Public Land Survey Work Expanded

 I have expanded the area of sw Ohio where I have digitized the public land survey system records,

posted here:

ArcGIS - 1800 NATIVE LANDSCAPES OF DAYTON, OHIO REGION

Here is a static version of the project that has been made into a posterNativeLandscapes_DaytonOhioRegion-Final.pdf (dropbox.com)

Lastly, here is a manuscript for a book about the topic, placed here in case a careening beer truck flattens me.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ijcuhkjcboy3xz8th3ehy/AGEIG1aj5n9Wxi4WBFmqoMg?rlkey=yu6miixakplid5m3u1e1pqyba&dl=0e.

 

Native Landscapes of the Dayton, Ohio Region:

1800 and Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

Chapter 1- The Dayton, Ohio Region Today

Chapter 2- Mapping a Lost World

Chapter 3- The Cooks in the Kitchen

Chapter 4- A Burning Realization

Chapter 5- Native Landscapes of the Dayton, Ohio Region

Chapter 6- Some Modern Lifeboats

Chapter 7- Land Stewardship Challenges

 

Appendix A- Rules Governing Prescribed Fire in Ohio

Appendix B- Index of Plants and Animals

Bibliography

Notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

This book describes and illustrates the native landscapes of the Dayton, Ohio region of southwestern Ohio as they were in 1800, serves as a guide to some of the remaining fragments of these landscapes, and discusses the challenges to their ongoing care.  These topics have been a passion for me for most of my adult life, driven largely by the joy and wonder that I feel when I am in these wild places, and being involved with some of them has been a rewarding way to spend a career and retirement. 

Our European forbears came to North America with a culture and way of life that centered on individual land ownership, which is an effective system to increase the prosperity, comfort, and wealth of landowners, and build a strong nation, things that have been achieved in the United States.  To do this though, we had to cut an ancient and complex quilt of forests, streams, prairies, and other living systems into tiny pieces, each managed separately for the benefit of individual landowners.  Most people today know very little about what was lost to achieve our success, or why the remaining fragments of our natural heritage are so important.  

The environmental movement that took shape in the 1960’s, a response to the lost quilt and the degradation of our shared water, air, and soil, resulted in laws that began to protect our shared environment, and some of our remaining natural spaces.  It is understandable perhaps if this response to the overwhelming human impact on the land was to limit human impacts on the newly protected places to “take only pictures, leave only footprints”.  The American Indians, who had been here for over 12,000 years, had a very different world view than the colonizing Europeans or the American conservationists of the 20^th century.  For the native people, land ownership was not considered or desired, the landscape was a common, and they managed much of it intensely, especially by their use of fire.  This changed the land into forms and combinations that could not otherwise exist, some of which we now revere, like savannas, prairies, and open woodlands. 

I’m still optimistic that our country will leave behind the frontier culture of over-exploitation, and the more recent one of over-protection and neglect, and people will live and participate in a world with more wild places and wildlife.  The scraps of wild, diverse nature that are left are just that, but they are wondrous nonetheless.  They too would be gone if not for people that took action to protect them.  I’m hoping this book will inspire at least one person to take such an action to protect some wild space, or restore one that is already protected, and, in the words of a ‘70’s folksinger, be “part of the movement, part of the growing, part of beginning to understand.”[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1- The Dayton, Ohio Region Today

The Dayton, Ohio Region (DOR) in this guide encompasses about 2, 212 square miles and all or part of what are now ten counties, an area drained primarily by the Great Miami River and its tributaries the Mad and Stillwater Rivers, as well as a small portion the upper Little Miami watershed.  The climate is temperate, with some 40 inches of rainfall per year annually, and about one-half of the year free of frost.  Geologically, the bedrock is sedimentary, primarily limestone that formed in warm tropical seas between 416 and 488 million years ago when what is now the DOR was on the equator.   Several times over the last two million years massive continental glaciers have covered the region, scouring the land as they advanced, but leaving behind hills and ridges of gravel and sand after they retreated to the north. The DOR is especially endowed with these deposits because here two separate lobes of the last glacier came together, each of them depositing the debris they were conveying.  The DOR was also endowed with broad valleys made by rivers that predated the glaciers, and these the ice sheets and their meltwaters filled with gravel and sand.  The glaciers covered most of the rest of the land with layers of unsorted clay, silt, and sand along with some larger cobble and boulders, a blanket known as glacial till.[2]

When Ohio was established as a state in 1803 over 12,000 years had gone by since the last glacier had retreated.  During this time plant and animal life had continuously adapted to the changing climate and the unchanging geology, as well as the impacts of flood, drought, windstorms, and fire, resulting in the vast hardwood forests, prairies, wetlands, and abundant wildlife experienced and documented by early explorers and settlers.  After statehood, these native landscapes were rapidly cleared and converted to agricultural production, with 83% of the state’s forests cleared by 1883, and 90% by 1940.^[3] Wetland losses also reached 90%, and prairies mostly reduced to a few forgotten scraps along railroad beds and in pioneer cemeteries.

Since then, the sciences of biology and ecology were born and grew, leading to a greater understanding of non-human life, and the nature of the few spaces that had been spared from the axe and plow.  Thanks in part to this increased awareness, Americans started becoming concerned about the destruction of natural resources and natural beauty in the early 20^th century.  The U.S. Forest Service was created in 1905, the National Park Service in 1916, and the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940. 

Existing Land Uses in the Dayton, Ohio Region

Ohio established its State Park system in 1949, and a system of nature preserves in 1975. 

In the DOR, the Miami Conservancy District was created to control flooding after the disastrous 1913 flood, and established reserves around their new flood control dams, protecting some 3000 acres of parkland.  In 1929, Hugh Taylor Birch donated 700 acres containing the exceptional forest and limestone gorges adjacent to Yellow Springs to Antioch College, naming it after his daughter Helen.  Another private conservation effort was initiated by philanthropist Clayton Brukner, who established a 165-acre preserve and nature center on scenic forest land along the Stillwater River in 1974.    Ohio established a new system to protect green space on a county and regional scale in 1917, park districts.  These independent government agencies are usually funded with a tax levy and governed by a volunteer board of park commissioners.  They have proven to be effective entities to protect and pay for natural areas and parks.  The first park district in the DOR, the Montgomery County Park District, now known as Five Rivers MetroParks, was formed in 1963.  Others followed including the Miami County Park District, Greene County Parks & Trails, National Trails Parks and Recreation District, Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District, and Centerville-Washington Park District.  Other conservation initiatives that have thrived in the DOR are private, non-profit land trusts, including the Little Miami Conservancy, Beaver Creek Wetlands Association, BW Greenway Community Land Trust, Three Valley Conservation Trust, and Tecumseh Land Trust.   These organizations have collectively protected tens of thousands of acres of natural areas and farmland in the region, much of it still private property.

Most of the land that these entities have protected for conservation had been private farmland, and much of it had lost at least some of its native diversity after 150 years of plowing, logging, and livestock grazing.  These protected lands now make up less than 5% of the region, and within them are most of the remaining fragments of our native landscapes that have mostly escaped these impacts and retained their biological diversity.  Protected lands are now surrounded by a sea of row crops, development, or heavily disturbed lands, putting them at risk from new threats like erosion, invasive species, and over-browsing by white-tailed deer.  Land stewardship, the art and science of caring for these natural areas and preserving the biological diversity that they contain, is vital if they are to persist. 

To provide effective care it is essential to have some knowledge of their condition before the landscape was changed, how they came to be, what maintained them, and how this foundation relates to today’s challenges

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2- Mapping a Lost World

The Americans that settled the Dayton, Ohio Region after 1800 were focused on transforming the natural landscapes to agricultural ones, and except for scattered anecdotal accounts, did not document the composition or distribution of the native landscapes that were there when they arrived.  Fortunately for later biologists and conservationists, the United States government did make these records, somewhat accidentally, and these can be accessed to document 1800 conditions.

