The impact that the emerald ash borer (EAB) has had on our forests and landscapes is painfully obvious, even to a casual observer. This tiny bug is responsible for many of the dead spots you can now see in our local canopy. Not surprisingly, a significant amount of Great Parks’ resources in recent years has […]

Winton Woods Lake has a reputation as one of the top crankbait lakes in Ohio, and on a beautiful day in June, it didn’t disappoint! Perfect weather and water conditions greeted 33 teams of anglers on Sunday, June 12, for the Bass Series Tournament. They fished from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m., and by the conclusion of […]

While out on a bird hike recently with a group of homeschool students, we discovered something very cool: a blue-gray gnatcatcher and its nest! Blue-gray gnatcatchers make a very unique nest with lichens from trees and use spider webs to put it all together. The nests have wonderful camouflage and can often be difficult to […]

We wrapped up our last Bass League tournament on Wednesday, May 18 at Sharon Woods Lake. Fishing conditions were rough on our anglers due to a cold front moving in and blue skies without cloud coverage. These were tough conditions, and a lot was on the line. The top team in points would be prized with a […]

Canada geese are a pretty common site in Great Parks. Lots of lakes and greenspace provide a perfect spot for these large gray-bodied birds to raise their young. But the geese aren’t completely protected, and still have to be on the watch against cars, people, predators and other dangers. Each spring, Canada geese break into […]

The anglers who participate in Great Parks’ Bass Series tournaments are some of our most loyal visitors to the lakes. These guys not only compete in multiple tournaments every year, but they spend countless hours honing their bass catching skills on Miami Whitewater Forest, Winton Woods and Sharon Woods Lakes. For the second time this year, Mother […]

The third Sharon Woods Bass League Tournament of 2016 was on May 4. The fishing proved to be much better this time, as six of the teams brought a combined 43.08 lbs. of bass to the scales! Steve and Matt Wheeler won the tournament with a five-bass limit that totaled 10.92 lbs. The team that catches […]

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 outside the parks. Why do we do this? Because being able to compare areas helps Great Parks determine where to […]