Smoke, Fire, Haze, and Regrowth

 You couldn’t miss it. Either inside on the news or outside on the horizon, the haze created by northern wildfires hundreds of miles from Ohio was unavoidable. While often reports on events are over blown, that wasn’t the case this time. Fire has always been a shaping force on the environment, and that was definitely happening in Canada and Minnesota.

Fires from lightning have been a natural part of the environment forever, and have been started by people for thousands of years. Ecosystems have developed alongside them, creating a rhythm of growth and renewal. In the west, for example, stands of ponderosa pine trees relied on a burn cycle of one every 5 to 25 years. That frequency at a relatively low burn intensity cleared grasses and smaller trees enough to create mixed-age forest stands. 

Read the complete column here: Wildfire Haze Carries Lessons

Participate and learn more about fire and wildlife habitat in Ohio.

The Five Rivers Metroparks and Ohio Division of Wildlife, along with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, are hosting "A Day in the Uplands Workshop Series." The next event, Prescribed Fire & Pollinators, is scheduled for 9 a.m. - 2 pm Saturday, August 15. It will include a 1.5 mile walk through high quality habitat with a discussion of the methods used to achieve. The event is free but registration is required. 

https://events.pheasantsforever.org/events/prescribed-fire-pollinators---landowner-workshop/a64dcc87-0a42-4904-923e-64cca89fc357 

Additionally, Pheasants Forever recently created Habitat University, a collection of free online courses related to habitat and land management. The Five Rivers Metro parks offers a variety of classes throughout the year, including prescribed fire instruction. 

Resources and Events

Conservation for Kids- presented by Mercer County Pheasants Forever

8:30 a.m. Saturday, August  8

Celina, OH

Field Dog First Aid Seminar Presented By Mercer County Pheasants Forever

3 p.m. Saturday, August 15

Fishing Patience Doesn't Have to Be Passive

 I get it. Fishing might seem boring to some people. The historic image of a man in a straw hat napping on the shore with a bamboo pole seems about as close to doing nothing as one can get. I think there's a time for that.

At the polar opposite are modern big-money fishing tournaments with triple-digit horsepower motors pushing purpose-built boats to the next casting spot. The mission there is “more and faster.” There's a time for that as well. But neither of these methods teaches one of the greatest lessons in the outdoors: patience.

Read the complete column here: Patience is Fishing's Lesson

Challenge for America’s 250th

When this country’s first 13 colonies declared independence from Britain 250 years ago in 1776, it probably didn’t make the local news here in the “Ohio Country” as the colonists would refer to it. Indigenous people, including Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo and Wyandot, were the only inhabitants and they likely had other things to do. But they would be impacted soon enough, as the area and alliances were drawn into the war.

Read the complete column here: Hike into Ohio's Past

Hiking Ohio 250

To celebrate the country's 250th birthday and the history of hiking in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) presents the America Hikes 250 Challenge. It offers two go-at-your-own pace ways to participate by hiking at one of the areas managed by the ODNR and tracking activity through a mobile app. There’s a family-friendly 25-mile version and a “this will take some doing " 250-mile option. Now, roughly halfway to the cutoff date of Dec. 31, 2026, there is still plenty of time to plan for and accomplish the goals.

For more information and to find the app, visit the ODNR website and search for Ohio State Parks OuterSpatial Digital Passport Challenge https://ohiodnr.gov/

Wild areas near you

If you haven’t been to an Ohio State Park recently or ever. You should. There are all types of trails available that cover all types of terrain and difficulty. Here’s a quick list of potential options to start the challenge or just enjoy. I didn’t do all of the math, but it should be possible to complete even the 250 challenge without leaving the area. 

Buck Creek State Park

Multiple trails up to 7.5 miles

Caesar Creek

Multiple trails up to 15.3 miles

Cowan Lake

Recommended Route- 1 Mile Loop

East Fork State Park

Multiple Trails up to 33 miles

Grand Lake St. Mary's

Multiple trails up to  1.7 Miles

Great Council

Recommended Route- Blackfish Path

Hueston Woods

Multiple trails up to 2.2 miles

Indian Lake

Multiple trails up to 3.5 miles

John Bryan

Multiple trails up to 3.5 Miles

Kiser Lake

Multiple Trails up to 3.3 miles

If that gets you motivated to explore more, there is also a challenge to visit all 76 Ohio state parks available in the app or in a printed booklet version. On June 13th, Cyndi Griffith became the first person to complete the digital version of the passport. 