The United States adopted the Northwest Ordinance in 1785 to define how the Northwest Territory, which included what is now Ohio, would be sold and settled after the resident American Indians had been defeated.  The ordinance called for the land to first be surveyed and divided into square-mile sections, which in turn would be sold to incoming settlers, or given as recompense to veterans of the revolutionary war.[4] Survey teams systematically recorded descriptions of each side of each square-mile, documenting the species, diameter, and spacing of two trees at each corner and recording a description of the overall vegetation along each mile.  It was not their intention to do a biological survey of the wild landscape, but since natural features were the only thing on which to base a description, they ended up doing just that.  This “rectangular” survey system, generally known at the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) began in Ohio, and the methods improved and changed slightly as survey teams progressed to the west and north.  A large tract of south-central Ohio on the east boundary of the DOR, the “Virginia Military District” is an exception, and there are no rectangular surveys for this region. 

The Public Land Survey System created three types of records, each of which shed light on the vegetation that the survey teams passed through:

plat map for township 5, range 12

Plat Maps- Surveyors produced maps for each of the townships that they surveyed that included the section lines, rivers and streams, boundaries of prairies, and other features deemed to be important (Figure 6.)  These maps can be viewed and downloaded from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (https://glorecords.blm.gov/).

PLSS Field Note with Line Description and Witness Tree Documentation

Section Line Descriptions- Each township plat map has a corresponding set of field notes, and these can be viewed and downloaded from the National Archives Catalog at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/566714.  After traversing part or all of a section boundary, the surveyor would briefly summarize the land’s topography and fitness to become farmland, note if it was excessively wet, dry, open, or brushy, and summarize the dominant forest trees observed.  A typical entry might read “over good wheat land, timber oak, ash, hickory, elm and some walnut with spice and prickly ash undergrowth.” 

Witness Trees- Within the line descriptions the surveyor also documented specific trees, usually one or more along the line and two at the corner.  These “witness trees” were identified to species or genus, and their trunk diameter estimated.  At the corner the surveyor would measure the bearing angle and distance of two trees to the corner.

In 1966 the Ohio State University and the Ohio Biological Survey published a map titled Original Vegetation of Ohio at the Time of the Earliest Land Surveys.  This effort by biologist Robert Gordon and cartographer Hal Flint, was based largely on the analysis of PLSS records by Gordon combined with earlier work by botanist Paul Sears, Ecologist Edgar Nelson Transeau, and several of Transeau’s post-graduate students at Ohio State University.[5] These efforts used the tools available at the time to analyze PLSS records, mainly plotting witness tree data onto paper maps of individual counties, using these to estimate plant community boundaries for a given county, and combining these to create

1966 Map of “ORIGINAL VEGETATION OF OHIO” published by the ohio biological survey and the ohio state university

the 1966 map. [6]

 

This project re-evaluated the PLSS data for the DOR, focusing on a smaller area than the earlier work, placing a greater emphasis on section line descriptions, and use of GIS (Geographical Information System) software.  This technology allows for accurate plotting and analysis of spatial data like the early survey records, once they are “digitized”, allowing for a more detailed and accurate depiction and analysis of the survey records than was possible in the previous efforts.   Two-dimensional features from plat maps, like prairie boundaries, were drawn as “polygons” in GIS that are “georeferenced” to place them in the correct geographical orientation.  Section line comments were incorporated into a georeferenced “line” file, and witness tree data were added to a “point” file.

The Dayton, Ohio Region included all or part of 82 PLSS townships.  After the data from all of these were merged into single polygon, line, and point files they could be overlain with modern digital data including topography, soil moisture, soil type, and floodplain boundaries in GIS.  Because surveyors did not collect information from the interior of each square-mile section, the boundaries of the native landscapes were “interpolated”, or estimated, based on these modern layers.  In many cases, plant communities would have been more complex on the ground than these interpolations, but PLSS records do provide a revealing depiction of the dominant vegetation type within each square-mile section, and when combined, for the entire Dayton, Ohio Region.

Interpolated Vegetation Boundaries

      Section Line Descriptions

     Transposed onto Plat Map

 

 

native landscapes of the dayton, Ohio region in 1800.  NUMBERS DENOTE MODERN REMNANTS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER 6.

Chapter 3- The Cooks in the Kitchen

For some 2,500 years before 1800, the DOR’s temperate, moist climate had remained relatively stable, and was well suited to deciduous trees and vegetation that lie dormant for half of the year, but grow profusely in the spring and summer.  Vegetation had also adapted to the complex geological landscape of the region.  Within the boundaries set by these two “head cooks” there were three variables that were most responsible for the diverse native landscapes documented in 1800: succession, soil moisture, and fire.

Succession- Trees, the pillars of the forests that covered much of the DOR in 1800, were vulnerable to severe storms, droughts, floods or fires that destroyed or damaged them.   After such an event, the process of natural succession would begin, restoring the forest over time. First, grasses and flowering plants colonized open land, then shrubs, vines, and small trees, and finally mature trees and a forest, a process that takes some 80 years in the DOR.  The trees that colonized the open land were those that could utilize the abundant light to grow quickly and establish an initial forest canopy.  These trees, like oaks and hickories, created shaded understory conditions where their own seeds and seedlings could not thrive without another disturbance to let in more light.  However, the shaded understory, without disturbance, would be colonized by seedlings of trees that have shade-tolerant seedlings, like beech and sugar maple.  These would gradually replace the initial canopy trees in a process that can take as long as the lifespan of an oak, up to 400 years, to complete.  When a forest reaches a state where it is stable and the shade-tolerant trees of the canopy replace themselves it is sometimes referred to as a “climax” forest.  So, depending on the frequency and severity of disturbances, regional plant communities in 1800 could vary from bare ground to climax forest.

APPROXIMATE FOREST SUCCESSION PROCESS WITHOUT DISTRUBANCE IN THE DAYTON, OHIO REGION BEFORE 1800

 

Soil Moisture- The gravel hills and gravel-filled valleys left behind by the glaciers in the DOR drained rainwater quickly and tended to be drier than the rest of the landscape, except where they were constantly saturated with groundwater, and here they were wetter.  Lowlands along rivers and streams were alternately flooded and then dry over the course of a year.  Where glaciers left behind a flat landscape, they also left behind clay soils where rainwater was slow to drain.  These different types of soil moisture supported different groupings of plants, each species of which had its own preference and tolerance for moisture.

Soil moisture has long been known to be very important in determining plant communities in Ohio (and everywhere else), but it is has become apparent that there is more to this than meets the eye.  Ecologists and natural historians of the 20^th century who studied and mapped the distribution of forest communities observed that some, like beech-maple forests, were found in moist coves or flat, poorly drained places, while others, like oak-hickory forests, were found on dry hilltops or gravelly soils.  The assumption was that these were “climax” communities adapted to these different environments.[7] These were accurate observations, but as it turned out, not necessarily valid conclusions.  In the 21^st century it has become clear that the trees and forest communities of eastern North America that were once believed to be “climax” communities were actually still going through the long, slow process of natural succession.  Shade-tolerant trees like sugar maple and American beech, once thought to be limited by insufficient moisture, are becoming dominant on drier sites, and, as shade intolerant trees like oaks reach the end of their lifespans without replacing themselves, the forest compositions shift in a process called “mesophication”.[8]  A good example of this change is the decline of white oak, a species of great importance in the eastern United States, both ecologically, and economically, as a source of lumber.  White oak was once one of the most abundant forest trees throughout the eastern United States, including the DOR, and a component of many forest types that had been thought to be self-sustaining.  This species is now failing to reproduce across much of its range, and is rapidly declining, a symptom of the expulsion of a forgotten cook from the kitchen, fire.[9]

Fire- Oak trees have little tolerance for shade, but they are very good at surviving or recovering from fire.  They have thick bark that can withstand low intensity fires, and the ability to rapidly resprout from stored energy in their roots if fire destroys everything above ground. Their leaves are also designed to be serve as fuel after they fall.  Fallen oak leaves dry quickly, and fit loosely together in the leaf litter, allowing air/oxygen to permeate. This gives an oak forest the potential to carry a ground fire from October through March in dry conditions, but they are especially flammable in the fall, when warm temperatures and low rainfall coincide.  Trees and forests like this are referred to by forest ecologists as “pyrophilic”.  Conversely, sugar maple and American beech, two of the most abundant shade-tolerant trees in the DOR in 1800, are what forest ecologists call “pyrophobic”.  These trees are tolerant of shade but have little tolerance for fire, and are usually killed if exposed to it sufficiently.  When their leaves accumulate on the forest floor in the autumn, they decompose more rapidly than pyrophilic trees, and generally lay flat, making a mat of leaf litter that is more likely to retain moisture and less likely to carry a ground fire.  These two groups of trees have each selected a strategy that is either dependent on the presence of fire, or dependent on the lack of it.  Over time the presence of fire increasingly favors pyrophilic trees, and its absence increasingly favors pyrophobic ones.

