort, we are trying to open up the small openings to encourage beach dune species such as beach grass, wormwood, and other rare beach plants.
On Tuesday, March 8, five ONAPA volunteers conducted hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) surveys at Little Rocky Hollow with two DNAP staff. Fortunately, we did not find any HWA during our four-hour survey, looking closely at the undersides of hemlock branches. These surveys are important each winter to document any new infestations. On Thursday, March 10, five ONAPA volunteers, along with two DNAP staff and five volunteers from Beaver |
Creek Wetlands Association (BCWA), cut woody species at Zimmerman Prairie near Dayton. ONAPA continues to help BCWA and DNAP control woody species to maintain the small wet prairie meadow. BCWA has been doing a great job to restore this prairie, working on woody species and cattails, so this is an excellent partnership.
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Storms delay projects but finally progress against woody interlopers at Bonnett Pond Bog
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For two weeks in a row, ONAPA had to cancel scheduled projects at Bonnett Pond Bog and Herrick Fen due to winter storms in northeast Ohio. We were able to schedule a project at Prairie Road Fen on February 10 since there was less snow in western Ohio. Six ONAPA volunteers worked with five DNAP staff to clear woody species such as glossy buckthorn, common buckthorn, and dogwood in areas on the perimeter of the fen meadows. We rescheduled our Bonnett Pond Bog trip to February 16, and, fortunately, the ice on the pond was still frozen so we could access the bog meadow. A small group of seven, including three DNAP staff, cleared woody species on the edge of the sphagnum meadows to open the meadows more. This included removal and herbicide treatment of highbush blueberry and poison sumac. We stacked five large piles of brush on the perimeter of the pond.
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Bonnett Pond Bog - Photos by Jennifer Windus
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Frigid January weather does not deter stewardship project volunteers and assistants
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Despite some cold, blustery winter weather in January, we have continued our winter stewardship projects. On Tuesday, January 11, twelve ONAPA volunteers and stewardship assistants worked with Randy Carmel at Brinkhaven Barrens, a nature preserve owned and managed by the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust. We were
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cutting and treating woody species in the north barrens,
but it was cold enough to burn a brush pile so people could get warm when needed. On Thursday, January 20, a small ONAPA crew of six worked at Mallard Club Wildlife Area in Lucas County to remove brush in one of the Eastern prairie fringed orchid sites. We made great progress and hope it benefits the orchids this summer. On Tuesday, January 25, eight ONAPA volunteers worked with six DNAP staff at Gallagher Fen to remove woody species in the west fen area. We had planned to work at Cedar Bog, but the preserve manager preferred to postpone for a better weather day. We were fortunate to move the project to nearby Gallagher Fen as we had a beautiful, sunny but cold day there improving the fen meadows. Photos by Jennifer Windus |
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Cold, blustery January day starts off the 2022 stewardship season at Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve
The 2022 Stewardship winter season started January 5, with seven hardy folks from DNAP and ONAPA working at Lakeside Daisy Preserve. Cold and stiff southwest winds buffeted workers who removed red cedars on the new addition, near the glacial grooves area, as well as in the original preserve area. Seeds were also dispersed in cleared areas of the new addition, but the winds grew too strong for seeding by the time we moved to the original preserve to remove cedars. We made some excellent progress improving alvar habitat. At right, seeds are dispersed low to the ground because of windy conditions. Below, cut stumps of cedars on the left are visible in front of the brush removed to open the area for the sun-loving Lakeside daisy. (Photos by Jennifer Windus) |
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