For more information and to find the app, visit the ODNR website and search for Ohio State Parks OuterSpatial Digital Passport Challenge https://ohiodnr.gov/

European Starling - Not Wanted - And on the Worlds Worst List

 

The summer solstice had barely passed, and we were within the first week of July when I saw them. It was July 7th this year, to be exact. The first day I noticed what I take to be a sign of Autumn: multiple family groups of European Starlings, or a “murmur” as a flock of starlings is called. It was way too early for me to think about fall. But here they were in early July, in the hundreds blanketing the neighborhood. As the name, European Starling suggests, they’re not native to the US, but they are certainly here. I wish they would pack up and just go.

New York, New York, if they can make it there … 

There is debate about whether their introduction was inspired by a desire to ensure every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works was released in the United States. But for sure, eccentric New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin, was involved at some level. Part of the American Acclimatization Society, a group of wealthy New Yorkers who sought to trade and introduce European flora and fauna, he released 100 starlings into Central Park in 1890. Unfortunately, releasing new species onto the landscape that were deemed “useful or interesting,” or that just reminded them of the homeland, was a common practice at the time. There wasn’t a full understanding of the impact they might have.

Read the complete column here: You've Probably Seen this Noisy Invasive Bird

Resources

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/European-Starlings-WDM-Technical-Series.pdf

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1533.07

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Acclimatization_Society

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_of_the_World%27s_Worst_Invasive_Alien_Species

Download Starling BB Gun Target Here

Eagles Soaring Over Ohio

“I know something you don’t know,” isn’t the gleeful greeting you expect from someone well past elementary school, never mind retirement. And in reality, there are a lot of things I don’t know and I expect that everyone knows things that I don’t. But it didn’t bother me because it was too big a secret for them to hold very long. That’s kind of typical with that phrase.

Read the complete column here: National Symbol Soaring High in the Miami Valley

Where to see Bald Eagles

You could see an eagle literally anywhere in Southwest Ohio. Immature Bald Eagles can be difficult to differentiate from a Golden Eagle, but there’s no mistaking the adults. 

• C.J. Brown Reservoir 
• Great Miami River near Carillon Blvd
• Any major body of water

Little Miami Conservancy Bald Eagle Nest Cam - Live YouTube stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHOdKaPsFk8

Resources

https://ohiodnr.gov/ and search for eagles

https://www.history.com/articles/how-did-the-bald-eagle-become-americas-national-bird

Better Sunsets

 I love watching the sun rise and set. The color shifts and ombres are unique. I’m always glad that I can see them, and miss them when I can’t see them, to the point that at times my digital photo folders are too full of sunset pictures.

I also feel a little sorry for those who can’t see them, and slightly jealous of creatures that see them better, even if it’s just imagining what they see. It all comes down to the number of light-sensing rods and color-detecting cones.

Read the complete column: The Science Behind a Great Sunset

Beavers - Reshaping Edges and Water

 KERSPLASH!

We were quietly casting jitterbugs after sunset towards the shore of what was an Ohio Power (now American Electric Power (AEP)) pond when it sounded like someone had lobbed a bowling ball into the water towards our jon boat. We were fairly remote, and there weren’t any other campers around. Flashlights didn’t reveal Bigfoot on the bank. No trees had fallen into the water. Back to fishing, working our way around, and it happened again. Then again.

We retired for the night, knowing something was out there. But it was the 1970s, and there was no internet available to search “big splash at night.” Also, no cellphones to call for help if it were an escaped convict or locals trying to scare us away from their favorite lake. ’70s TV and Scooby Do will make a kid think that way. Turns out it was a local family trying to scare us away — a family of beavers.

Read the complete column: Beavers Making the World a Wetter Place