 It is curious that some of the DOR’s most common forest trees and landscapes in 1800 were dependent on fire, when the environment was not likely to produce a source of ignition.  The only “natural” ignition source in the DOR is lightning, which is/was a common occurrence in spring and summer in Ohio and the DOR.  Lightning seldom ignites fires though, because soil moisture is usually high in these seasons, leaf litter is minimal, and the lightning is usually accompanied by rain, collectively making ingnitions rare.  Conversely, the fuel supply for a fire in October and November is good, provided by a fresh fall of leaves, and the weather is generally dry, but there are few thunderstorms.  The answer to this riddle has only become accepted in the last several decades because it has had to struggle past some incorrect assumptions about the fire cook’s assistant that had also been expelled from the kitchen, the American Indian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4- A Burning Realization

This new analysis of public land survey records for the Dayton, Ohio Region in 1800 documents the widespread occurrence of plant communities that are known to be fire-dependent- prairies, barrens, savannas, oak woodlands, and in our region, oak-hickory forests.[10]  Like elsewhere in the United States, it has become clear that American Indians in Ohio, for thousands of years before statehood in 1803, had applied fire to the landscape in the fall of the year when the soil and vegetation were dry, and that this activity had a major role in shaping the vegetation that was observed by early explorers, pioneers, and naturalists.[11] In the United States, this realization that many of our native landscapes were dependent on indigenous fire has had to struggle past a widespread belief that the New World before the voyages of Columbus was a pristine wilderness, and that the resident American Indians had little impact on the land on which they lived.  This mistaken belief, the “pristine myth”[12] is not difficult to find in early historical accounts like this one of the arrival of the first group of pioneers to what is now the City of Dayton, in 1795:

 We can easily imagine the loneliness and dreariness of the uninhabited wilderness which confronted the homeless pioneer families as they arrived by water or land at Dayton.  The unbroken forest was all that welcomed the Thompson party, and the awful stillness of night had no refrain but the howling of the wolf and the wailing of the whippoorwill.  The spring was late and cold, but though at first the landscape looked bare and desolate, before many days the air was sweet with the blossoms of the wild grape, plum, cherry, and crab-apple, and the woods beautiful with the contrasting red and white of the dogwood and redbud or of elder and wild rose, and the fresh green of young leaves.  The woods were full of wild fruits, flowers, and nut-bearing trees and bushes.[13] 

Long before the Miami valley was visited by white men, the country between the Great and Little Miami rivers, and bounded on the south by the Ohio and on the north by Mad River, was used only as a hunting ground. No Indians have lived on this land since 1700. Probably for a century before Dayton was laid out, no wigwam was built on the site selected by the original proprietors. The town lay just within this immense game preserve, and was, previous to the invasion of the whites, the home of buffaloes, elks, deer, bears, wild cats, wolves, panthers, foxes, and all the animals and birds of the temperate zone, which literally swarmed in the forests.[14]

In 1969, The Ohio State University published The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days, by Robert Gordon, the first comprehensive documentation of the vegetation of Ohio.  This publication became a classic for Ohio field naturalists, providing a baseline for further research, and greatly increasing public understanding of Ohio’s natural history.  However, this important work concluded that American Indians had little influence on the vegetation of Ohio before statehood, mainly because their populations were believed to be too small to have much effect:

…As every school-boy knows, they lived largely by hunting and fishing, making use of wild nuts and fruits in season…Limits to population of prehistoric Indians were many.  It is easy to suggest crop failures due to native pests of maize, malnutrition, accidental poisoning and suicide, death from falling timber during violent windstorms, and accidental drowning or consummation by forest fires”[15]

Another classic for Ohio natural historians was published in 1979 by the Ohio Academy of Science called Ohio’s Natural Heritage.  Like the previously mentioned work, this one opened many eyes to the wonders of wild Ohio, and included excellent photographs, illustrations, and text written to reach the general population. However, the book continued the narrative of Ohio as an untouched wilderness, little affected by the people that had lived there for so long:

…Today, as Ohioans walk through the second-growth woodlands and the few small tracts of preserved virgin timber, they can only try to imagine the dark and forbidding grandeur of this forest- the harborer of darkness, strange beasts, and hostile Indians, which Ohio settlers fought and, at least for a time, conquered.[16]

….  The Indians apparently had little impact on fish and game populations…It is believed that the elk and the buffalo were gone before many whites arrived, but during settlement times the balance of the wildlife community was intact…[17]

…Prairies in the glaciated western and north-central sections of the future state were permanent openings in the forest- some were several miles in length.  And there were short-term natural openings created by tornadoes, deadfalls, and fires set by lightning (and possibly some set by Indians).[18] 

These depictions of the dangerous and uninhabited wilderness encountered by pioneers in Ohio and the DOR were written long after the land had been converted to farmland and towns, but writers that were actually there in the early 1800’s experienced a different reality. This vivid description of indigenous burning in the early wildlands of the Midwest was penned by an English farmer named William Faux, who travelled to America in 1818 and undertook a journey into the interior through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois: 

The season, called the Indian summer, which here commences in October, by a dark blue hazy atmosphere, is caused by millions of acres for thousands of miles around, being in a wide-spreading, flaming, blazing, smoking fire, rising up through wood and prairie, hill and dale, to the tops of low shrubs and high trees, which are kindled by the course, thick, long, prairie grass, and dying leaves, at every point of the compass, and far beyond the foot of civilization, darkening the air, heavens and earth, over the whole extent of the northern and part of the southern continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in neighborhoods contiguous to the all-devouring conflagration, filling the whole horizon with yellow, palpable, tangible smoke, ashes, and vapour, which affect the eyes of man and beast, and obscure the sun, moon, and stars, for many days, or until the winter rains descend to quench the fire and purge the thick ropy air, which is seen, tasted, handled, and felt.

So much for an Indian summer, which partakes of the vulgar idea of the infernal.  Why called Indian?  Because these fires seem to have originated with the native tribes, and are now perpetuated by the White Hunters, who by these means start, disturb, and pen up the game, and destroy the dens of both man and beast, and all this with impunity.

Tomorrow, through floods and flames, I shall endeavor to make good my desperate way to the retreat of my good friend, John Ingle, in Indiana… We rode all day through thick smoke and fire, which sometimes met in pillar-like arches across the road, and compelled us to wait a while, or turn aside…[19]

A similar account, from western Pennsylvania in 1803, conjures up similar imagery:

We remarked, with regret and indignation, the wanton destruction of the noble forests.  For more than fifty miles, to the west and north, the mountains were burning.  This is done by the hunters, who set fire to the dry leaves and decayed fallen timber in the vallies, in order to thin the undergrowth, that they may traverse the woods with more care in pursuit of game.  But they defeat their own object; for the fires drive the moose, deer, and wild animals into the westerly parts, and destroy the turkies, partridges and quails, at this season on their nests, or just leading out their broods. An incalculable injury, to, is done to the woods, by preventing entirely the growth of the trees, many of which being on the acclivities and rocky sides of the mountains, leave only the most dreary and irrecoverable barrens in their place. [20]

On October 29, 1796, surveyor Andrew Ellicot, travelling by boat down the Ohio River, made this observation near the town of Gallipolis:

The evening became calm, and the atmosphere again loaded with smoke, occasioned by the dead leaves and grass, over a vast extent of the country being on fire, which during the night, illuminated the clouds of smoke and produced a variegated appearance beautiful beyond description.  Our smoky weather in spring and autumn, is probably the effect of fires extending over the vast forests of our country.[21]

This account from Salem Township in Champaign County, described indigenous burning in the DOR around 1800:

