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.

This Land is Our Land...

Today is a good time to reassess what is important in our lives and in our county. For me, our natural resources- and nature's beauty- ranks high on that list. It is our right and privilege as Americans to protect (and gladly pay taxes for) our natural areas.




Chagrin Falls- great natural beauty can be found even within our cities. The wise planners of this city capitalized on the falls and promoted their most scenic natural feature. Too often we do not stop to realize, Ohioans are fortunate to have so much biodiversity to appreciate and revere. From the hills of Shawnee to the waters of Lake Erie, Ohio's nature may seem boundless and endless to us. But it is a fragile beauty- easily scarred by man's greed.




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A recent trip out west illuminated the importance of America's open spaces and protected lands. International tourists comprised nearly 60-75% of the traffic we found in the National Parks, like Grand Canyon (shown here) and Zion. German, French and Japanese tourists travel half way around the world to see the vast open spaces and grander of America. Nothing of this scale can be found in their counties.

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Ohio's inland sea, Lake Erie is one of the United States' greatest bodies of fresh water. The Wall Street Journal just noted 10 major cities in our country are running out of water, and we barely note our abundance of clean, fresh H2O. We better be "invested" in our lake. If we do not protect and preserve it for the future, there will be no future. Clean water is a necessity we cannot live without.

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This is the only drilling I want to see on our shores.

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Lakeside Daisy is a federally endangered plant, preserved on the rocky outcroppings of Marblehead, Ohio. Ohio's biodiversity is a gift we all must protect for future generations.

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Living free, breathing clean air, drinking pure water and abiding in concert with flora and fauna does not happen without good planning and protection.

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Live, be happy... and vote well.

Ohio's Rhododendron

Rhododendrons native to Ohio create a pretty short list, four in fact. Three are early blooming azaleas and just one is the larger flowering rhododendron form.


Here is a glamour shot of the white-and-shell-pink beauty, Great Rhododendron, Rhododendron maximum, listed only in six Ohio counties on the USDA Plants database. I was fortunate enough to accompany some of Ohio's finest naturalists to closed site in the Hocking Hills area, where we saw many rare and unusual species of Ohio's flora.

Lined up in front of a flowering Sourwood, Oxydendron arboreum are the four cowboys: Steve McKee, Eric Miller, Paul Knoop and Jim Davidson. These four are some of Ohio's "good guys" -the cowboys who always wore white hats in the movies. This group of gents help identify, preserve and/or protect some of Ohio rarest species and best properties for our future generations, and they are a whole bunch of fun on a foray. But be warned, don't get between them and a bowl of ice cream, or you'll see how like-minded and determined they can be!