Saturday, March 11, 2000
Wild woods to get survey
County bought acreage last year
BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP — The Hamilton County Park District will begin a survey this spring and continuing into the summer on the 109 acres of wooded property it recently bought from a family in the southwestern portion of the township.
Jack Sutton, planning director for the park district, and John Klein, land manager, said an inventory of the plant and animal life in the forested property will allow the park district to better manage the land.
The park district purchased the property, off Thompson Road, from the Schunk family at the end of last year. One parcel consisting of 107 acres was purchased for $855,000, and the other parcel — two acres plus a residence — was bought for about $200,000.
The woods probably will be managed as a conservation area, meaning it will not be developed for active recreation, such as ball fields. It will be managed much like Newberry Wildlife Sanctuary and Richardson Forest Preserve in the county.
Park district officials say in an age and area of urban sprawl, it is important to identify areas that can be preserved as wild habitat.
Mr. Sutton said they reviewed the property when it was offered for sale by the family, and were taken with its character.
“It's really a wonderful piece of property,” said Mr. Sutton. “It has very mature hardwood forest. It's upland area; it's on the hillsides. It's relatively undisturbed. It wasn't farmed and it has not received human impact in decades. It has a lot of high-quality wildlife habitat, and it's not been invaded by exotic plant species. It's a very good acquisition for the park district in terms of natural resource preservation.”
Mr. Klein said the county has contracted with a researcher at the University of Cincinnati to inventory what is in the woods.
“We will have a lot of research going on there this year just to document what is there,” said Mr. Klein. “It's a real nice woods, mainly oak-hickory. We were most impressed with the variety and diversity of wildflowers that are there.”
A preliminary survey turned up native plant species that included black cohosh, Michigan lily, and varieties of fern, sumac and wild yam.
Mr. Klein said they will also do a bird study, to see what species are attracted to the woods, as well as the effect of other animals, like deer, on the property.
Mr. Sutton said the results of the studies will be kept and compared with later years.
The park district has acquired about 3,000 other acres of property in the past decade. It has about 13,000 acres in its system, with about 80 percent maintained as natural habitat.
Catholics split on St. Pat's feast
Plight of needy changed man who had it all
False burglar alarms divert police
Reducing the chance of a false alarm
Students get a taste of space
Police: Crack cut to trickle
Sewer gas odor makes Reading students sick
Two students found with knife, razor
Bill hands airport $7.1M
Key Butler Democrat switches
Landmark sold to developer
Ruling keeps gun fight alive
Blaze devastates restaurant
Miss America's wedding plan stirs protest
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Ballet celebrates women brilliantly
GET TO IT
Violinist Oundjian shines in CSO conducting debut
208-room Hilton Garden Inn to be built near Levee project
5th floor turns into jail
Academic hall names 3 from N. Ky.
Elections director quits
Fans to sip Sunrise at Spiral Stakes
Glendale starts new long-range plan
Human rights advocates share stories
More burley farmers join tobacco lawsuit
Orange powder 'over everything'
Police seek 2 gunmen in Green Twp. holdup
Schools told to rehire drivers
TRISTATE DIGEST
Wild woods to get survey
