From Wetland Matters, January–February 2011
Our 25th Anniversary Year has come to a close and it seems like it had two years worth of activities crowded into one.
We conducted 3 bus tours of the Oxbow, completed the graveling of the Oxbow Lake Road (Shell to Slot) with many more loads of gravel, added 3 new bird species to Oxbow’s ever growing list, hosted thousands of visitors, conducted the Cincinnati Area Birdathon, held our anniversary celebration photography contest, conducted dozens of educational programs, and built two roadway stabilization projects to name a few of the accomplishments of our all volunteer organization. Each year when I write this column my mouth drops with amazement at all that the volunteers who love the Oxbow accomplish.
On July 18, 2010 we had our 25th Anniversary Members Picnic (we had only one other previous members picnic for our 20th Anniversary) which was well attended. Displays of Oxbow activities were set up around the air conditioned Agner Hall. A table was set aside for entertainment activities for children. Tours of the Oxbow were provided by Steve Pelikan and John Getzendanner. Our featured speaker was Board Member and Founding Director, David Styer, all the way from his home in California to tell us about the behind the scenes story of the formation of the Save the Oxbow Society and Oxbow, Inc. A summer picnic buffet of brats, metts, and burgers with sides and trimmings completed the occasion. In our 25 years of existence we have acquired title to about 940 acres of land and purchased conservation easements on an additional 230 acres. All the members and supporters of Oxbow, Inc. can be extremely proud of this accomplishment.
As part of the anniversary celebration we sponsored a photo contest open to all local photographers in a variety of nature categories. Cash prizes were provided by Seapine Software, a business software company, and by Kelly Riccitti, cofounder of Seapine Software.
Contest winners were selected by a panel of professional nature photographers, Steve Maslowski, Ron Austing, and Ed Hatch. A great time was had by all the participants in the contest and Oxbow, Inc. greatly appreciated being the recipient of all the excellent submissions. Winning photos in the various categories are being published in Wetland Matters in the last half of 2010 and into 2011.
A highlight of 2010 was the acquisition of another 30 acres for Oxbow, Inc. Well, we did and did not actually gain property. The acquisition was a gift of the 30 acre Corning Property by long term supporter, Barbara Corning, to Oxbow, Inc. Oxbow, Inc. already held the conservation easement on this property so it was already protected, but ownership gives us additional control over the future use of the land. As many of you know, the Corning Property was taken out of agricultural production nearly 20 years ago and planted in White Oak, Ash, and Bald Cypress. Many of the Bald Cypress on the property now stand 20 feet high with 6″ diameter trunks. The property came with an extra benefit. It was in the USDA Crop Reduction Program (CRP) and a yearly payment is made to Oxbow, Inc. to keep the land out of production. The Board voted to put this payment into the education fund established to provide grant money to local educators to conduct nature related education programs.
Roads and access have been an issue in the Oxbow probably since before the arrival of the Europeans to the area. This year we spread more gravel on the Oxbow Lake Rd. (the Shell to Slot road) making it passable even after a hard rain. Oops, we did not get any of those after the 4th of July! But it was passable, as demonstrated this fall when the rains finally returned. In the past two winters there have been washouts on the Oxbow Lake Road that in spite of our best efforts, actually caused accidents when the road was driven too fast to see the approaching washout. The washouts were caused by high floods flowing over the road between Oxbow Lake and the recently created Osprey Lake . A new culvert and a new spillway to take pressure off the soft areas of the road have been created and hopefully will eliminate this concern and again keep the road open more days out of the year. Remember if you are driving in the Oxbow that no matter how good the road is you should not try to drive it if it is UNDER water.
Bus tours have returned to the Oxbow, made possible by the improved roads. Buses from Evergreen, Maple Knoll, and the Cincinnati Museum Center all made successful visits to the Oxbow. Buses are a wonderful way for persons with limited mobility to get around the Oxbow and see some of the wildlife and plants. The Museum Center Tour was actually part of the 2010 Heritage Tour Program. This was an all day emersion into all things Oxbow, from the geology, to the archaeology, to the natural history and wildlife. Lectures were given by a college professor, a Museum Center staff researcher, and by Oxbow volunteer naturalists. Throw in lunch at the River Watch on the Ohio River and a perfect day was had by all.
Oxbow, Inc. commissioned Dr. Denis Conover, an Oxbow Board Member, to do a plant survey as a follow-up to the one he did in 2000. In 2000 he found 422 species of them considered rare in Ohio or Indiana . The four plants are Deam’s our Mercury (Acalypha deamii), Erect Primrose-willow (Ludwigia decurrens), Virginia Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana), and Smooth Buttonweed (Spermacoce glabra). Denis predicts that River Broomrape (Orobanche riparia) will be the next rare plant. Specimens were found just up river in 2010. River Broomrape is parasite on giant ragweed and the lower Oxbow area has tons of Giant Ragweed to serve as host. In a paper co-authored with Dr. Steve Pelikan, Oxbow, Inc. Board member, Dr. Conover reported that his survey findings for Miami Whitewater (2005-2008) and the Oxbow (2010) showed that many plants were blooming earlier than they were in a similar surveys conducted 10 years earlier. This important paper is being widely quoted as it is one of the first to demonstrate early blooming correlating to increased average temperatures during the surveys in native plants in a native (non garden/cultivated) habitat. We are very proud of Denis and Steve for producing this important scientific work and even more proud of the role that the Oxbow played in producing the data.
In 2010 alone we presented a wide variety of programs and tours over the course of the year. Besides the speakers at the 11 members meetings and the 11 guided nature walks we advertise in the Wetland Matters we made presentations for the following:
- Western Wildlife Corridor Wildflower Festival
- The Environmental Class at Seven Hills High School
- Mt. Sinai United Methodist Church
Our sponsorship of the Cincinnati Area Birdathon once again raised nearly $6000 to improve access and habitat in the Oxbow. More birders participated this year than we have seen for several years past. Even more importantly 13 of the 55 participants were under the age of 19. Not only is the Birdathon bringing area birders together for a great time and an opportunity to raise some money for a good cause, but it is bringing young birders out for an introduction to the fun of being out in nature and learning a few of the never ending stories that nature can teach us.
I keep thinking of more things like the prairie we tried to burn but it would not ignite, the trash pick-ups, the invasive plant control, the Miami University study of point pollution sources (still underway) that would take up even more space in this essay. Did I mention at the start of this that we are an all volunteer organization? I am in awe of our volunteers. Thank you all, nearly 100 individuals, who played some role in these accomplishments.
