Page | 1 2018 Annual Report P. O. Box 177 Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456 Welcome to your Preserves! Twelve years ago, the citizens of the islands created Put-in-Bay Township Park District. With the encouragement and support of property owners, individuals, organizations, the State of Ohio, and the Federal government, we have been able to safeguard and protect forested areas, wetlands, and grass lands which are disappearing to development at an alarming rate. With your help, we have been able to complement commercial and residential development with areas of green -- natural areas that preserve the treasures of the Lake Erie Islands. The Park District is proud of its accomplishments. Thank you. Members of the Board of Commissioners Lisa Brohl Kendra Koehler Kelly Faris
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2018 Annual Report
P. O. Box 177 Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456
Welcome to your Preserves!
Twelve years ago, the citizens of the islands created Put-in-Bay Township Park District. With the encouragement and support of property owners, individuals, organizations, the State of Ohio, and the Federal government, we have been able to safeguard and protect forested areas, wetlands, and grass lands which are disappearing to development at an alarming rate. With your help, we have been able to complement commercial and residential development with areas of green -- natural areas that preserve the treasures of the Lake Erie Islands. The Park District is proud of its accomplishments.
Thank you.
Members of the Board of Commissioners
Lisa Brohl Kendra Koehler
Kelly Faris
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FORMATION OF PUT-IN-BAY TOWNSHIP PARK DISTRICT On July 18, 2006, a petition to form a park district (Consistent with Ohio Revised Code 511.18) was presented to the Put-in-Bay Township Trustees. On September 7, 2006, Judge Paul Moon, Ottawa County Common Pleas Court, held a hearing on the appointment of the Board of Park Commissions (Common Pleas Court Case No: 06MI022). The first meeting of the Commissioners of Put-in-Bay Township Park District was held on September 19, 2006. At the General Election on November 6, 2007, an overwhelming majority of the electorate voted Yes on Issue 5 creating Put-in Bay Township Park District and affirming the action of the Common Pleas Court of Ottawa County.
The Board of Commissioners of Put-in-Bay Township Park District files an annual written report to the Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas. Put-in-Bay Park District is audited by the State of Ohio every two years.
2018 Put-in-Bay Township Park District
Board of Park Commissioners (Commissioners serve a three year term without compensation)
Kendra Koehler Three Year Term Box 384 Term Expires: May 2020 Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456
Lisa Brohl Three Year Term Box 155 Term Expires: May 2021 Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456
Kelly Faris Three Year Term Box 404 Term Expires: May 2019 Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456
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The Lake Erie Islands
* In 2010, the University of Michigan published A Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas of the Great Lakes Islands in which they identified the Lake Erie Islands as an area that is “globally rare.”
* The United States Audubon Society stated that within the Lake Erie Islands there is a need to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.
* The Nature Conservancy stated, “Populations of some migratory birds have declined drastically over the past 30 years, mostly due to habitat loss of the birds’ breeding and wintering grounds, as well as the loss of stopover sites along migration routes.” The Lake Erie Islands are a critical stopover site.
* Birdlife International, a global partnership of independent organizations working together as one for nature and people, has identified the Lake Erie Islands as “critical to the survival of migratory birds, whose journeys can span thousands of miles.”
* The Nature Conservancy has placed South Bass Island on the Top 10 list of “most threatened islands in the Great Lakes.”
The unique areas in the Lake Erie Islands are in danger of being irrevocably altered.
• Ohio loses over 40,000 acres of rural land to development each year
• 95% of wetlands in Ohio have disappeared.
• Scientists estimate that at the end of this century over 50% of the species of birds that we know today will be extinct.
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Put-in-Bay Township Park District
Land Preservation Guidance and Goals
In cooperation with the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, Put-in-Bay Township Park District recognizes the need for the protection of unique, sensitive areas in the Lake Erie Islands.
This list includes recommendations from The Ohio State University Stone Lab, the Ohio Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies and researchers.
1. Karst Topography or Wild Caves- Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. There are approximately 30 caves on South Bass Island that have been inventoried by the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and by Wittenberg University. An isopod (small crustacean) new to science was found in one of the private caves.
2. Wetlands, marshes, swamp forests-Our wetlands are distinctive with a mix of eastern, southern and western species of plants. The ponds on the islands are unique geologic features studied by OSU Stone Lab for their plant zonation from swamp forest, shrubs like buttonbush, emergent vegetation such as bulrush, sedges, and duck potato, and finally floating leaved plants like water lilies and water lotus at the northern edge of its range here. Ohio threatened Blanding’s turtles have been recorded in island wetlands and rare triploid salamanders use the wet woods.
3. Cliff Habitat-Home to a rare plant community of mixed northern species like Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) and prairie species like Big-blue stem (Andropogon gerardii.)
4. Shoreline- An alvar is an area of little or no soil over limestone or dolomite bedrock resulting in a rare community of sparse vegetation. On the Bass Islands, we have many alvar like areas where plants like Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia kalmii), northern bog violet (Viola nephrophylla) and balsam squawweed (Packera pauperculus) are found. Sand beaches also hold many state listed and unique plant species.