The barrens and dry prairies were covered with wild grass, which, in summer, grew to an incredible height, and furnished fine pasture for thousands of buffalo, elk, and deer before the intrusion of the white man upon their rich domain.  After this grass became dead ripe, or was killed by the frost in the fall of the year, and became dry enough to burn, the Indians, at a time agreed upon by their chiefs, would place themselves with their guns upon the high timbered land adjoining that upon which the grass grew, and at a signal given by the Captain, the squad would set fire to the grass, and the wild animals of all kinds, which lay there concealed, would be suddenly aroused from their quiet slumbers and run for safety to the high ground, and there meet death by the rifle and the red man.  Great numbers of deer were killed in this way by the Indians even after the commencement of the settlement of the country by the whites.  The Indians would invariably give the white settlers at least a week’s notice of their intention to burn the grass at a certain time, so they could protect their fences and cabins by plowing a few fresh furrows around them. [22]

These accounts of indigenous burning no doubt documented actual events, but they were also colored by the biases, prejudices, and ignorance of the authors.  A perspective from one of the native people who lit such a fire would have been different had it been recorded, but can perhaps be found in the words of a modern American Indian author, quoting her father’s lesson to his grandchildren:

The land gives us so many gifts; fire is a way we can give back.  In modern times, the public thinks fire is only destructive, but they’ve forgotten, or simply never knew, how people used fire as a creative force.  The fire stick was like a paintbrush on the landscape.  Touch it here in a small dab and you’ve made a green meadow for elk; a light scatter there burns off the brush so the oaks make more acorns.  Stipple it under the canopy and it thins the stand to prevent catastrophic fire.  Draw the firebrush along the creek and the next spring it’s a thick stand of yellow willows.  A wash over a grassy meadow turns it blue with camas.  To make blueberries, let the paint dry for a few years and repeat.  Our people were given the responsibility to use fire to make things beautiful and productive- it was our art and our science.[23]

These landscapes that were dependent on regular fires, flamescapes, did not persist without fire to manage them.  The underlying geology alone could not perpetuate them, but, as in this observation from Champaign County, it did increase the likelihood of dry fuel in the fall that would carry a fire, if humans supplied the ignition. 

…A wide extent of these comparatively dry and untimbered lands was found in Salem, the eastern portion of Urbana and the southern section of Union Township.  In Salem, the land still known as “the barrens” but is to-day considered by resident farmers as comprising the garden spot of the county.  The “settling-up” and cultivation of the country interfered with the annual burnings of the grass, a common practice both with the Indians and the first settlers.  This practice kept down the growth of young timber, which took a vigorous growth as soon as the fires ceased to be kindled….^[24]

The concept that indigenous burning had a major impact in much of North America began to take shape in 1952, when an anthropologist named Omer Stuart attempted to publish a manuscript in which he documented the extensive written accounts of early explorers and pioneers that described the use of fire by American Indians throughout the continent.  Stuart concluded that nearly any vegetation that could be burned was burned by native peoples, and for good reasons:  Creating and maintaining habitat for game like bison and elk, production of wild fruits and nuts from thickets, and easy travelling through open forests.  His manuscript was rejected by editors and scientists of the day, until finally published in 2002, years after his passing in 1991.  Although there is still some debate as to the scope of indigenous burning, its widespread impacts and importance are now accepted by academicians and conservation professionals.[25]

Indigenous burning once impacted much of the Dayton, Ohio Region

 

By 1830, indigenous fire had ceased in Ohio, when native peoples were forced to leave the state after the passage of the Indian Removal Act.   The new American landowners continued to apply fire on the shrinking wildlands, allowing for some continued regeneration of fire-adapted tree species[26].  This changed after 1944, when nearly all  wildland fire ceased after a massive federal anti-burning initiative starring Smokey the Bear began, cementing in the minds of the American public the belief that fire in wildlands was destructive and must be stopped.  This well-funded program, initiated to prevent the destruction of valuable timberlands needed for the war effort in World War II, continues to this day, leading to a serious decline of important timber species in the east and Midwest that cannot replace themselves in a shaded environment[27].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5- Native Landscapes of the Dayton, Ohio Region

Fourteen native landscapes from 1800 were identified and plotted in this analysis, and are here described.  Bold numbers at the end of each description key to a specific modern location, described in Chapter 6, where anyone can experience a living example of that landscape.

 

Oak-Hickory Forest- Closed canopy forest dominated by oaks and hickories, where surveyors made no mention of shade- tolerant or fire intolerant species in their field notes.  These were mostly distributed in drier soils and exposures in 1800 and were maintained by surface fires occurring at intervals between 15 and 30 years.[28]  (1, 9, 10, 11). 

Oak leaves persist through the winter and fit loosely together, allowing them to dry and burn more easily.

 

 

 

 

 

Oak-Maple Forests- The oldest and largest trees in these forests were usually oaks and hickories.  When storms or old age removed one of these colonizers, the gap that was created was filled by trees with more shade tolerance, like white ash, black cherry, yellow poplar, and American elm.  Sugar maple, which has even more shade tolerance, can colonize without canopy gaps and increases over time.  When it becomes a co-dominant in the canopy the forest is categorized here as oak-maple.  (7, 8, 9, 19)

large oak surrounded by younger sugar maples in an oak-maple forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mesophytic Forests- The last species to colonize an oak-maple forest was the American beech.  When beech trees reach maturity and become a dominant part of the canopy and the original understory-intolerant oaks and hickories are also still common, the forest is designated here as “mesophytic.”   Although they could be several hundred years old, these forests were still progressing through natural succession. (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21)

LARGE WHITE OAK (GRAY) AND SMALLER, YOUNGER AMERICAN BEECH (SILVER) IN MESOPHYTIC STAND

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beech-Maple Forests- Mature, closed canopy forests dominated by American beech and sugar maple, where surveyors made no mention of understory-intolerant oaks, hickories, black walnut etc. in line descriptions.  Other species present were those that could colonize gaps in the canopy caused by storms, such as white ash, American and slippery elm, yellow poplar, and black cherry.   These forests, notable for their rich variety of spring wildflowers, were likely our oldest ones, and seldom influenced by fire (1, 2). 

Beech and maple leaves lay flatter on the forest floor than oaks, causing them to retain moisture, decompose more quickly, and resist fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oak Woodlands- Open oak-hickory or oak-maple forests lacking an understory and a midstory, with a canopy cover of 51-100%.  These diverse landscapes required periodic surface fires every 5-15 years to maintain them.[29]  Oak woodlands were easily traversed, provided access to fallen mast and more efficient hunting in improved habitat for large game (11). 

This account from Clark County provides one account of what these areas were like:

North of the site of Springfield, for fourteen miles, upon the land which is now thick with woods, there could not, from 1801 to 1809, have been found a sufficiency of poles to have made hoops for a meat cart. The forest consisted of large trees, with no undergrowth, and the ground was finely sodded [30]

This account also suggests that some oak-hickory forests mapped in this project were actually oak woodlands where surveyors made no description of understory conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

Savannas- Herbaceous prairie vegetation with scattered or groupings of fire-resistant oaks and hickories, and sometimes others, with a canopy cover between 10 and 50%.  These were created and maintained primarily by a fire frequency of 1-10 years (11,12).[31]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prairies- These were native grasslands with a diversity of grasses and flowering plants, mostly growing on glacial outwash deposits along the corridors of the Mad and Little Miami Rivers.  These were mesic, or moist grasslands that often became dry in the late summer and fall, and were distributed in scattered patches that varied in size from less than an acre to over ten square miles.   Prairies formed in the “hypsithermal interval”, a period of hot dry climate between four and six thousand years ago when much of western Ohio become open grassland.  After the climate became cooler and wetter prairies could only persist where annual or biennial fires kept them free of encroachment from woody plants.  Like the larger prairies further west, the prairies along the Mad and upper Little Miami Rivers were populated by bison, elk, and other prairie wildlife before statehood[32] [33].  Prairies sequester carbon in the soil and, over time, created the dark, fertile soils from which they grew (13,14).  Xeric, or dry prairies were found where local soil conditions were especially dry, such as steep south facing slopes with sand or limestone near the surface. 

