News from Hocking Hills

Hocking Hills State Forest and Park are arguably the most beloved of Ohio's natural areas.   Thousands upon thousands of people visit Hocking each year to commune with nature, view wildlife and hike the hills. Unfortunately the Ohio Division of Forestry looks at Hocking as just another "resource" to be timbered, mined or drilled.

Our dear friend, Paul Knoop, one of Ohio best known and well-respected naturalists, the National Natural Areas and Preserves George B. Fell award recipient for 2014 wrote to me today of his grave concerns for our State Parks and Forests. 

Paul's story starts here:

"The Keifel Road cut was a 20 acre section of Hocking State Forest that was put out for bid and sold to a local timber cutter earlier this summer. This cut is just down the road from our home so I was very familiar with the area, a ridge top with a community of old pitch pine mixed with older growth hardwoods on the adjacent slopes. Older pitch pine ecosystems are rare in Hocking County and I feel they should not have been cut. 

The bigger issue is the cutting of all the big oak trees, one with an age of 250 years plus (a chestnut oak). This tree started to grow before the Declaration of Independence and before Ohio was declared a state. Hardwoods of this age are rare today and common sense would say "leave it alone" to finish out its life. This tree weathered 250 winters and summers, warded off insects, diseases and numerous other maladies that impact live trees. This tree was a champion, it had good genetics and passed its strong traits along in bushels of acorns that were produced during its life time. Only we humans could defeat it and it was a chain saw and fifteen minutes of time and the old monarch came crashing down.

Many of us feel it is a criminal act to cut trees of this age but they are being cut on a regular basis in all Ohio state forests.These forests belong to all the people of Ohio and should be thought of as living museums and treasures for all of us."  Paul Knoop, Jr.

Doesn't Paul's writing raise a level of awareness and concern?  How does cutting down Old-growth trees in tourist areas help Ohio's economy or secure a better future for our children?  We've been told Ohio's State finances are doing fine, so why are we selling off our parks' and forests' trees?

Our highly visited parks and forests create annual tax revenue for their counties by attracting thousand to visit and view the most scenic areas in Ohio.  Who will come to Hocking to see the stumps?  This old giant served its ecosystem well for over 244 years, but now it will become pallets or pulp wood.  Is this the Ohio you envision for our children and their children?

Ohio has no shortage of timber products being produced on private land owners' property.  Why are we allowing our State to destroy some of the best natural habitats at a time the world is calling for an end to deforestation?  Short term profit is not a long term plan. We can do better. 

The Ohio Ornithological Society and seven other organizations are calling on our Governor to stop this needless cutting in our parks and forests. Help us protect our natural heritage. Please join us and send your letter of support to:

Governor John KasichRiffe Center, 30th Floor
77 S, High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6117

A Modern-day Muir

 "There are few things in life as noble or as satisfying as preserving a bit of the living planet." Paul Knoop. Jr.

Paul Knoop, Jr. 

"At the age of 80, Paul continues to be a champion of the land through his eloquent writings on behalf of meadows and woodlands, parks and forests- his writing speaks directly to people's hearts. Like a modern-day Muir, Paul's sphere of influence is as far-reaching as his countless students and friends across the Midwest. He will long be remembered as the Patriarch of Ohio Naturalists." 

                                       Taken from the George B. Fell Award presentation text.

The National Natural Areas Conference was held in Dayton, Ohio this past week.  Some of the most outstanding minds from across the country gathered in the south-western corner of Ohio, to learn more about natural areas and to laud a few of their own.

No one was more pleased than I, to attend the banquet where Paul Knoop, Jr. received the George B. Fell Award.  This is the highest award given by Natural Areas and Ohio's favorite naturalist son, Paul Knoop, Jr. was an outstanding pick by the committee.

There was much joy in Mud-ville, Rock Hollow, and every other natural habitat found in Ohio!

Cathy and Paul Knoop, Jr. (holding award)

Paul and his bride, Cathy, are a significant force for nature education in Ohio.  His kind and gentle teachings lure students into the light of Natural Areas.  He provokes thought. He encourages, and supposes...  just the thing to warm-up the brain cells of a mind, young or old.

Paul and Cathy are staples at Camp Oty'okwa the Big Brothers and Big Sisters camp situated in the Hocking Hills. I had the good fortune to meet Paul through Flora-Quest.  He has always been one of our key leaders and a vital part of our program.  His main career was spent as an educator at the Aullwood Audubon Center in Dayton, where he started leading Audubon Society field trips when he was just 14 years old.

Dr. Reed Noss, Paul Knoop, Jr and Steve McKee

 This conference brought many luminaries back to Ohio, including Reed Noss (who once worked as a naturalist at Malabar Farm!)  Reed was a panelist for the discussion during the plenary session.  Reed has nearly 300 publications and is widely recognized as one of the 500 most cited authors in all fields.  It was an honor to witness this happy occasion where friends were reunited.

Three Cowboys, the good guys,  Paul Knoop, Jr., Eric Miller and Steve McKee

But this is where Paul is most comfortable- outdoors in the land he loves.  These three men have done much to conserve land in Central Ohio and comprise most of the board of the North Central Ohio Land Conservancy.  The Mohican area in particular has benefited by the land set aside by their efforts and the educational work they provide.