5. Forest Assemblages-The forests on the Bass Islands are distinctive. The dolomite just below the surface supports trees such as blue ash, chinkapin oak, and hackberry. Our forests on the drier sites are made up of sugar maple, common hackberry, and basswood-more typical of forests found on morainal ridges further to the north rather than the typical beech-maple or oak hickory associations found on the mainland. If these forests are within ¼ mile of the shoreline, they are critical habitat for migratory songbirds.
6. Reefs- The importance of reefs to spawning and feeding fish has been noted by Ohio Sea Grant and by the Nature Conservancy.
7. Colonial Nesting Birds-The Nature Conservancy included nesting bird colonies in
their priorities for protection. There are limited areas that herons, gulls, and terns use for nesting and priority should be given to protect these spots.
8. Vineyards-Grape growing is an important part of our island heritage and one that we wish to see continue. The retention of vineyards is a priority for the Put-in-Bay Township Park District.
9. State or Federally Listed Species-We wish to protect habitat for state threatened, federal species of concern such as Lake Erie watersnake (Nerodia sepedon insularum), the state threatened Blandings turtle, as well as the species of concern such as the eastern garter snake and eastern fox snake. The Lake Erie Islands have unique populations of triploid ambystomid salamanders that should be preserved.
References
Bartlett, Thomas, Bird Banding Data for the Lake Erie Islands, Annual reports, 2003-2016. Boerner, Ralph, “Forest Composition of the Lake Erie Islands,” American Midland Naturalists, 111:1:173-184. Cooper, C. Lawrence and Charles E. Herdendorf, Resources of the Lake Erie Islands, Center for Lake Erie Research, The Ohio State University, May 1977. Ewert, David, Great Lakes Bird Ecoregional Planning: A Final Report. Report to the Great Lakes Program of the Nature Conservancy. 1999. Gordon, Robert, “Wildflowers of the Put-in-Bay Dolomite,” Wildflower, 23:24-28, 1947. Henson, Bonnie and Michael McMurty, Nature Conservancy Canada, Islands of Life: A Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas of the Great Lakes Islands, 2010 Ohio Heritage Data Base, Ohio Division of Wildlife. The Nature Conservancy, Draft Conservation Plan for the Lake Erie Islands, 2004. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Ranking Criteria for Conservation of Islands in the Laurentian Great Lakes, November 2004.
Put-in-Bay Township Park District
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Preserved and Protected Natural Areas
Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve
Location: South Bass Island – State Route 357, East Terminus Parcel: 0240802110662000 - 11150 Acres: 9.1 Access: Foot, canoe, and kayak Trails: Rugged, natural hazards The Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve was the first property acquired on South Bass Island by the Park District. Funding for the purchase was provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Section 6 Grant, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, First Energy – Section 6 Grant, Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, Sandusky Bay Eagles Foundation, Black Swamp Conservancy, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Lorain National Bank, Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and the Ohio Division of Wildlife, private donations, and a significant donation by Rose B. Scheeff. With 1,700 feet of Lake Erie shoreline, the Park is one of the last remaining natural settings for people to enjoy South Bass Island. Offering spectacular views of Lake Erie and the surrounding Islands, East Point’s rocky shores, shallow water, and upland cover also provide habitat for the Lake Erie watersnake, thousands of migratory songbirds and waterfowl, and a host of shoreline plants. Fishing and bird watching take place on the property. A 2,205 foot looped hiking trail winds its way along the shore of Lake Erie.
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Massie Cliffside Preserve
Location: South Bass Island, East Point, State Route 357
This 11 acre shoreline parcel on the East Point of South Bass Island includes cliff habitat and a dock for fishing. Clean Ohio Conservation Funds, a Nature Works Grant, Ohio Coastal Management Grant, Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, private donations, and the land owner donation provided funding for the purchase and restoration of the property.
A 1,750 foot trail winds through the woods to the cliffs, affording a spectacular view of Lake Erie and the surrounding Islands. Columbine and harebells bloom on the cliffs in the summer.
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Jane Coates Wildflower Trail -- Ladd Carr Wildlife Woods
Location: South Bass Island – Put-in-Bay Road Parcel: 0240659128669004 and 020659128669003; Part of Parcel
Jane Coates Wildflower Trail and the Ladd Carr Wildlife Woods is a mature forested area, providing habitat for local species of birds and for migratory species. Wild hyacinths and Dutchman’s breeches are abundant. A 2,550 foot looped hiking trail weaves its way through the abundance of wildflowers in the spring. A bench at the far end of the preserve offers a place for wildlife watching.
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Dodge Woods Preserve
Location: South Bass Island – Corner of Thompson and Langram Road Parcel: 3.6 acres Access: Foot Trails: 852 foot looped trail - rugged, natural hazards
This wooded area is mostly young forest. There is a mix of black walnut, common hackberry, black cherry, Kentucky coffeetree, wild grape, mulberry and eastern red cedar with some planted conifers and fruit trees on the edges as well as herbaceous plants and sedges. Spring wildflowers such as Virginia waterleaf, bloodroot, wild leeks, false Solomon’s Seal, and buttercups are found in the trail area. Enchanters nightshade as well as the tall bellflower are followed by Short’s aster and goldenrod in the fall. The variety of habitats make it an inviting stop for birds in the spring and fall migration season. The Eastern Fox Snake and the melanistic Eastern Garter Snake are found in the area.
