Dana Island Preserve Dedication

Neighbors and friends joined Friends of Lower Muskingum River (FLMR) for the dedication of Dana Island Preserve on Sept. 9.

The project began in 2006 when Pauline Lee noticed the property advertised in the newspaper. The owner was contacted and the site investigated by the FLMR board.

The property was not without drawbacks. Commercial removal of sand and gravel had left highly disturbed land on much of the 20-acre tract.

More worrisome was the history of the adjacent land where an infamous landfill had operated for a number of years and although the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had cleaned up the hundreds of 55-gallon drums of industrial waste several years before, no excavation is allowed on that property.

Application was made to the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund which has enabled many successful green space projects in the state.

The required 25 percent local match for Clean Ohio is always a challenge.

For this match, FLMR turned to Carolyn Caldwell, endangered species administrator with Ohio Division of Wildlife, who was able to fund the building of a small breeding pond for Eastern Spadefoot Toads which are endangered in Ohio. The funds were from a specific mitigation project and could only be used for re-introduction of this species. Eastern Spadefoot Toads once were common on sandy floodplains in the Lower Muskingum River Valley but have been no match for the bulldozers that mined this site or some of the pesticides used in agriculture.

A visit by OEPA personnel reassured us that the 20-acre tract was not contaminated but no water wells may ever be drilled because of the adjacent property.

John Lee agreed to be project manager and he obtained estimates for the signage, pond construction, etc. for the project.

In late 2007, FLMR learned the Clean Ohio application had been successful and the land was soon transferred.

During the past nine months, several pickup loads of trash have been removed from the site. The small temporary pond was completed as was the fencing and the signs were installed indicating the name and origin of the project and the location of the walking trail which is open to the public.

Meanwhile, numerous hours were spent (and are still being spent) removing the tree-of-heaven, bush honeysuckle, privet and multiflora rose that had found their home in the highly disturbed soil with plenty of sun. Rick Mayle has taken the lead on this project and has been very effective.

Many landowners are aware of the invasiveness of these species and will realize the effort required to restore infected land to a functioning plant community.

The discovery of small oaks and maples and a few larger sycamores among the removed invasive species is a promise for the restoration of a floodplain woodland that will improve the water quality of the Muskingum River but will also provide improved wildlife habitat.

It is interesting that in the hundreds of trees removed, no bird nests have been found (presumably because of the coarse branching habit of tree-of-heaven) and the countless tree-of-heaven seeds are ignored by native wildlife.

The promise that in a few years, acorns and other native seeds will once again be available for wildlife and the song of the spadefoot toad will again be heard makes it an exciting project.

Edgar and Alma Ginther were recognized at the dedication for their generosity and conservation ethic demonstrated by their adding their interest in Dana Island (which is no longer an island but is attached firmly to the mainland) to the project.

It was a lovely day but the event made it even more lovely.

Marilyn Ortt