WHAT WE DO
The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association (ONAPA) is an all-volunteer, state-wide, non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Ohio’s natural areas. The main roles of the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association are to:
Membership in the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association is open to all individuals and organizations throughout our state. Members have the option of being passive supporters of the natural areas movement or very active volunteers directly engaged in habitat management, monitoring, and research projects on natural areas and dedicated state preserves.
There are many ways you can get involved with ONAPA, but here are some of our primary activities at present. We have an active Board of 16 Directors (click HERE to view the Directors) and several committees (click HERE to learn more about our committees) to help organize volunteers to accomplish our activities. We work closely with many partners around the state and are always looking to expand our opportunities for support. Here are some of the projects we are involved in:
- Provide a support group for the sustainable management of state nature preserves as well as other natural areas around the state.
- Educate, promote and advance natural areas issues within the Ohio General Assembly as well as with the general public.
- Promote the protection of rare species of plants and animals and rare ecosystems.
Membership in the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association is open to all individuals and organizations throughout our state. Members have the option of being passive supporters of the natural areas movement or very active volunteers directly engaged in habitat management, monitoring, and research projects on natural areas and dedicated state preserves.
There are many ways you can get involved with ONAPA, but here are some of our primary activities at present. We have an active Board of 16 Directors (click HERE to view the Directors) and several committees (click HERE to learn more about our committees) to help organize volunteers to accomplish our activities. We work closely with many partners around the state and are always looking to expand our opportunities for support. Here are some of the projects we are involved in:
- Field trips throughout the year - for more information, click HERE
- Stewardship projects on preserves throughout the year - for more information, click HERE
- ONAPA displays at events around the state - for more information on upcoming locations, click HERE
- ONAPA sponsorships at events around the state
- Preserve monitoring to give more attention to DNAP's preserves - for more information, click HERE
- Support the Ohio Invasive Plants Council's research grants program financially
- Quarterly Board meetings
- Annual Meeting and Banquet - for more information click HERE
- Assist with the DNAP State Fair Prairie
- Assist DNAP and USFWS with rare plant projects, such as the Lakeside daisy and Eastern prairie fringed orchid
- Legislative outreach to improve awareness of DNAP & its preserves
- Training for volunteers - for more information on our recent trainings, click HERE
- Out-of-state trips to ecologically rich destinations - e.g., Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2015
- Support DNAP with critical land acquisitions, when possible
North Pond State Nature Preserve, Kelleys Island
The idea for creating a 501(c)(3) statewide organization established for the sole purpose of promoting, protecting and improving Ohio’s natural areas and preserves originated from a natural areas strategic planning meeting held on February 17, 2012 at the Gorman Nature Center in Lexington, Ohio. Of the 59 community leaders invited, 39 were in attendance; the remaining 20 invitees who were not able to attend asked to stay involved with many of them submitting written recommendations to the group. Individuals from throughout Ohio, including two former directors of ODNR, retired DNAP administrators, MetroPark directors, lawyers, college professors, representatives from major conservation organizations, naturalists, and ODNR volunteers, were in attendance. Of the several recommendations made by participants, one of the most frequently reoccurring was to establish a statewide 501(c)(3) Friends of Ohio’s Natural Areas & Preserves statewide organization for the expressed purpose of re-energizing and expanding the natural areas program constituency base and natural areas programs throughout Ohio. This major recommendation led to the establishment of the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association, Inc., ONAPA, in April 2012.
You will find the ONAPA Bylaws HERE.
You will find the ONAPA Bylaws HERE.