The Put-in-Bay StoryWalk® In collaboration with the Park District and the Erie Islands Library, a Put-in-Bay® StoryWalk has been erected in the Dodge Woods Preserve. A StoryWalk® is an innovative way for children and adults to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. Seventeen Storyboard posts are placed along the mulched path and display laminated pages from children’s books. Karen Wilhelm of the Erie Islands Branch of the Ida Rupp Library received a grant from the Ottawa County Community Foundation. This grant along with other donations from individuals and businesses were used to purchase and install the StoryWalk. The StoryWalk® guest book was signed by 444 visitors in the first six weeks that the walk was opened.
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Lake Erie’s Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve
Location: Middle Bass Island, North Shore Road Parcel: 023-02887-03657-000 – North Shore Road Acres: 7.82 Access: Canoe and kayak only Trails: Rugged, natural hazards The Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve consists of exceptional Lake Erie Islands shoreline and interior island habitat on Middle Bass Island. The property hosts a diversity of habitats including natural beach lands, hardwood forest, and grasslands, which attract large numbers of migrating birds and provides shelter and nesting space for resident song birds. The preserve provides critical habitat for the Lake Erie Watersnake. Due to the success of the habitat protection effort at this preserve and other Park District preserves, the Lake Erie Watersnake has been removed from the list of federally endangered and threatened species but remains on the State of Ohio Threatened Species List. Located near the tip of the Island’s northeastern peninsula, the preserve overlooks Schoolhouse Bay, a popular destination for boaters and swimmers, and it contains a shallow-water pier for canoes and kayaks. It is one of the first kayak only accessible parks in Ohio. Trout lilies bloom in the preserve each spring. A walking path circles through the preserve. The Black Swamp Conservancy monitors the conservation easement on the preserve.
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Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve Costello Tract Preserve
Virginia Bluebells
Location: Middle Bass Island, North Shore Road Parcels: 023-06624-16348-000023-06624-16350-000 023-06624-16339-000023-06624-16340-000 Acres: 3.937 Access: Area not open until trails are established. The 3.937 acre parcel is a unique forest area. The property provides a natural habitat for wildlife and plants. The Audubon Society and Birdlife International have identified the Lake Erie Islands as an important bird area. The Costello Preserve protects and maintains a forest community for migratory birds who use the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways. The melanistic eastern garter snake and the eastern fox snake, both species of concern, have been recorded in the Preserve. The State of Ohio threatened Lake Erie Watersnake is also found at this site. The Costello Tract Preserve was purchased by the Put-in-Bay Township Park District in April of 2013 with Clean Ohio Funding (Ohio Public Works Commission Project No. CEGAB). The Black Swamp Conservancy of Perrysburg, Ohio, maintains a conservation easement on the property, ensuring that the tract will be maintained in its natural state in perpetuity. The property is inspected annually by this organization.
Location: Middle Bass Island, Fox Road Parcel: 023028680363000 Acres: 7.331 Access: Area not open until trails are established. The Schneider Tract on Middle Bass Island, consisting of 7.331 acres, is part of an area defined in the publication, Islands of Life: A Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas of the Great Lakes Islands (2010), as an area that supports “globally rare shoreline, alvar, savanna and forest communities, which support globally significant biodiversity and important ecological functions” providing “roosting and foraging habitat for a globally significant assemblage of wintering waterfowl.” According to this publication, “the key ecological systems of the western Lake Erie Islands are wetlands (marshes and swamps) and limestone, plain forest complexes.” These areas are rapidly disappearing within the Lake Erie Islands. Put-in-Bay Township Park District’s preservation of this area will help protect these significant and sensitive wetlands and forests. The Schneider Tract is a limestone plain wetland forest whose hydrology is directly linked to Lake Erie water levels. The land provides migratory song bird habitat as well as breeding grounds for numerous varieties of amphibians. Restoration and protection of this property is safeguarded by an Environmental Covenant with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
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Middle Bass Forested Wetlands Preserve Burgundy Bay Tract
Dedication – Middle Bass Forested Wetland Preserve – August 2018
Location: Middle Bass Island Parcels: 0231322008340000, 3230322004392000, 0230322004410000 Acres: 14 Access: Foot Trail, small parking area, bicycle rack at Fox Road Entrance. Eight acres were added in 2017 and 2018 to the Middle Bass Island Forested Preserve – The Burgundy Bay Tract. The parcel is now 14 acres of limestone plain wetland forest habitat characterized by its geology – a relatively thin layer of soil overlaying carbonate bedrock whose hydrology is directly influenced by Lake Erie water levels. It is the largest remaining block of unprotected forested land on Middle Bass. The limestone plain forest provides rare habitat that has been largely lost throughout the Islands. The Eastern Fox Snake and the Lake Erie Watersnake are found on the site. The property is located in the North American migratory flyway and Atlantic flyway through which thousands of birds fly south to their wintering habitat and north to breeding grounds.
A dedication was held on Sunday, August 5, 2018. A small reception was held at the Middle Bass State Park pavilion. Schmidlin Construction installed the walking trail that was designed by Lisa Brohl and Teddi Keith-Morris. An interpretive sign was placed along the path. Prothonotary warble boxes were also installed.
