COLUMBUS, OH - Unique habitats and rare Ohio plant species await visitors at the next
Natural Areas Discovery Series event on Saturday, July 9, which features tours of two Portage County bogs -Kent Bog and Triangle Lake Bog state nature preserves.
Bogs are an important remnant of Ohio’s glacial past. As glaciers retreated, blocks of ice broke off and melted, leaving kettle lakes in the depressions. Northern bog plants became established around the shores of these lakes.
A tour at Kent Bog State Nature Preserve in Brimfield Township begins at 10 a.m. with a hike on a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk trail through bog meadows and the best stand of tamarack trees in Ohio. Rare species include leatherleaf, mountain holly and tawny cottongrass. A population of the spotted turtle also calls this preserve home.
Visitors are encouraged to continue the tour at Triangle Lake Bog State Nature Preserve in Rootstown Township for a 1 p.m. hike. This preserve protects one of the finest and least disturbed sphagnum kettle-hole bogs in Ohio, as well as a number of rare plants, including the carnivorous sundew and pitcher plant. A floating sphagnum mat with swamp loosestrife, leatherleaf and tamaracks surround the dark acid waters of the bog lake.
For more information on the bog tours, call 440-839-1561.
Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, the Natural Areas Discovery Series features scheduled hikes, interpretive activities and an opportunity for visitors to meet preserve and scenic river staff. The next event will be held Saturday, July 23 at Smith Cemetery and Bigelow Cemetery state nature preserves in Madison County.