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October 25, 2005
RARE ORCHID IN SOUTHEAST OHIO BENEFITS FROM A $208,000 FEDERAL GRANT
Federal grant will pay for 160-acre easement, trail improvements and fence to protect population
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| The small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) is a state endangered, federally threatened species. |
COLUMBUS, OH The future of a rare orchid in southeast Ohio may be more certain thanks to a $208,654 federal grant that will help botanists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to better protect the state’s only known population of the small whorled pogonia. The plant is considered rare throughout its range, which includes the Midwest and Eastern United States.
A Recovery Land Acquisition Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will fund the purchase of a 160-acre conservation easement within the 617-acre Camp Oty’Okwa in Hocking County.
“With this grant we can create a buffer of habitat, helping to better protect the orchid’s population while hopefully providing it room to more successfully reproduce,” said Thomas Linkous, chief of the ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preservers (DNAP).
ODNR will work closely on this project with the camp’s staff, which is operated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio. Improvements are expected to be complete by the spring of 2006.
The project includes trail improvements and a fence that will be erected to protect the orchid population from foot traffic and discourage browsing wildlife, such as deer.
The small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) is a state endangered, federally threatened species. Scattered populations of this rare plant are known to occur in 14 other states as well as Canada. The five-leaved, white or yellow-flowered orchid often confused with Indian cucumber root stands as tall as 10 inches and typically blooms in late May.
Recovery Land Acquisition Grants aid in protecting against loss of habitat, which is the primary threat to most rare plant and animal species. Land acquisition is often the most effective means of protecting habitats essential for recovery of these rare species.
The federal grant is funding 64 percent of the conservation project, while nearly 25 percent ($79,756) is from Ohioans who donated to the Division of Natural Area’s & Preserves state income tax check-off program. Donations to this program support state nature preserves, home to a wide range of plant and animal populations, as well as endangered species and fragile ecosystems. The remaining 10 percent ($34,500) is from other sources, including the landowner..
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