Parcels: A portion of 0230349404009000 – 7.6 acres
Access: Area not open until trails are established.
On January 11, 2018, Put-in-Bay Township Park District purchased the 7.6 acres from the Dieperink family. The purchase was funded with a Clean Ohio Conservation Fund Grant and a Coastal Estuarine Land Conservation Program.
Combined with the 7 acre Schneider Tract owned by the Park District, the tract is now 13.6 acres of contiguous forest. The eastern portion of this parcel is slightly higher in elevation. There is a swamp forest of silver maples, elm, and swamp white oak. Green ash used to predominate the forest but most trees have succumbed to the emerald ash borer. There are many dead and dying trees in the preserve.
Rough-leaved dogwood, silver maple, and some ash are beginning to replace the dead and dying ash in the wetter areas of the preserve. The non-native amur honeysuckle and buckthorn are growing in sunny patches and were sprayed by EnviroScience to remove these invasive species and keep them from overtaking the preserve.
The higher ground holds sugar maples, hackberry, and eastern red cedar. The area is within a quarter of a mile from Lake Erie, providing ideal habitat for migratory birds. The eastern fox snake and melanictic eastern garter snake are found in the tract. Because of their rarity, both of these snakes are listed as “Species of Concern.” Hibernacula for the Lake Erie Watersnake is located in the Dieperink Tract.
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Black Swamp Conservancy to Put-in-Bay Township Park District
In January 2016 the following Tax Exempt properties, owned by the Black Swamp Conservancy, Perrysburg, Ohio, were donated and transferred to Put-in-Bay Township Park District:
Name Location Parcel Number Acres
Gump Woods-South Bass Island—Victory Woods.
Gump Parcel South Bass island 0240567603569000 .5
Petersen Woods-Middle Bass Island-1.5 acres.
Petersen Woods Middle Bass Island 0230294603727000 1.5
Prokesh Property-Middle Bass Island-Burgundy Bay.
Prokesh Parcel Middle Bass Island 0230593028597000 .5
Lawrence Evans Property-Middle Bass Island Lawrence Evans Parcel Middle Bass Island 0230822718184001 .75
Jane Coates Wildflower Trail-South Bass Island-3 acres.
LaPlante Parcel South Bass Island 0240658828667005 LaPlante Parcel South Bass Island 0240817710847001 Woischke Parcel South Bass Island 0240659128669001 Woischke Parcel South Bass Island 0240659128669002
2018 Volunteers A host of volunteers assisted Put-in-Bay Township Park District in 2018. Trail monitors walked the trails and paths and informed the Park District of any issues. Teddi Keith-Morris and Nancy Welter walked the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve and Joe Byrnes walked preserves on South Bass Island. Joe and his father, Mike, removed a number of downed trees that blocked trails at the Scheeff, Massie, and Jane Coates Wildflower preserves. Art Otermat assisted at the Wildflower Trail – adding trail signs and removing logs from the trail. With the large number of ash tree dying, tree removal is a constant job. Students -- Macy Ladd, Kate Byrnes and Max Hristovski -- at Put-in-Bay School volunteered at Park Preserves through the Panther Pride program. Put-in-Bay School alumni Gage Auger and Victoria Wertenbach also volunteered.
Richard Gump and crew installed two benches at the Massie Cliffside Preserve and moved mulch onto the trail and parking area at the Scheeff East Point Preserve in April. Richard and his helper Matthew Luecke installed brochure boxes at all preserves. rails is a constant job. Neighbors Chris and Ron Helman have been mowing and maintaining our trail at the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve and remove downed trees when blocking the trail. Chris and his family have picked up litter along the shoreline and cleared the bird banding net lanes there as well as assisting with bird banding efforts this fall.
Ken Farber spent time at the Scheeff East Point Preserve clearing around the purple martin rigs and around the entrance to the trail to make it look more inviting, He removed invasive callery pear and treated stumps with herbicide. He has also helped in removing downed tree limbs from the Scheeff East Point Preserve Trail.
Former students at the Put-in-Bay School Wyatt Auger and Victoria Wertenbach spent some time this past year picking up litter for us at the Massie Cliffside Preserve. Melody Many, Kate Byrnes and Max Hristovski spen volunteer time at our preserves through the Panther Pride program at Put-in-Bay School
Richard Gump and crew installed a new bench at the Massie Cliffside Preserve and one at the Scheeff East Point this year as well as replacing signs for us as needed. Alex Lydon Washtock helped Richard get our Chimney Swift Tower sign up at the Scheeff East Point Preserve Richard, Matthew Luecke, Scott Ferrell and Mark Chance installed our new recycling containers at all of our preserves late this year. Richard has been a constant source of help and advice with our preserves.
Howard and Elaine Martin and Carol Craigs helped install and maintain monarch butterfly gardens around the benches at the Massie Cliffside Preserve. Marv Booker helps with mowing at the Massie Cliffside Preserve and checking trail side garbage cans.
