What Makes Geauga a Gem - Geauga Park District

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park hours 6 AM - 11 PM daily “We try to walk in all the parks often. They all have a unique beauty. My newest favorite is Frohring (Meadows).” Hugh Cassidy — Chesterland “I have walked my dogs at the site of the new Observatory Park for years before it was a park! We walked the fields, wooded areas, and wetland areas and watched herds of deer, flocks of turkey, and beaver. I can even see the roof of the buildings from my living room window when there aren’t any leaves on the trees. Watching the development of all that wilderness become a park for everyone to enjoy has been a treat, especially when it leaves so much to Nature. Every park in Geauga Park District is a treasure.” Jody J. O’Connor — Montville Frohring Meadows - Bainbridge "I love the fact that Orchard Hills Park is a repurposed golf course. Excellent work!" Mark E. Edwards — Chesterland Donald W. Meyer Center in Big Creek Park is open 8 AM - 4:30 PM weekdays (year round) and 10 AM - 5 PM weekends (May through October) The West Woods Nature Center is open 10 AM - 5 PM daily Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve is open 6 AM - 9 PM daily The Maple Highlands Trail is open dawn to dusk For more information on parks, programs or events: Phone: 440-286-9516 800-536-4006 (Geauga toll free) Fax: 440-286-1285 Online: info@geaugaparkdistrict.org www.geaugaparkdistrict.org Follow Geauga Park District on “The new trailhead arch with its stone wings at Big Creek Park's bridle trails (Woodin Road) has the unintended benefit of serving as a mounting block. A functional, multipurpose element!” Louise Fraser — Mentor "The repair of the dam at Bass Lake ensures it will remain a lake for years to come." Chris Parker — Chardon Bass Lake Preserve - Chardon park mission The mission of Geauga Park District is to preserve, conserve and protect the natural features of Geauga County and to provide the opportunity for people to enjoy and appreciate those resources. Park Commissioners John D. Leech • Jim Patterson Michael J. Petruziello In Your Backyard Russell A Trilling Experience with Treefrogs Saturday, May 26, 8-9:30 PM, The West Woods Witness the breeding phenomenon of Gray Treefrogs, green frogs and bullfrogs in woodland pools. Rain or shine. Bring flashlights. Montville Observatory Park Grand Opening Celebration Saturday, June 16, 7 PM-Midnight, Observatory Park Join us for this family-friendly evening to celebrate the opening of the internationally recognized Observatory Park. Opening ceremonies are 7-8 PM; family activities are 8-9 PM; a concert with ContraBAND begins at 9 PM, and midnight stargazing is from 10:30-midnight. Executive Director • Thomas G. Curtin Deputy Director • Keith McClintock Editor • Sandy Ward, Paige Hosier Designer • Vicky Liptak park board meetings Geauga Park District invites and encourages you to come and let your voice be heard. Please stop by at any time during one of these upcoming Board of Park Commissioners meetings held at the Meyer Center in Big Creek Park. Tuesday, April 10, 3:30 PM Tuesday, May 8, 3:30 PM Tuesday, June 12, 3:30 PM 2 VOICES OF NATURE • www.geaugaparkdistrict.org
(continued from front cover) Geauga: a Gem by Sandy Ward, Editor Headwaters When the conservation community thinks of Geauga, it doesn’t think maple syrup – first and foremost, it thinks headwaters, the birth of a water system, where water flows off surrounding land into a defined path. Among its biggest fans is Dr. Jim Bissell, renowned curator of botany and coordinator of natural areas at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. “You protect the headwaters of the river streams in Northeast Ohio for all the rest of us,” Bissell said. “All the streams coming off Geauga County are exceptional quality, and those of us downstream have to thank the Park District for that.” Four river streams start in Geauga: • Northwest, deep ravines and steep forested slopes send the Chagrin River headwaters toward Lake County. Find these at The Rookery, Bass Lake Preserve, The West Woods, Orchard Hills Park and Sunnybrook Preserve. • Southeast, highlands at Swine Creek Reservation and Chickagami Park start one of the state’s finest