More Than an Audacious Odor
Stripes may look good on your cat, but don’t get the striations from Mephitis mephitis mixed up with your pet. You might end up with an acrid stench you won’t be able to easily get…
Catch a Glimpse of the Spotted Salamander
If you were to make a list of animals rarely seen in our area, you probably would not put a salamander on that list. However, spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are one our region’s most elusive…
What’s a Reservoir?
Look at a map of Winton Lake (Figure 1), Miami Whitewater Forest Lake (Figure 2) or Sharon Lake (Figure 3), and you will notice the irregular, elongated shape of these bodies of water. They appear…
Coping with Loss: A Farewell to Ash
In 2003, the state of Ohio had an estimated 3.8 billion ash trees existing in our forests, woodlots and in our own backyards. Today, that is not the case. The emerald ash borer (EAB) has swept…
What Good is Dead Wood?
When you hear a barred owl calling “whooo, who cooks for you?” in the woods, chances are it’s calling from a nest cavity in the limb of a dying tree. When you see the bright…
Another Season at Shaker Trace
2016 is winding down and it was another exciting and very productive year at the Shaker Trace Nursery. The harvest has been exceptional in both quantity and duration due, in part, to the amount of rain…
Plant Surveys Help Set Park Priorities
In 2013, Great Parks began a park-wide assessment of habitat quality through plant surveys. FQAI, short for Floristic Quality Assessment Index, allows us to compare habitats in different parks, as well as to other preserves…
Track It!
Snowy winters can be a great time to get outside and see wildlife. Although some animals are less active in the winter, one advantage to the season is the ability to track their movements in…