On Earth Day 2018, a large group picked up garbage along the shoreline at the Scheeff East Point Preserve and then moved on to the Jane Coates Wildflower Trail to pull the invasive garlic mustard (Lisa Brohl, Jennifer, Todd, Matthew Newhouse, Joe and Michelle Oliver Pennington, Travis Zawisza, Paula and Greg Ziebarth.
Carrie Winhoven and the DeColores Montessori Farm Jr High School pulled garlic mustard at the Jane Coates Wildflower Trail in May with Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial Ranger Kathie
Holbrook. They removed over 15 bags of garlic mustard from the trail! This is the second visit from Carrie and DeColores Montessori Farm Jr. High School and we hope they visit again!
The Marjorie Book Continuing Education Society visited the Massie Cliffside Preserve on July 20 and weeded and mulched around our entrance benches at the Massie Cliffside Preserve. The Boardwalk Family restaurants provided lunch for the volunteers Maria and Joe Link, Ben Brown, Bernie and Melinda Schwarm, Jonathon Zill, Hannah Holderby, Dana Metcalf, Lisa Brohl, and AmeriCorps intern Sam Newhouse.
The Boy Scouts we usually count on for mulching our trails in the fall we not able to come due to the bad weather and canceling of the Historic Weekend event. The Ohio State University Stone Laboratory’s Buckeye Hop was held on October 20, 2018. Lisa Brohl met participants Kim Schraitle, David and Marissa Ganzfried, Elizabeth Landrigan, Leanna Gonzales at the Dodge Woods Preserve where they mulched the new Put-in-Bay StoryWalk Trail before the HallowRead program there on October 24. Thanks again to Kristin Stanford, Sue Bixler, Kelly Dress, and Sheila Lewicki of the Ohio State University Stone Lab for organizing the volunteers and all who participated and made possible the 2018 Buckeye Hop!!! Eagle Scout Project Evan Hart has built and installed prothonotary warbler nesting boxes for the Put-in-Bay Township Park District's Petersen Woods Preserve and our Middle Bass Island Forested Wetland Preserve as an Eagle Scout project. Thanks to Krissy and Maddie Hart and to Bruce Miles for help in installing the boxes this fall.Hope we get some warblers to check out the boxes this spring. A volunteer will monitor the boxes next summer and report any data to NestWatch. Intern Bowling Green State University student Samantha Newhouse was the AmeriCorps intern shared by the Put-in-Bay Township Park District, the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, and the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center again this summer. The Ohio State University Stone Lab provided housing for Samantha in exchange for work in the dining hall also. She had a very busy summer with monitoring our bird next boxes, trail work, and coordinating volunteer programs at our preserves. She will be graduating this year. Visits to preserves
Kelly Faris showed representatives of Embridge Energy and Peg Kohring of the Conservation Fund around Coopers Woods August 14, 2018. Lake Erie Islands Conservancy members Teddi Keith-Morris and Jim Brohl also showed Embridge Energy representatives and Peg Kohring projects they have helped sponsor on Middle Bass Island the same day. Conservancy member Bob Cummings hosted Yetty Lombardo of the Ohio Coastal Management Program with Liz Mountz, management specialist of NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management June 21, 2018 August to view projects they funded on Middle Bass Island. Melanie Coulter of the Black Swamp Conservancy and husband Michael Weintraub visited the Middle Bass East Point Preserve in October to monitor the conservation easement placed on the preserve to ensure it stays undeveloped. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy visited the Scheeff East Point Preserve this fall as well.
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Lake Erie Islands Paddling Guide
Water Trails Put-in-Bay Township Park District, along with its partners, the National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program, and Ohio Sea Grant assisted in the development of a water trails system for the Lake Erie Islands. A Water Trails Guide has been published. The guide features five circular paddling routes and associated public access points around South Bass, Middle Bass, North Bass, Kelleys Island and the Catawba and Marblehead peninsula area. Access points to the nearly 60 miles of paddling trails, and trail markers are visible from the water and marked with color coded signs that coordinate with the guide. Safety, environmental information, access amenities, and paddling distances are also included. The 4th Annual Middle Bass Poker Kayak Day was held on August 4, 2018, at the Middle Bass Island State Park. Tina Larson organized the event. Proceeds from the event are used to purchase signage for the Middle Bass Preserves.
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Chimney Swift Tower – Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve
Brick chimneys are disappearing and Chimney Swifts are getting scarce. There may or may not be a correlation between these two statements.
Man-made chimneys – Chimney Swift towers -- are being constructed to provide nesting places for the swifts.
Lake Erie Island Conservancy member Karen Jennings provided funding for the materials for a Chimney Swift tower and Casey Carty constructed the wooden structure in three parts at his home in Avon, Ohio. Using tall step ladders and a backhoe, Ken Farber, Casey Carty, and Eric Booker erected the tower at the Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve.
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The tower has a large enough diameter for the Chimney Swifts to nest and roost inside the shaft. The tower stands 14 feet high and is insulated to prevent the inside from overheating. Ventilation holes at the bottom permit air to circulate through the shaft and also prevent overheating. The holes are small so that snakes cannot enter the chamber. A removable bottom piece facilitates cleaning at the end of the nesting season. Metal flashing at the top prevents raccoons and other animals from entering.
The inside of the tower has a rough texture so that the small birds can cling to the vertical inside where they build their small nests from twigs and saliva.