SAND RIDGE PRAIRIE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, A XERIC PRAIRIE REMNANT ON A GLACIAL KAME.  THE SAND SLOPE FACES SOUTHWEST

SWEET CRABAPPLE AND AMERICAN PLUM

BARREN REMNANT, PRIVATE PROPERTY, GREENE COUNTY, OHIO

pipevine swallowtail on whorled milkweed

Barrens- These flamescapes could appear as dry prairies, shrub thickets, or sparsely treed savannas depending on the burn history and severity.  These were not a relic of the hypsithermal interval, but rather created from forest land by repeated burnings, and maintained with periodic fires every 5-20 years.[34] Barrens were usually on dry, gravelly glacial deposits and adjacent to prairies.  They were often overgrown with shrubs and small trees like American hazelnut, sweet crabapple, and wild plum, food sources for native peoples as well as habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life that require grasslands, thickets and shrublands.  These man-made grasslands and thickets once covered 111 square miles in the DOR, but there are now no known examples remaining on public land due to agricultural conversion and fire suppression.

Floodplain Forests- Forests of floodplains that were inundated with surface waters during floods, but dry at other times.  Trees that are adapted to these conditions like American sycamore, cottonwood, boxelder, and silver maple thrived here.  Surveyors often identified a “second bottom” where flooding occurred less often, containing trees such as tulip poplar, blue ash, bitternut hickory, and bur oak that have less flood tolerance (1, 19, 20, 21).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wet Prairie and Fens- Like prairies, these open wetlands mostly grew from glacial outwash deposits along the Mad and upper Little Miami River systems.  In some, soils were constantly saturated with groundwater, and supported sedges, rushes, and a diversity of flowering plants.  Others were wet from surface flooding in winter and early spring, but dry in summer and fall, supporting grasses and flowering plants that thrive in these conditions

Where strong alkaline springs created a flow of cold water that is highly charged with dissolved calcium carbonate (lime), a community called a fen formed.  In the Midwest these are sometimes called “prairie fens” since they are usually adjacent to wet prairies and have many species in common with them.  A large percentage of Ohio’s prairie fens are found in the valleys of the Mad River and the upper Little Miami River in the DOR, where gravelly glacial deposits are common.  These unique wetlands contain many of Ohio’s rare species of plants and animals.  Although most were drained long ago, several excellent examples of wet prairies and fens remain on protected land (11,15,16).

 

 

 

Swamp Forests- Upland closed canopy forests on flat lands that were poorly drained with shallow pools in the winter and spring.  Common components were black ash, white ash, American elm, swamp white oak, pin oak, shellbark and bitternut hickories, and American beech.  Sites classified as “willow thickets” by surveyors were most likely an early successional stage of swamp forest (5b, 16, 17, 18).

trees in swamp forests often have a shallow root system with wide bases to buttress them against strong winds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed Thickets- Large thickets of shrubs, small trees, and varying amounts of mature trees were mostly documented in large patches on hilly land in the valley of the Stillwater River in Montgomery and southern Miami County.  Surveyors described vegetation here in general terms like “brush”, “briars”, and “thick underbrush”.  Most were surrounded by oak-maple forest that also had a brushy understory. The surveyor notes are unclear as to whether these lands had been deforested by storms, fire, or clearing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windthrown or Standing Dead Timber- Small to very large tracts with timber blown down by severe winds/tornados, or standing dead trees killed by unknown causes. A large windthrow in western Clark County had felled the trees on nearly 10,000 acres in 1800, making that area impassable by early surveyors.

OLD-GROWTH MESOPHYTIC FOREST DESTROYED BY TORNADO IN 2019, SINCLAIR PARK, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO

 

Timber Killed by Fire- Surveyors documented over five square miles of forest land where trees had recently been killed by fire.  All but two of these tracts were ingrown with thick brush indicating that several years had passed since they were exposed to fire.  Much of the burned acreage in the region, including one tract that was burning as the surveyor team passed through it, was located within four miles of the historic Shawnee town of Calaakafi, or “Old Chillicothe” on the Little Miami River, suggesting that residents of this town were conducting prescribed fires right up to the time of the land surveys.  Surveyor records are not detailed enough to determine what size of trees were killed by fire, but the description of dead, burned trees as “timber” suggest that at least some fires were larger than low ground fires.

 

The land in the Dayton, Ohio Region contained an astounding 170 square miles of fire-dependent prairies, savannas, oak woodlands and barrens that had been exposed to fire in the two decades prior to 1800, most of it between the Mad and Little Miami Rivers.  An additional 297 square miles was oak-hickory forest, a community that requires ground fire every 10-35 years to maintain it.[35] 

These communities were consistent with the locations of known historic American Indian towns and settlements that were present in the late 1700’s [36], a correlation also found in western New York State, where oak savannas usually occurred within 15 km (9.2 miles) of town/village sites.[37]

 

However, this association is not consistent with most historical accounts, which interpret American Indian populations in this region before statehood somewhat differently.  A common historical narrative holds that southern Ohio and the DOR was well populated by American Indians before 1650, until the Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee people from what is now western New York, decimated or drove away these populations in the mid-late 1600’s to decrease competition for beaver pelts that were desired by Europeans:

 

Ohio became the domain of the Iroquois by right of conquest, and for about sixty years it remained an empty forest wilderness devoid of permanent settlements.  At the most, Ohio was visited by hunters from the surrounding tribes, but none wanted to arouse the wrath of the Iroquois by taking up permanent residence in their conquered territory…Ohio stayed virtually empty of Indian settlements until the early 1700’s, when tribes began to move into the area for a variety of reasons, the most significant being the loss of their homelands.^[38]

 

American Indians in this depiction did not return to reside in the DOR until the 1770’s, when Shawnee people, retreating from the American advancement, established Calaakafi on the Little Miami near its confluence with Massie Creek, Pekowefi, or “Piqua Town” on the Mad River, and other towns on the upper Mad River.[39]  This narrative may be correct, and these towns were in fact established only two or three decades before the public land surveys, but the flamescapes that covered much of this region in 1800 could not have been established by a few towns in so short of a time, they were indicators of recent and long-term American Indian land management.  For instance, the diverse prairies here were quite extensive in the river valleys, and had their origin in a period of dry climate between four and six thousand years ago.[40]  Prairies require fire every one to two years to maintain them, so it follows that indigenous fire had been applied continuously in the Mad River and Little Miami River Valleys for at least four thousand years. [41]  

The surveyor data also suggest that much of southern and eastern Montgomery County and the valleys of the Stillwater and Great Miami Rivers in Miami County were once influenced by indigenous fire.  The abundant oak-maple forests here were a mixture of pyrophilic and pyrophobic trees indicative of a forest community that had developed with the presence of fire, but was changing with its absence.  The small prairie remnants scattered within the extensive floodplain forests growing on outwash deposits along the corridors of the Stillwater and Great Miami Rivers in 1800 were likely fragments from this time when indigenous fire was a controlling factor in these river valleys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6- Some Modern Lifeboats 

This chapter highlights twenty-one protected natural areas within the Dayton, Ohio Region that are some of the best places where the public can easily experience remnants of the region’s native landscapes.  The numbers in bold in these descriptions correspond to the map at the end of Chapter 2. 

Germantown MetroPark- Five Rivers MetroParks, 7501 Conservancy Rd. and 6910 Boomershine Rd., Germantown, OH), is a magnificent forest reserve with a well-marked trail system allowing access to some of the best remaining examples of various mature forest communities native to the region, which can be viewed along the Orange trail loop.  You can hike the entire 7-mile loop or access the different sections from the marked parking areas (P).

  This MetroPark also contains managed grasslands, thickets, and a high-quality aquatic community, Twin Creek. 

 

 

 

rue anemone

LARGE-FLOWERED TRILLIUM

1.     Possum Creek MetroPark- Five Rivers MetroParks, 4790 Frytown Rd, Dayton, OH, was severely impacted by extractive land uses prior to becoming a park, but this land has been recovering since it was acquired in the1960’s and 70’s. This MetroPark contains only one small remnant of the 1800 landscape, a tract of very old beech-maple forest that is easily accessed from the Argonne Forest Loop trail (purple).  This forest tract was once part of an amusement park that featured a race track, lake, dance floor, swimming pool, and cottages made from street cars.

