What's going on in Ohio Tree Canopies?

It’s easy to get caught up with what’s right in front of us. In the human situation, while we might see and comprehend with perspective, we’re bound by gravity and typically orient ourselves with the ground. But high in the tree canopies above us, many different species of wildlife exist in a world with a completely different reality. From bugs to birds to mammals, and species returning to Ohio it's a different world up there.

Read the complete column here: The secret world thriving in Ohio's treetops.

Gaining Perspective

Locally, if you don’t have access to a multi-story balcony or deck, there are still ways to see into the tree canopy. Hiking trails along ridges in John Bryan State Park, Mad River Gorge, or along the Great Miami River, to name just a few, should give the patient visitor a new perspective. 

The Cox Arboretum MetroPark has a 65-foot-tall wooden tree tower that offers an elevated view. Admission is free, and weather permitting, open daily from 8 AM to 10 PM.

6733 N Springboro Pike, Dayton, OH

While the local area doesn’t yet have a dedicated canopy walk, Blacklick Woods MetroPark in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, does. It offers a 40-foot-high accessible ⅛ mile elevated boardwalk. It’s open daily 9 AM–7 PM (April–September) and 9 AM–5 PM (October–March). Admission is free. 

6711 E Livingston Ave, Reynoldsburg, OH

Resources

Red Spotted Purple https://bygl.osu.edu/node/528

Southern Flying Squirrel https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/mammals/southern-flying-squirrel

Fisher https://www.instagram.com/p/DSM9EpzjtRD/?img_index=2

The River Runs Straight Through It

50 years ago, “A River Runs Through It” by author Norman Maclean was published. A semi-auto biographical take on his life in Montana, it brought trout fishing as a near religious experience to new audiences.

In 1992, Robert Redford put the book on the big screen. With Brad Pitt in focus and the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, it struck the imaginations of thousands that would never pick up an issue of Field and Stream and had never heard of Orvis, and changed trout fishing in the American West forever.

In Ohio, the Mad River has become the premier cold-water fishery in Ohio. But it has taken some work. For years, point source discharges were a major factor in water quality. From inadequate public and private sewage treatment facilities, past livestock farms south to industrial plants in Springfield, the Mad received a steady deluge of everything no one else wanted. 

Today, the challenges are different. 

Read the complete column here:

How Ohio's Mad River became the state's premier trout stream

How you can help

Check out the Trout Unlimited Mad River Chapter website for details about these upcoming events.

Mad River Water Quality Monitoring 
9 a.m. - West Liberty Park

• August 22, 2026
• October 10, 2026

International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) (fundraiser)

Nocterra Brewing in Powell, Ohio 

Time: 5:30 p.m. October 16, 2026

Mad River Cleanup 
9 a.m. October 17, 2026

Meet at the US36 bridge over Mad River. Teams will disperse to pickup litter at assigned sites from the north side of West Liberty Park in Logan County to Mad River Gorge Park in Clark County, west of Springfield.

Trout Unlimited Mad River

https://tumadriver.org/

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