The Chimney Swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs. Some have called the Chimney Swift a “flying cigar.”
The Chimney Swift spends most of its time flying, catching insects and even drinking by skimming over water. The swifts have a short legs and small feet. The bird cannot roost in trees, but can only roost by clinging to a vertical surface. The swifts mate for life. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs, and the young hatch in 19 days and fledge about a month later. The birds live about five years.
Chimney Swifts winter in South America as far south as Peru. They will spend about six to seven months in their new tower, and will return to this tower year after year.
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"The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.” E.O. Wilson
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Control of Invasive Species Grant Awarded by National Park Service Cooperative Agreement number: P17AC01120
On September 15, 2017, a cooperative agreement between Put-in-Bay Township Park District and the National Park Service was signed. A grant was subsequently awarded by the National Park Service to the Park District to control invasive species at certain Park District preserves. EnviroScience was engaged by the Park District to implement the grant. In 2018, EnviroScience made visits to Middle Bass Island to use herbicide spraying of Amur Honeysuckle and common buckthorn on the Schneider Tract, the Dieperink Tract and the Burgundy Bay Tracts of the Middle Bass Island Forested Wetland Preserve. Common reedgrass or Phragmites australis at the Petersen Woods Preserve as well as the adjacent Kuehnle State Wildlife Area and property owned by the Put-in-Bay Port Authority at the Middle Bass Island Airport were also sprayed. In 2019, EnviroScience will work at the East Point Preserve on Middle Bass Island and at a tract owned by the Put-in-Bay Township Park District in Victory Woods on South Bass Island for control of English Ivy (Hedera helix). A baseline study was done in 2017 by The Ohio State University student Camille Manoukian and Put-in-Bay Township Park District Commissioner Lisa Brohl before the herbicide applications. In 2019, an additional study will be done to gauge the effectiveness of the basal herbicide applications and change in species composition.
Middle Bass Island Sites for Control of Invasive Species
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Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Jackie Taylor, director of the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center, has been banding Monarch Butterflies on South Bass Island for several years. Jackie banded Monarch Butterflies at the Massie Cliffside Preserve and at other island locations.
The tagging/banding of Monarch Butterflies is vital for research, protection, and preservation of the species. A series of 3-letter, 3-number codes is generated for each tagging season and printed using permanent inks on all weather tags with a pressure-sensitive adhesive backing. The tags are lightweight and circular. When applied, the tags do not interfere with flight or otherwise harm the butterflies.
A large roosting population of monarch butterflies was documented on September 8 and 9, 2018. Inclement weather forced the butterflies to roost in trees at a number of locations on the Bass Islands. After waiting out the bad weather, the butterflies made their way to the mainland and to their winter roost in Mexico. Jackie banded a large number of butterflies at the South Bass Island Lighthouse. Lisa Brohl photographed large numbers of monarchs roosting in trees by the water at the Massie Cliffside Preserve and the Scheeff East Point Preserve. Chris Helman and Nancy Welter documented a roost of Monarchs in the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve.
Jackie Taylor is working on a map of all the areas that are used by butterflies.
Put-in-Bay Township Park District maintains tree cover near the lakeshore as roosting habitat for these migrating monarch butterflies. Milkweed has been planted for a caterpillar food source, and native summer blooming plants have been planted for adults.
After November 15 and after the Lake Erie Watersnake has hibernated, the Park District mows two areas of 1-2 acres in size at both the Scheeff East Point Preserve and the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve. These two grassy areas are habitat for nectaring butterflies and provide an environment for milkweed, an important plant for the Monarch Butterfly. The trees adjacent to the mowed areas provide roosting sites and a good mix of habitat for migratory birds.
An area around the benches at the Massie Cliffside Preserve is kept mowed and milkweed and other native pollinator plants have been planted and maintained. A separate small garden maintained by Carol Craigs and Howard and Elaine Martens. These plants had a rough start with drought this past summer.
Put-in-Bay Township Park District hopes to partner with the Pollinators Initiative in Ohio to provide additional habitat.
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Bird Banding Reports
Bird banding aids in the study of migration, longevity, mortality, population and feeding behavior.
Year Began 2003 2009 2010 Red = new to island banding list * = Many of these birds were House Sparrows which were released unbanded Additional Banders: Summer Studies Purple Martin Colonies Dr. James Marshall Thomas Kashmer Federal Permit #21624-G Federal Permit #23088
Tree Swallows and Purple Martins Report:
South Bass Island: Tree Swallow and Purple Martin Report Bird Paula Ziebarth, Ottawa County Area Contact Ohio Bluebird Society During 2018, native breeding birds did well in nest boxes and Purple Martin housing located on the island.
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Tree Swallows winter in the south but do not winter as far south as other species of swallows. Therefore Tree Swallows will return to their nesting grounds on South Bass Island before other swallows return. Tree Swallows eat plant foods as well as insects. This diet helps them survive during the cold snaps and wintry weather of early spring. This season, in nest boxes that were monitored, 154 Tree Swallows fledged.
Purple Martins, North America’s largest swallow, return to the Lake Erie islands in early April. 494 young fledged from housing that was monitored on South Bass Island this year. The Purple Martins winter in Brazil.
