Conservation- in Land We Trust

A general survey for a local land trust provided a great opportunity to spend some quality field time with some highly knowledgeable folks.

American Copper butterfly on a Hawkweed. Both are considered non-native species- but who cares? Sometimes you just have to appreciate a beautiful spring day and the spectacular colors.

Judy Semroc from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History was concentrating on interesting insects and possible salamanders in this clear running stream.

My eyes were immediately smitten with the blues of the Marsh Blue Violet, Violet cucullata. These tall stemmed flowers aren't your garden variety violets. They favor wetlands, and the shortened lower petal proclaims it as a Marsh Blue.

Do you recognize this well-known wetland flower? It is the seed pod from Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris. The delicate green orbs hold a million miniature seeds just on the brink of spilling into the stream.

The upland portion of this property provided an exciting find for well-known naturalist, Larry Rosche. We gathered round to document the unveiling of ...

Showy Orchis, Orchis spectabilis.

This is a very nice find for Ashland or Richland counties. After scouting around a bit, we were able to locate numerous grouping of incredibly robust plants. A deer had nibbled a bit on the edge of this beauty, so we created a stick-cage to protect it in the future.

There are many Land Trusts in Ohio doing important work to protect and conserve Ohio's natural resources- the ones we can see, smell and touch! Thanks to the people who have dedicated their time and efforts to set aside natural areas protected from logging, drilling and other unnatural disasters. Once the money from exploiting our State Parks resources is quickly spent, Ohioans will realize we should have put more effort into protecting our land.