2.     Davey Woods State Nature Preserve - Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP), 7661 Lonesome Rd, St Paris, OH.   Anyone who loves a rich old forest should not miss this wonderful site in Champaign County.  Immense yellow poplar, several oak species, American beech, and many others instill wonder, and represent a fragment of the extensive mesophytic forests that once covered much of the DOR west of the Mad River.

 

3.     Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary- Miami County Park District, 2540 E Statler Rd, Piqua, OH.  This old-growth forest remnant varies considerably with minor changes in topography, appearing variously along the main boardwalk loop to be mesophytic, beech-maple or hardwood swamp, but overall, is mesophytic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

spring beauties

yellow trout-lily

Red-headed woodpecker (photo by tom hissong)

4.     Englewood MetroPark Region- Englewood MetroPark, Aullwood Garden MetroPark, and the National Audubon Society’s Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm together protect over 2,100 acres of connected wildlands in the Stillwater River Valley in Montgomery County, including these three small but high-quality remnants of native landscapes:

 

PUTTYROOT ORCHID IN BLOOM (photo by Tom Hissong)

 Lawwill Shelter Grove (5a). Enter the park at 100 E. National Rd. in Englewood.  This 30-acre grove of old mesophytic forest is located north and west of the Lawwill Shelter.

 

 

bloom of puttyroot orchid, photo by tom hissong

 

 

 

Pumpkin Ash & Swamp Forest (5b).  Enter the park at 4361 National Rd (U.S 40.), park by Patty Shelter and follow yellow trail.  Here grow large swamp white oaks, bur oaks, shellbark hickories, and a rarity for Ohio, pumpkin ash. 

 

 

Aullwood Garden (5C) This 31-acre garden and rich mesophytic forest remnant was a gift to Five Rivers MetroParks by gardener and conservationist, Marie Aull. 

 

 

 

 

 

5.     Taylorsville MetroPark- Five Rivers MetroParks, 2101 U.S. 40, Vandalia, OH, Orange Trail Loop.  Here, mature mesophytic and some oak-hickory forest cover a series of ravines and a limestone escarpment adjacent to the Great Miami River.  Rich spring wildflowers, large trees, and views of the Miami River make this 3-mile hike a great destination.

SNOW TRILLIUM

GREAT MIAMI RIVER, TAYLORSVILLE METROPARK

6.    

the yellow spring (photo by robert nolin)

Glen Helen Nature Preserve (Glen Helen Association), 405 Corry St, Yellow Springs, OH, Red Trail loop (Inman Trail).  This private nature preserve contains an outstanding example of oak-maple forest with very large trees as well as a limestone gorge, waterfalls along Birch Creek, the Yellow Spring, and many other features along the Inman (red) trail loop.  Membership or parking fee required.  Glen Helen is contiguous with John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, and together these protect nearly 2,200 acres of the region’s most scenic and diverse natural lands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

birch creek valley in glen helen

7.     Wright State Woods- Wright State University, park at the Rockafield Cemetery on Circle Drive which runs off of University Drive on campus. This mature and old-growth forest tract of nearly 200 acres in an excellent example of pre-settlement oak-maple forest, and one of the best kept natural secrets in the region.  A well-established trail system (white dashed lines) is in place, but it is not marked or interpreted.

THE WRIGHT STATE WOODS IS A LIVING LABORATORY FOR BIOLOGY STUDENTS (photo by Don Cipollini)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.    

WHITE TROUT LILY

sessile trillium

Grant Park- Centerville-Washington Park District, 501 Normandy Ridge Rd, Dayton, OH. The Short Loop Trail (red) traverses mature forest with most of the canopy trees being oak and hickory, but the younger trees sugar maple (9a).  Other sections of the park grade to mature oak-maple forest (9b).  The Park District has added a reconstructed prairie and wetland to increase diversity.

 

9.     Waldruhe Park- Miami Township of Montgomery County, 10000 N Springboro Pike, Miamisburg, OH, northeast section. A small but rich patch of old-growth oak-hickory transitioning to oak-maple forest, including some very large trees and low sections of swamp forest.

 

 

 

 

 

PILEATED WOODPECKER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wild hyacinth

appendaged waterleaf

10. 

Gallagher Fen State Nature Preserve- Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP), 4461 Old Columbus Rd, Springfield, OH.  This important 268-acre tract is within the “flamescape” region that once covered much of the land east of the Mad River in Clark and Champaign Counties.  Originally acquired to protect two high quality prairie fens along Beaver Creek, the preserve also includes significant areas of oak-hickory forest (11a).  DNAP personnel have restored some of the site’s remnant savanna, oak woodland, and prairie bordering the fens, providing the region’s best example of these formerly abundant and interconnected native landscapes.  Existing trails provide access to the restored savanna/woodland/prairie(11b), and a boardwalk loop around one of the fens below (11c).

11.  Lost Creek Reserve & Knoop Agricultural Heritage Center - Miami County Park District, 2385 State Rt. 41, Troy, OH, Lost Creek Trail loop. A remnant savanna containing very large open-grown bur oak, white oak, and blue ash trees adjacent to Lost Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.  Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Pylon Rd, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.  The only large remnant of the prairies that were once common in the Mad River Valley and Little Miami River corridors, this site was damaged by past land uses, but has been undergoing gradual restoration since 1986.  It now harbors a rich diversity prairie plants, insects, and wildlife.  An inner and outer trail loop provide nearly two miles of walking, and a chance to experience what these extensive grasslands were like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.  Stillwater Prairie Reserve- Miami County Park District, 7790 N Rangeline Rd, Covington, OH, Prairie Loop Trail via River Trail.   A small but rare and diverse prairie remnant along the Stillwater River, this site is likely a remnant from a time when these grasslands were much more common in the Stillwater Valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

 

STIFF GENTIAN (PHOTO BY TOM HISSONG)

(PHOTO BY TOM HISSONG)

 

 

 

14. 

QUEEN OF THE PRAIRIE

Siebenthaler Fen/ Beaver Creek Wildlife Area- Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, 1998 Fairground Rd, Dayton, OH.  Here extensive wet prairie and fen can be easily accessed from boardwalk.  This exceptional and diverse remnant wetland along Beaver Creek is the heart of a continuous 2200-acre corridor of protected lands along Beaver Creek, the Beaver Creek Wetlands.

Northern Water Snake

MICHIGAN LILY

 

 

 

 

queen-of-the-prairie

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. 

swamp forest

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve- Ohio History Connection, 980 Woodburn Rd, Urbana, OH.  One of the oldest and most cherished protected sites in western Ohio, this site contains high quality wet prairie and fen (16a), the only fen in Ohio with white cedar trees, as well as mature swamp forest (16b). Cedar Bog harbors many rare species and a unique experience from an excellent boardwalk.

 

 

 

round-leaved sundew

 

 

 

showy lady’s-slippers

fen meadow and white cedars

 

16.  Dull Woods Conservation Area- Five Rivers MetroParks, 8199 Cole St., Brookville OH.  Boardwalk is .5 mile south of parking lot via Wolf Creek Rail Trail.  A small but diverse old- growth fragment containing mesophytic and swamp forest, and some very large trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17.  Koogler Wetland and Prairie Reserve- Greene County Parks & Trails, 2735 Beaver Valley Rd, Dayton, OH. A meandering boardwalk loop goes through several wetland habitats including swamp forest in the southern portion.  This park is one of many conservation sites in the Beaver Creek Wetlands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo by debby mckee

18. 

VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS AND BELLWORT AT BRUKNER NATURE CENTER

Brukner Nature Center- 5995 Horseshoe Bend Rd, Troy, OH, Stillwater Loop Trail (park entry fee required).  Outstanding mature floodplain forest can be found along the Stillwater Trail (blue), as well as other loops through mature oak-maple forests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

STILLWATER RIVER FLOODPLAIN FOREST AT BRUKNER NATURE CENTER

MATURE OAK-MAPLE FOREST AT BRUKNER NATURE CENTER

 

 

 

 

 

20.  Mad River Gorge & Nature Preserve- National Trails Parks and Recreation District, 2710 Dayton Springfield Rd, Springfield, OH. The west section of Mad River Trail provides views of mature floodplain forest with large trees along the Mad River, as well as the scenic limestone walls of the south side of a wide gorge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mad river gorge (photo by carol kennard)

 

 

 

21.  Twin Creek MetroPark- Five Rivers MetroParks.  Enter from the small parking lot located at10239 Eby Rd.  This 5.5-mile hike traverses deep ravines and floodplain adjacent to Twin Creek, and passes through some of the DOR’s biggest and best examples of old mesophytic and 2^nd bottom floodplain forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd BOTTOM FLOODPLAIN FOREST AT TWIN CREEK METROPARK

 

 

 

 

 

MATURE MESOPHYTIC FOREST AT TWIN CREEK METROPARK

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7- Land Stewardship Challenges

prescribed fire at huffman prairie state natural landmark

When native peoples “applied the firestick” to paint the landscape they did not have to worry about the things modern conservationists have to deal with, like burn plans, firebreaks, air pollution permits, fire training certificates, procuring burning equipment, budget approvals, fixing sprayers, or most importantly, lawyers.  Now these barriers, (or protections depending on your point of view), confront anyone contemplating the lighting of a prescribed fire.  Appendix A contains the sections of the Ohio Revised Code that define what is legally required to conduct a prescribed burn in Ohio. These seemingly complex and perhaps intimidating requirements have been put in place to protect public lives and property, but there can be no doubt that they reduce the quantity of prescribed burning at a time when more of this activity is needed to maintain native landscapes.  An additional barrier to this important land stewardship tool is the perception that prescribed burning in wildlands contributes to climate change because it converts organic matter to carbon dioxide.  While it is true that prescribed fires produce carbon dioxide, it is also true that after a fire, these burned areas take in large amounts of it through photosynthesis as they produce new growth, compensating for what was emitted by the fire.  Prairies and forests also “sequester” carbon in the soil because ash and partially decayed material from roots enrich soils with an organic component. This causes these fire-dependent ecosystems to serve as carbon “sinks” that store more carbon than they emit[42] . 

 

The only simple solution for public entities wishing to use prescribed fire on their properties is good planning and preparedness.  This means that they must have the professionals on staff to jump through the bureaucratic hoops, receive the necessary training and experience, acquire the needed equipment, and successfully implement the burns.  An alternative is to engage a private environmental firm to plan and carry out the burn on a contractual basis.  Either way, it takes resources and commitment to land stewardship.

 

Today, the Dayton Region has been mostly cleared of its native landscapes and converted to row-crop agriculture and urban and suburban development, with less than 5% remaining that is protected and open to the public.  Stewardship, the ongoing commitment and action program required to maintain the beauty and diversity of these lifeboats, is vital for their survival.  However, providing for the study and management of these natural areas can be a challenge.  Public agencies and municipalities that are responsible for them usually have multiple responsibilities, and land stewardship doesn’t demand attention like buildings, grounds, or recreational facilities etc., where needs and deficiencies are quickly noticed by the public and addressed by the staff.  Unfortunately, land stewardship is seldom a priority for the public, which generally accepts what they see on the nature reserves as the way things should be.  For this reason, it would actually be quite helpful if park users who appreciate the importance of stewardship would speak up, in a helpful way, to administrators of natural areas if they see things that need to be addressed.  Unfortunately, many agencies/municipalities that have conservation properties have no one on staff that is both trained in conservation work and assigned to a position that prioritizes it. 

 

The protected natural spaces in the DOR are threatened by three main issues; invasive species, over-browsing by white-tailed deer, and erosion.   

 

Invasive species are plants and animals from other parts of the country or world that are proliferating at the expense of native ones, particularly where native communities have been damaged by past land uses.  Generally, if a plant community retains much of its native diversity, soil, and support processes it can benefit from a one-time removal of invasives.  In moderately or highly disturbed communities, one-time removal projects look good when completed, but within a few years the invasive species often returns if there is no corresponding effort to address the underlying problem, re-establish native species, or follow-up on the initial work. 

CALLERY PEAR

AMUR HONEYSUCKLE

 

LESSER CELANDINE

reed canary grass

 

 

THE STATE OF OHIO HAS DESIGNATED 63 SPECIES OF PLANTS AS INVASIVE, INCLUDING THE FOUR SPECIES ABOVE THAT ARE PARTICLARY PROBLEMATIC IN THE DOR. (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-901:5-30-01

 

 

 

 

 

 

White-tailed deer, a beloved species for many people, can be destructive to native plant life and forest regeneration if their density is too high.  Deer management can be very controversial, with widely varying opinions about it depending on whether you are a homeowner, hunter, suburban driver, farmer, or just someone who loves animals. 

 

Wildlife biologists evaluate deer populations in different ways depending on the desired goal.  For instance, if the desire is to maximize a fall harvest, the goal is to maintain the “biological carrying capacity” a density that avoids deer starvation but maintains a density of deer that eliminates many native plants as well as small trees on forest lands, and does not address direct damage to people or property.  If the goal is to maintain a harvest, but have a lower population that local farmers, motorists, and gardeners can withstand, the

DJ CASE & ASSOCIATES, DJCASE.COM, USED WITH PERMISSION

solution is to meet the “cultural carrying capacity”, basically a political compromise that reduces direct conflicts with human beings.  If the goal is to maintain the “ecological carrying capacity” that provides for deer but also maintains local biodiversity, the deer density needs to be much lower, down to a maximum of about 20 per square mile in southwestern Ohio.  Successful efforts to manage deer herds at the land’s ecological carrying capacity have been demonstrated in some park agencies and municipalities that have the will, trained staff, financial resources, and public relations skills needed to manage the issue.  Those that have an over-population of deer and choose to do nothing will see long-term losses in biodiversity and the failure of many tree species to regenerate.

 

Erosion of protected lands comes two main varieties, streambank and trail.  Streambank erosion is usually the result of greatly increased stormwater runoff into streams that cuts into the banks, creating steep, bare slopes, and undermining tree cover.  The art of streambank erosion management has come a long way, and most problems have a solution if the landowner has the will and the financial resources to address the problem. 

bank repair using natural materials secured with cables (CENTERVILLE-WASHINGTON PARK DISTRICT)

eroded bank on suburban stream

 

 

ERODING HIKING TRAIL ON HILLSIDE

Trail erosion is also very common on public parkland.  Often the problem is how the trail was established in the first place.  In many instances a trail was simply designated on what was a farm lane or access road.  These often go straight down a slope, and become gullied after heavy rainfall.  The only real solution to this issue is to move the trail so it corresponds with the topography, but once again, the owner/agency has to have the will, expertise, and financial resources to solve these problems.

 

Since 1937, much of the funding for statewide conservation and land stewardship in the United States has been paid for by a national 11% excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.  The Pittman-Robertson Act mandated the distributions of these funds to state fish and game departments for research, surveys, management of wildlife and/or habitat, and acquisition or lease of land.  If a project is approved for one of these purposes, a state agency first completes it with their own funding, and then requests reimbursement from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which will reimburse up to 75% of the money spent.  These agencies typically obtain their 25% share from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.  The conservation funding stream created by the Pittman-Robertson Act has enabled countless conservation efforts in the United States that has benefited both game and non-game wildlife since 1937, but it does have its drawbacks.  It is a system that prioritizes the welfare of consumable fish and game species for the direct benefit of an increasingly small percentage of the American population.  Wildlife agencies are less inclined to hire people or conduct stewardship activities for non-game species if these efforts do not contribute to their income stream.  This problem has been successfully addressed in other states in a variety of ways through conservation sales taxes, outdoor gear taxes, and real estate transfer taxes. [43]   Ohio needs a solution like one of these to adequately fund land stewardship at a local and state level.