Wildlife Center 7 0 0 0 0 1 TOTAL 154 12 7 3 494 0 36
TRES = Tree Swallow; BARS = Barn Swallow; HOWR = House Wren; PUMA = Purple Martin
* Non-native European Starling (EUST) and House Sparrow (HOSP) attempts. No non-native birds fledged from housing.
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“You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.” -- St. Bernard
******* Island Green Week
Each year, Put-in-Bay Township Park District, the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society, and the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center work together to present a series of activities to draw attention to the fragile environment of the Lake Erie Islands and display the wealth of information, activities, and sites that showcase the natural beauty of the islands.
MBI 4th Poker Kayak Day
In 2018, Island Green Week activities kicked off with the 4th MBI Poker Kayak Day held on Middle Bass Island. The money raised from this event goes to Put-in-Bay Township Park District for the benefit of the preserves on Middle Bass. Volunteers coordinate this event.
Management
Dr. Kristin Stanford of The Ohio State University Stone Lab captured 139 LEWS from Scheeff East Point this year, 63 of which were swabbed for the presence of the fungus leading to SFD Snake Fungal disease monitoring. We also collected 14 Eastern Fox snakes on the property, 10 of which were new animals. Results of the testing are not yet available. USGS master bander Tom Bartlett and Dr. James Marshall of The OSU Stone Lab and Rockford University performed bird banding at Scheeff East Point Preserve and the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve.
Thanks to the crew from the Green Creek Wildlife Society-Tom Kashmir, Lisa Rock, Rhonda Miller, Mike Picciutto and Lake Erie Island Conservancy’s Paula Ziebarth and Sam Newhouse for banding the purple martins at Scheeff East Point Preserve in July
EnviroScience was hired to remove invasive nonnative plants from Put-in-Bay Township Park District Preserves this year. They worked at Schneider this fall-removing buckthorn and amur honeysuckle on three acres or approximately 40% of the Schneider property with the use of basal herbicides. EnviroScience will return in the spring of 2019 to finish the Schneider and the Dieperink parcel. Common Reed Grass removal at Petersen Woods, Kuehnle State Wildlife Area, and the Middle Bass Airport property will be done this field season. This work is funded by a National Park Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant. The invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) was discovered in the southwestern corner of the Dodge Woods Preserve this fall. Dangerous to other native plants, these trees will be removed. Lisa and Russ Brohl cut the trees and painted the surface immediately with herbicide.
OSS Grant
In 2018, Put-in-Bay Township Park District was awarded an Ottawa Sandusky Seneca County Solid Waste District Grant of $6,164 to purchase four trash containers to promote recycling. The containers made of recycled plastic were set up at the Scheeff East Point Preserve, the Massie Cliffside Preserve, the Jane Coates Wildflower Trail, and the Dodge Woods Preserve. The containers are being used!
The Board of Commissions of Put-in-Bay Township Park District recognizes that forested areas and natural fields in Put-in-Bay Township are disappearing to development at an alarming rate. It is the hope of this Board that commercial and residential development will be complemented with areas of green space, natural areas that preserve the natural heritage of the Islands.
Natural areas have an inherent value and an aesthetic value. They are sites that will help to safeguard the unique flora and fauna of the Lake Erie Islands. Put-in-Bay Township Park District will preserve natural, scenic, and agricultural locations to enhance the quality of life for the residents and visitors of Put-in-Bay Township. The Board of Commissioners will continue to review and to evaluate unique and exceptional areas in terms of preservation as park land.
Put-in-Bay Township Park District is also aware that vineyards within Put-in-Bay Township are disappearing. For years, vineyards were the economic mainstay of the Islands and are intricately interwoven into the historic fabric of Put-in-Bay Township. The pressures of increased development and the subsequent rise in land value have created a situation where the operation of vineyards is rapidly becoming economically unfeasible. Put-in-Bay Township Park District has an interest in creating a park that would preserve and maintain an operating vineyard. This may be the only way in which vineyards may continue to exist in the Islands.
The Put-in-Bay Township Park District will continue to work with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Assistance Program, the Federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Program, the Ohio Nature Works Program, the Ottawa, Seneca, Sandusky Solid Waste District Programs, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Public Works Commission, The Ohio State University, the National Park Service, the Black Swamp Conservancy, and especially the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy in efforts to preserve and protect areas of significant ecological importance.
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Goals
With the encouragement and support of numerous individuals, Put-in-Bay Township Park District has been extremely successful in protecting and preserving natural areas in the Lake Erie Islands. In 2019, the acquisition of the Hahn parcel and the Island Development Corporation parcel on Middle Bass Island should be completed. These two parcels will add fourteen acres to the Middle Bass Island Forested Wetlands Preserve. The Park District has applied for a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to purchase three acres of property that is part of the Benjamin Estate on South Bass Island. The awarding of a possible grant will take place in 2019. As the Park District grows, it is becoming clear that it must become more sophisticated. A computer system and software program is needed to comply with the financial requirements of the State of Ohio. Additional office space is needed, and at some point in the future, a part-time employee may be required. The following are being reviewed by the Board of Commissioners of the Park District: the paving( with pervious material) of Massie Lane leading to the parking area of the Massie Cliffside Preserve; fences need repair and additional fencing is needed; a modular wooden or steel walkway is needed for the walking paths over the wetlands at the Middle Bass Forested Wetlands Preserve; the stairway to the dock at the Massie Preserve needs to be replaced and the dock may need repair; a break wall off the Scheeff Preserve is being investigated to reduce erosion; the possibility of acquiring a vineyard that would become a working laboratory and demonstration area to showcase the historic grape growing industry of the Lake Erie Islands. Partners Put-in-Bay Township Park District works closely with the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy which serves as an advisory council to the Park District. The Park District assists in the educational efforts of the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center (LEINWC), and the District maintains cooperating agreements with the National Park Service and The Ohio State University to work on island preservation and environmental education.
