Athens Conservancy’s Healthy Forest Fund has a huge impact on the well-being of our nature preserves and trails … and is even helping care for rare plants and baby trees!
Land steward Bill Rucker is leading a crew this summer that includes two undergraduate Ohio University interns and three AmeriCorps members. They’ve been prioritizing critical issues to keep preserves, trails, and native habitat healthy, accessible, and inviting. Some examples:
- The crew is working to nurture populations of the rare running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum), thought to be extinct until a population was found in West Virginia in 1983. It was discovered in Baker Preserve in 2015 and later introduced into Blair Preserve. The rare plant is thriving now, especially in Blair Preserve, where more than 650 healthy plants make it one of the largest populations in Ohio. However, invasive plant species – especially stilt grass and ground ivy – are serious threats. Our stewardship team has been manually removing the aggressive competitors to encourage running buffalo clover to continue to thrive. Local news outlet the Athens County Independent ran an article about our efforts in late May; you can find it on our website.
- The Healthy Forest Fund is making it possible for the crew to hasten the restoration of native vegetation along Gillett Run in Blair Preserve. They have been digging out root sprouts and seedlings from previously removed invasive shrubs, and seeding the area with native forest species chosen for riparian zones. This is the culmination of an 8-year effort to remove a dense tangle of burning bush, privet, and other invasive shrubs and vines.
- The crew recently censused a grove of American chestnut tree seedlings that were planted in protective tubes at the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve. The project is part of a broad effort to reestablish chestnut trees, which were nearly wiped out by a blight in the early 1900s. The crew was happy to discover this summer that 52 of the 74 seedlings planted in 2023 are alive. The crew brush-cut around the trees to reduce competition from grasses so the trees can continue to grow. Someday there will be an impressive chestnut grove there!
- As always, the stewardship crew continues to maintain trails, clear downed trees from recent heavy storms, and remove aggressive invasive species that threaten native plants. The team regularly removes species such Asian bittersweet, multiflora rose, barberry, garlic mustard, autumn olive, winged wahoo, and privet.
This important work – and more – is made possible by the Healthy Forest Fund; please consider supporting the fund with a gift this year. (Below: Stewardship crew members check on a grove of chestnut seedlings and monitor a stream’s health.)