rivers, the Grand, which flows toward Ashtabula and Lake, then back to Big Creek Park. • In central Geauga, exceptional wetlands send one branch of the upper Cuyahoga River headwaters from Observatory Park, where you can literally jump across it, through Burton Wetlands and Eldon Russell Park, then back toward Cleveland. (This is also the part of the river that gives it the “crooked river” name.) • A tiny tributary of the Mahoning River also starts south, in Troy Township, near Chickagami Park. While all are high-quality resources, the Geauga is graced with three major headwaters — and biodiversity to prove their high quality Chagrin River tributary at Observatory Park - Montville Chagrin River watershed in particular has the highest percentage of unpolluted, cold, spring-fed streams in Ohio, with about 50 percent of them in Geauga, said Amy Brennan, executive director of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners. “These streams are unique because they always have groundwater flow coming to them, which provides habitat for bugs and fish exclusively adapted to cold water,” she said. “Many Geauga residents rely on that same groundwater for their drinking water supply.” Speaking of drinking water, it’s a good thing Akron needs some – it preserves much of the Cuyahoga and surrounding wetlands through Geauga County property it owns to secure its water source. “They’ve saved a lot of biodiversity,” Pira said. Intact flood plains on these preserves help slow down water and prevent flooding and erosion, said Pete McDonald, director of stewardship for Western Reserve Land Conservancy. Added Bissell, “Plus, you probably know there's one damselfly on the Cuyahoga River that's no place else in the state, and then there's the endangered Racket-tailed Emerald at Pine Brook Preserve and Lake Kelso, and a cool beetle not described until 1996 found on several museum preserves in Ashtabula now found in Geauga County, and...“ Racket-tailed Emerald dragonfly Biodiversity Bissell, Pira and other biologists find different plants and animals living in Geauga because of its unique microhabitats. Lake and Cuyahoga are more developed; Ashtabula, more influenced by agriculture. For instance, one particular Ohio endangered mussel is only found in the Cuyahoga River flowing out of East Branch Reservoir. A particularly special locale is near Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve and its beautiful Lake Kelso, a kettle hole depression; biologists call it the Cuyahoga Wetlands. Just south of there, White Pine Bog Forest is also a Registered Natural Landmark through the National Park Service. “It’s unique and pristine and just a really fine example of this type of white pine bog/fen forest that was here thousands of years ago but you can’t find it anymore,” Pira said. Geauga Park District also protects some awesome fens, a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich groundwater. “Fens and bogs are some of the rarest communities anywhere, and they all deserve to be protected,” Bissell said. “The nice thing is, you can go to Lake Kelso, stand on the boardwalk and look at an outstanding glacial lake, fen system and typical boreal forest. It's a wonderful place to introduce people to bogs without getting their feet wet.” Wooded areas Like Lake and Ashtabula, Geauga Park District houses many cool hemlock woods that harbor unique northern species normally found in Canada and Appalachian species such as northern nesting birds: Magnolia Warblers, Winter Wrens and Dark-eyed Juncos. “If they can find suitable micro-habitats – a little more moisture, shaded and cool all summer long – they will come down to Geauga County to nest,” Pira said. And while it’s neat to talk about the rare things, biologists also get excited about Geauga’s beech-maple forests. Lake Kelso in Burton Wetlands - Burton (continued on next page) www.geaugaparkdistrict.org • VOICES OF NATURE 3
Page 1: A publication of Geauga Park Distri
Page 5 and 6: ARTS IN NATURE Shutterbugs Camera C
Page 7 and 8: ARTS IN NATURE Shutterbugs Camera C
Page 9 and 10: Maple Town Tune Traders Jam Session
Page 11 and 12: FOUNDATION The mission of Geauga Pa

What Makes Geauga a Gem - Geauga Park District

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