Donations The Park District has been extremely fortunate to receive grants and donations to fund various projects. The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy has provided volunteer help and financial assistance to the Park District; Richard Gump of R. Gump Builders has been extremely generous in donating his time, expertise, and equipment for maintenance and repair at the Park District Preserves.
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REU Students at Park District Preserves: This past summer there were two REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) students from The Ohio State University Stone lab working at Put-in-Bay Township Park District preserves. Dr. James Marshall of Rockford University supervised Raphaella Mascia from St. Mary’s College on bird banding projects which included sites at the Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve and the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve. Dr. Marshall and Ms. Mascia worked to determine which birds breed in the preserves and how successful the birds are in the environment that the preserves provide. A yellow-Breasted Chat was banded at the Scheeff Preserve. The numbers of the Yellow Breasted Chat has been in decline in Ohio. Lisa Brohl, CEO of the Park District, supervised REU Student Matthew Monteith from The Ohio State University’s Forestry Program. The green ash trees in the Park Preserves have been decimated by the emerald ash borer. Ms. Brohl and Mr. Monteith surveyed the young tree species that are replacing the dead ash trees in the Middle Bass Island Forested Wetland Preserves on the Dieperink and Schneider tracts. Invasive amur honeysuckle and buckthorn were removed by EnviroScience. Student Matthew Monteith will document any changes in forest composition and soil chemistry since the spraying by EnviroScience. EnviroScience, Ins. is a team of over 100 expert biologists, commercial divers, environmental scientists, and environmental engineers headquartered in Ohio. EnviroScience provides efficient cost-conscious, and time sensitive solutions to environment challenges. Put-in-Bay Township Park District hired EnviroScience for removal of invasive species. The partnership between Put-in-Bay Park District and The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory has been extremely productive and successful. Dr. Marshall and Lisa Brohl are scheduled to hold Research Experience for Undergraduate Students in park district preserves in 2019.
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Conservation Easements: Melanie Coulter of the Black Swamp Conservancy and her husband Michael Weintraub visited the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve to monitor Put-in-Bay Township Park District’s adherence to the conservation easement on the preserve. The Western Reserve Lands Conservancy of Cleveland, Ohio, visited the Scheeff East Point Preserve to monitor the property and the adherence to the conservation easement. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that works to conserve natural areas. Office: Beth Furner spent some time helping Lisa Brohl organize files at the Put-in-Bay Township Park District office at 1494 Langram Road, Put-in-Bay Airport. Kat and Dave Holscott donated a filing cabinet and Mel Ginsberg donated a tall legal sized filing cabinet to the Park District. Donations: Shelley Perry and the family of Wally and Jeanne Hall donated a bench in memory of their parents. Wally constructed the nesting boxes for tree swallow grid at the Scheeff East Point Preserve. The Van Keuren family donated a bench for the entrance to the Dodge Woods Preserve. Friends of the French family donated a bench and landscaping in memory of Danny French for the Massie Cliffside Preserve. A dedication was held in May. George Gazdick donated a box of My Nuts to be sold to raise funds for the Friends of Cooper’s Woods. Gene Zajac donated four benches made from the wood of the old barn removed from the Massie Cliffside Preserve that were sold at the annual Christmas Bazaar to benefit the Lake Erie Island Conservancy.. Jim and Betsy Brohl donated funding for a sign on “Amphibians” for the Middle Bass Island Forested Wetland Preserve. Mark Wright of the Old Forge designed the sign. He also designed the sign for the chimney swift tower at the Scheeff East Point Preserve.
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Put-in-Bay Township Park District
Financial Report for 2018 Note: Put-in-Bay Township Park District is audited every two years by the State of Ohio.
Put-in-Bay Township Park District TO: Ottawa County Ohio Auditor of State of Ohio PO Box 177 88 East Broad Street Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456-0177 Columbus, Ohio 43215
Balance, Jan. 1, 2018 $73,052.00
Receipts: Property Tax $86,620.20 Charges for Services $1,107.00 Intergovernmental Rev $844,820.30 -------------------- Total Cash Receipts $932,547.50 Disbursements: Conservation/Recreation $383.32 Property Purchase/Development/Protection $863,355.24 Auditor/Trea Fees $1,735.52 --------------------- Total Cash Disbursements $865,474.08 Excess of Receipts Over Disbursements $67,073.42 Balance: Jan. 1, 2018 $73,052.00 Balance: Dec. 31, 2018 $140,125.42