Nature has some excellent friends in Ohio, and one of them, Paul Knoop, Jr. has just been nationally recognized for being the unassuming super-star that we already love and respect.

Congratulations, Paul.

Hob-Knobbing

 Most of this weekend I spent in Lancaster, Ohio with some mighty fine people in some mighty fine places- true hob-knobbing.  Lancaster is surrounded by  interesting land formations, not the least of which are found off  Becks- Knob Rd.

This is Ruble Knob, within Shallenberger State Nature Preserve.  These sandstone formations were shaped by water  about 300 million years ago.  You can follow the link above to read the geological history, or find a great guide to go along to tell you the story.

Jim Davidson, guide extraodinaire.

 Jim Davidson happens to be one of my favorite guides in the world.  He is a master on butterflies, dragonflies and botany!  He knows most of Ohio's State Nature Preserves like the back of his hand.  The good news, you can go in the field with him, too!  Just high-tail it over to Mothapaloosa or the Mid-West Native Plant Conference and sign up for his trip.  Just click on their logos in the side bar of this blog.

 The second stop this weekend was the annual Trillium Fest.  It is held a few miles down the road from Lancaster, and offers one of the most spectacular hikes in all of the Hocking Hills.  It is a part of the Appalachian Ohio Alliance  (A.O.A.) Land Trust.  They do some very good work, and I hope you will help support them.


Weedpicker in ski-gear in April?

Inside the main gate was a glorious stand of Marsh Marigolds, Caltha palustrus,  an early flower of the wetlands. They are in full bloom in spite of the 30 something degree weather.  Yes, I am wearing my snow suit.   The truth is, I am inordinately fond of being warm, and find no shame in wearing my ski-gear at any given time.  Tease all you like, this girl hates to be cold.



Large-Flowered Trilluim, Trillium grandiflorum

The star of this spring flower show is always the Trillium.  The Large-Flowered Trillium is our Ohio State flower and one of our most recognizable spring ephemerals.



Red Trillium, Trillium erectum

But much rarer, and even more stunning is the Red Trillium. The name Red Trillium may not always seem accurate, as it can also be pink, or creamy white.  Some call them Stinking Benjamin, as they have a rather unpleasant odor.  It may be unpleasant to the nose, but what a sight for the eyes!



Red Trillium abound within this protected site.

The walls of this naturally occurring box canyon are festooned in red.  The beauty of this portion of the Hocking Hills can hold its own against any location in Ohio, or well beyond.

The sandstone formations are dotted in a floral Elysian and deserving of permanent protection.  It is wonderful work for the ages, the people of A.O.A. are set about accomplishing. You'll find some of Ohio's best naturalists involved with this organization.  No one speaks to their mission more clearly than our friend, Paul Knoop. 

When we consider what it took to create this landscape, we must also consider what we can do to insure that future generations will also be able to marvel at its beauty.

                                                                                 Paul Knoop

It is no wonder good people like Jim Davidson and Paul Knoop continue to work towards the protection and preservation of Ohio's most beautiful and unique lands.  Join the A.O.A and see how you can visit this property too.

Walking Among Giants

Standing adjacent to the rim of a cavern in Hocking county remains a enormous hull of a tree. Towering perhaps 60 feet above the forest floor, one feels the presence of this giant as if it were still a living being. Being dwarfed by its majesty, Jim Davidson gives scale to the remains. This American Chestnut, Castenea dentata, was undoubtedly a victim of the Chestnut blight which ravished trees from 1904-1940's forever changing the landscape of America.

Chestnut was a highly desirable species with excellent nut crop for wildlife and man alike. That Christmas song extolling the virtues of "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" was from those better days. Once the blight took hold, trees were dropped en mass for its valuable- and highly rot-resistant wood.

This hulking giant has stood a likely 40-50 years beyond its life, giving us a small insight to the majesty of these native trees. American Chestnuts, much taller than their Oriental counterparts, reached the heights of the forest canopy and bloomed in flowering creamy-white profusion -reportedly seen for miles and miles.

Its weather resistant properties remain its only recommendation today. Many public building were constructed by the C.C.C. from an effort to "harvest" all the timber before it wasted away. What if just two or three of those trees harvested might have carried a gene resistant to the blight? Would we have a living remnant of the species today?

The aging and weathering of the wood offers a beauty in its own right. Said to be "differential weathering"- that is, the softer wood wears away leaving ridges of the harder wood behind. It reminds one of the "skeltons" seen in out West, the form of past Saguaro cactus.

My guides on this forensic forestry expedition were no other than Paul Knoop and Jim Davidson, two of Ohio's deepest thinkers and natural history "giants" in their own right. No rock, leaf, bug or plant goes unexamined by these two. Their combined wealth of knowledge- and endless curiosity- make an afternoon walk feel like a priceless privilege.

Here, I can only hope to share a small portion of that information with you.

For the history of the American Chestnut click here.

For my long, past post on chestnut trees- click here