More than $140,000 awarded to projects benefiting OHIO’S wildlife diversity
COLUMBUS, OH - Eight researchers and organizations have been awarded a total of $141,735 for projects to benefit Ohio’s wildlife diversity, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Individuals, conservation organizations and universities are among the recipients of the grants. Funded projects are varied and include a bat survey, habitat evaluation for rare turtles, and a study of the life history of the Eastern sand darter.
A competitive screening process was used in determining awardees. Applicants were required to show the value of the project’s purpose, as well as its necessity and sustainable benefits to wildlife. The projects are funded with part of a $1.8 million State Wildlife Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that focuses on wildlife species in greatest need of conservation. The ODNR Division of Wildlife administers the grants.
Most of the remaining federal funds have been applied to the division’s ongoing research and conservation partnership projects, including restoration of the bald eagle, trumpeter swan, osprey, American burying beetle, and Karner blue butterfly.
2004 State Wildlife Grant Recipients
1. Lake Erie Watersnake Recovery Plan Implementation. Conducted by: Dr. Richard B. King ($26,296)
Project Summary: To meet the criteria for delisting the Lake Erie watersnake. Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), scientists from Northern Illinois University (NIU) and other partners are cooperating on a broad range of monitoring, research, and outreach activities. Goal is to develop standard monitoring protocols, management guidelines, and methods for identifying potential protected habitat in an effort to have the snake removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife.
2. Killbuck Wildlife Area Survey for the Federally Endangered Indiana and Species of Special Concern Evening Bats, With Focus On Foraging Patterns And Roost Site Identification Through Radio-Telemetry. Conducted by: Merrill Tawse ($4,197)
Project Summary: The purpose of this study is to determine the actual status of the evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) and Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis), rare and endangered species, respectively, at Killbuck Wildlife Area. Summer residential and breeding status of these species must be known to properly ensure that their critical habitat requirements are maintained and not lost.
3. Initiation Of A Captive Breeding Colony And Restoration Program For The American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americana) On Reclaimed Mined Lands At The Wilds Of Southeastern Ohio. Conducted by: Steve Shurter ($9,000)
Project Summary: In cooperation with the USFWS American Burying Beetle Recovery Program and the Division of Wildlife’s Burying Beetle Recovery Program of Ohio, a captive American burying beetle (ABB) propagation facility will be constructed at the Wilds. The successful colony will then be utilized to reestablish the ABB in managed reintroduction areas throughout the Wilds.
4. Identifying Critical Ecological Requirements Of Rare Turtle Species. Conducted by: Hillary Harms and Karen V. Root, PhD. ($24,460)
Project Summary: The objective of the proposed project is to determine the ecological requirements of a rare turtle species using a review of the literature, field sampling, and population modeling to determine variables most critical to long-term turtle viability. Spotted turtle management recommendations will be proposed based on the findings.
5. Life History Of The Eastern Sand Darter, Ammocrypta pellucida, in the Little Muskingum River. Conducted by Joseph E. Faber, Ph.D. ($750)
Project Summary: The Eastern sand darter (A. pellucida) is currently listed as a Species of Concern in Ohio and a Species of Concern in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Region 3. The life history of this fish species has had little study and building on previous research will allow better management and understanding of the species.
6. Consequences of a Management Strategy for the Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis. Conducted by: Bradley Pickens and Karen V. Root, Ph.D. ($19,067)
Project Summary: Few studies have looked at the direct impact of prescribed burning and mowing on Karner populations in the years following management. In this study behavioral observations of female Karners will be made to determine where egg laying occurs.
7. Conservation Genetics of Ohio Populations of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus c. catenatus). Conducted by: Dr. H. Lisle Gibbs ($29,983)
Project Summary: Research will help establish a benchmark conservation genetics database for Ohio massasauaga populations that could be used to evaluate the success of future conservation efforts. Information can guide the conservation of wild populations of endangered species by providing details on the genetic distinctiveness and levels of genetic variation for isolated populations.
8. Evaluating the Evolutionary Uniqueness and Conservation Needs of the State-Endangered Lark Sparrow, Chondestes grammacus. Conducted by: Juan L. Bouzat, Ph.D. and Jeremy D. Ross, Ph.D. candidate ($27,982)
Project Summary: The lark sparrow population of Oak Openings may be a distinct subspecies, C. g. grammacus, which may be locally adapted to the ecological conditions of the Oak Openings. Conclusions derived from this research will help refine both the conservation status and needs of the Oak Openings lark sparrow population. Conservation of this state-endangered species will help ensure its long-term persistence in Ohio and support the preservation of the oak savanna habitats within which the lark sparrow breed.