Land Protected for Rare Plants and Animals

School children and Buckeye Trail hikers also will benefit from recent land buys at The Nature Conservancy's Edge of Appalachia Preserve

WEST UNION, OHIO — August 28, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 750 acres over the past three years at its landmark Edge of Appalachia Preserve System in Adams County, providing habitat for rare plants and animals and expanding research and educational opportunities in the area.

The efforts to protect important habitat in this ecologically diverse region has been accomplished with the support of the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund and generous donations from Conservancy supporters, both foundations and individuals. The Clean Ohio Conservation Funded is a statewide conservation program funded through the voter-approved sale of bonds.

“What we’ve been able to do with the Clean Ohio money is close in some of the gaps in the preserve, protecting intact interior forests,” said Pete Whan, The Nature Conservancy’s director of community based programs in the Appalachian Forest Region. “This is important to many species, from nesting migratory birds to black bears.”

The work continued this month with the purchase of more than 170 acres which will expand two of the properties in the preserve system – the Abner Hollow and Cave Hollow preserves. The properties, which are directly adjacent to existing Conservancy lands, provide habitat for rare animal species like the Allegheny woodrat and green salamander, and a variety of important plant species.

These purchases will benefit hikers on the Buckeye Trail, which runs through Abner Hollow, and will expand educational and scientific research opportunities on the preserves, Whan said. The preserve frequently is used for public programs because it displays some of the best spring wildflowers in the preserve system.

“Abner Hollow and Cave Hollow are where much of our scientific research takes place, including breeding bird surveys, long-term vegetative analysis, and stream health surveys,” Whan said. In addition, more than 2,000 school children each year participate in educational programs offered by the Cincinnati Museum Center at the preserve.

Abner Hollow also is part of the public deer hunting program offered at the Edge in cooperation with the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

The Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System now covers more than 13,500 acres of rugged woodland, prairie openings, waterfalls, giant promontories and clear streams. The Nature Conservancy owns and operates “the Edge” in a partnership with the Cincinnati Museum Center.

The preserve system is widely regarded as one of the most biologically diverse collections of natural systems in the Midwestern U.S. Visitors to the preserve system enjoy the three public trails that provide access to three National Natural Landmarks – Buzzardsroost Rock, Lynx Prairie and the Wilderness Preserve.

The Abner Hollow purchase, of about 140 acres, is an in-holding surrounded on three sides by the Conservancy's Abner Hollow Preserve. The new lands include mature Appalachian oak forest, 150 feet of Waggoner Run Creek and numerous rare species of plants and animals.

The Cave Hollow Purchase is a 33-acre in-holding that includes including a rare blackjack oak forest community and rare species of plants and animals.

There is evidence of at least one nesting pair of Allegheny woodrats on the newly-acquired property. Very few of these endangered animals remain in Ohio, and all recent records have been on or near the Edge of Appalachia preserve. This is also breeding habitat for the endangered green salamander, found in only 3 counties in Ohio. Rare plant occurrences include: purple triple-awned grass, juniper sedge, blazingstar, dwarf hackberry, vine milkweed, green milkweed, and shale-barrens aster.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.