COLUMBUS, OH -- Oak trees that were standing when the first Europeans landed in America are thriving at Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve as a result of an individual's generosity, as well as donations to the state income tax check-off fund for natural areas and scenic rivers, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve is one of Ohio's largest remaining old-growth forests - with hickory and oak trees that rise as much as 100 feet above the forest floor. The woods are a well-preserved remnant of the 1823 homestead of Wayne County settler Jacob Conrad. Conrad's descendants donated 155 acres of the preserve to ODNR's Division of Natural Areas & Preserves in 1994; an additional 51 acres were purchased, using $277,882 in state tax check-off funds.
Johnson Woods is one of Ohio's great natural treasures and an example of the rare and threatened ecosystems protected by tax check-off donations, said ODNR Director Sam Speck.
A boardwalk, also constructed with check-off funds, stretches a mile and a half through Johnson Woods, allowing easy access to the preserve's plant and animal communities. Visitors are encouraged to remain on the boardwalk in order to protect the area's delicate ecosystem.
Visitors can expect to see a variety of habitats in the preserve. Low, wet areas harbor red maples, pin oaks and swamp white oaks that flourish in saturated soils. White oaks - some more than 400 years old - and red oaks dominate the higher and drier elevations. Many of these trees are near the end of their life spans and will, in time, give way to a generation of sugar maples and American beech that are coming of age in the preserve's understory.
In the spring, more than 60 species of wildflowers nod throughout the preserve, including large-flowered trillium, windflower, wild geranium and cardinal flower.
A population of woodland birds, mammals and amphibians are at home among the big trees of Johnson Woods. Acadian flycatchers, pileated woodpeckers (Ohio's largest woodpeckers), barred owls and screech owls are just a few of the preserve's bird species. Wood frogs, spring peepers and other amphibians inhabit the low, wet areas. Chipmunks, opossums, fox squirrels and raccoons feed and raise families among the stately hardwoods.
To visit the preserve, take Route 57 north from Orrville for four miles to Fox Lake Road. From Fox Lake Road, travel east for one mile to the preserve's parking lot.
The ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preserves oversees 124 state nature preserves and 20 state scenic river segments throughout Ohio. Eighty-one of the preserves are open to the public from dawn to dusk daily. Visitors to the remaining 43 preserves must first obtain a permit from the ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preserves. For more information or to obtain a permit, visit the ODNR web site at ohiodnr.com