 

Going forward, land stewardship will be even more important if we as a society are to have any hope of not just caring for the small remaining fragments of a past world, but developing a healthy and sustainable relationship with the modern one around us.   A good place to begin in the DOR would be for the owners and managers of the precious places described in Chapter 6, and the people of the region, to commit to the effective, ongoing stewardship of these twenty-one sites. This would mean controlling invasive species, managing deer populations, checking erosion on streams and trails, and maintaining disturbance-dependent habitats with regular burning and mowing.  We can’t go back to being 18, or return the land to its condition in 1800, even if we wanted to, but we can emulate the stewardship commitment of the people that lived on this landscape for so long before us:

 

A lot of time you hear people say that the best thing people can do for nature is to stay away from it and let it be.  There are places where this is absolutely true and our people respected that.  But we were also given the responsibility to care for the land.  What people forget is that means participating- that the natural world relies on us to do good things.  You don’t show your love and care by putting what you love behind a fence.  You have to be involved.  You have to contribute to the well-being of the world.[44]

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A - Rules Governing Prescribed Fire in Ohio

 

The State of Ohio regulates open burning in the Ohio Revised Code (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-3745-19-04 and https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-3745-19-05) that includes a general ban on open burning in place for much of the year.  However, a waiver can be obtained from the chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, if specific information is provided:

·      The date of the request

·      The applicant’s name and address

·      The address or geographical coordinates where the person/entity wishes to kindle a fire

·      The persons certification that the site where the kindled fire is to take place has a site plan that includes required weather parameters.

·      The fuel types to be burned (e.g., grass, leaves, brush, etc.)

·      The equipment and personnel to be used

·      Site monitoring plans from the time when the kindled fire is prepared to when it is fully extinguished

·      Worker and general public safety considerations

·      Notification plan for emergency services in the event of an emergency

·      Any contingency plans.

·      Permits/approvals from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (in the CGMVW this is the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency)

·      A permit issued by the chief of the fire department having jurisdiction of the site of the proposed burn.

 

Other provisions in the Ohio Revised Code require that:

·      A fire in or near any woodland, brushland, or land containing tree growth or in any place from which the fire is likely to escape unless all leaves, grass, wood, and inflammable material surrounding the place where the fire is kindled have first been removed to a safe distance and all other reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent its escape from control.

·      No burn will be conducted within 1000 feet of an off-site home or structure

·      No fire shall be left until extinguished or safely covered.

 

In addition to the above, burns on public lands, or private lands owned by someone else, must be led by an individual who is a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager as defined in the Ohio Revised Code (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1501:3-13-01).  These requirements include:

·      A minimum of six hours of training in wildland fire suppression

·      A minimum of twenty-four hours of training in prescribed fire management

·      Prior professional experience in the amount of at least ten wildfires on at least ten days, ten prescribed fires on at least ten days, or a combination thereof

Other requirements of Ohio Certified Prescribed Fire Managers include:

·      Within one-hundred and twenty days of a completed burn, provide the chief of the division of forestry with a report of the results of any burn activities using a form approved by the chief of the division of forestry

·      Within thirty days of a completed burn, provide the chief of the division of forestry with a report about any escaped fires resulting in a response from emergency service personnel or that could result in any criminal or civil actions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix B  Index of Plants and Animals

 

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

American Elm (Ulmus americana)

American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

American Beaver (Castor canadensis)

American Bison (Bison bison)

Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)

Appendaged Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum)

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis)

Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra)

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Black Oak (Quercus velutina)

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)

Boxelder (Acer negundo)

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana)

Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides)

Elk (Cervus elaphus)

Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Grape (Vitis spp.)

Haw, or Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)

Hickory (Carya sp.)

Large-Flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense)

Oak (Quercus sp.)

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)

Prairie Cord Grass (Spartina pectinata)

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum Americanum)

Puttyroot Orchid (Aplectrum hyemale)

Pumpkin Ash (Fraxinus profunda)

Puttyroot (Aplectrum hyemale)

Queen-of-the Prairie (Filipendula rubra)

Red oak (Quercus rubra)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)

Sessile Trillium (Trillium sessile)

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)

Shellbark Hickory (Carya laciniosa)

Showy Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium reginae)

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

Snow trillium (Trillium nivale)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Still Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)

Sweet Crabapple (Malus coronaria)

Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta)

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

White Ash (Fraxinus americana)

White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

White Oak (Quercus alba)

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)

Wild Plum (Prunus americana)

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium Americanum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, Marc D.  2003. Where Has All the White Oak Gone? BioScience, Volume 53, Issue 10, October 2003, Pages 927–939, https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0927:WHATWO]2.0.CO;2

Abrams MD, Nowacki GJ, Hanberry BB. 2022.  Oak forests and woodlands as indigenous landscapes in the Eastern United States.  Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 149 (2): 101-121. https://doi.org/10.3159/TORREY-D-21-00024.1

Beers, W.H. & Company, The History of Champaign County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Map of Champaign County; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc. United States: W.H. Beers & Company, 1881:921 pp.

Braun, E. Lucy, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. New York and London, 1967, Hafner Publishing Company.

Cohen JG, Wilton CM, Enander HD, Bassett TJ. 2021. Assessing the ecological need for prescribed fire in Michigan using GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis: Igniting fire gaps. Diversity 13(3).

Crew, Harvey W., History of Dayton, Ohio with Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Pioneer and Prominent Citizens.  Dayton, United Brethren Publishing, House Publishers, 1889.

Denevan, William M. “The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, no. 3 (1992): 369–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563351.

 

Ellicott, Andrew, William Fry, Jay I. Kislak Collection, and Joseph Meredith Toner Collection. The journal of Andrew Ellicott: late commissioner on behalf of the United States during part of the year , the years 1797, 1798, 1799, and part of the year 1800 for determining the boundary between the United States and the possessions of His Catholic Majesty in America: containing occasional remarks on the situation, soil, rivers, natural productions, and diseases of the different countries on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Gulf of Mexico: with six maps comprehending the Ohio, the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, the whole of West Florida, and part of East Florida: to which is added an appendix, containing all the astronomical observations made use of for determining the boundary, with many others, made in different parts of the country for settling the geographical positions of some important points, with maps of the boundary on a large scale, likewise a great number of thermometrical observations made at different times, and places. Philadelphia: Printed by William Fry, 1814. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/19001311/ , 151 pp.

Faux, W., Memorable Days in America, Being a Journal of a Tour to the United States, Principally Undertaken to Ascertain, by Positive Evidence, the Condition and Probable Prospects of British Emigrants ; Including Accounts of Mr. Birkbeck's Settlement in the Illinois, London : W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1823: 232-234.

Gist C, Darlington WM. 1893. Christopher Gist’s journals: with historical, geographical and ethnological notes and biographies of his contemporaries. Pittsburgh (PA): JR Weldin & Co. 296 p., https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009833465

Gordon, Robert B. The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1969.

Gordon RB, Flint HJ. 1966. Natural vegetation of Ohio at the time of the earliest land surveys.  Columbus: Ohio Biological Survey.

Harris, Thaddeus Mason. The Journal of a Tour Into the Territory Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains; Made in the Spring of the Year 1803: with a geographical and historical account of the state of Ohio; illustrated with original maps and views. Boston: Manning & Loring, 1805. ISBN:9780608420189, 0608420182

Howe, Henry, LL.D., Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol 2, 1907, State of Ohio (C.J. Krehbiel & Co. Printers and Binders, Cincinnati, 911 pp.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions

Knepper, George W., The Official Ohio Lands Book. (2002). United States: Auditor of State.

Lafferty, Michael B. Ohio’s Natural Heritage. Columbus: Ohio Academy of Science, 1979.

Lepper, Bradley Thomas. Ohio Archaeology: An Illustrated Chronicle of Ohio’s Ancient American Indian Cultures. Wilmington, Ohio: Orange Frazer Press, 2005.

Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River. United States: Random House Publishing Group, 1970.

Lewis RG, Dawley WM. 1902. A map of Indian towns, camps, and trails in the Virginia Military District and south-western Ohio. Ohio History Connection Archives/Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll32/id/23924.

McEwan, Ryan; Hutchinson, Todd F.; Long, Robert P; Ford, D. Robert & McCarthy, Brian C., Temporal and spatial patterns in fire occurrence during the establishment of mixed-oak forests in eastern North America, Journal of Vegetation Science 18: 655-664, 2007 © IAVS; Opulus Press Uppsala.

Meszaros, G., & Denny, G.L. (2017). The Prairie Peninsula. Kent: The Kent State University Press., https://doi.org/10.1353/book51701.

Misencik, Paul R.., Misencik, Sally E., American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2020.

Meunier, Jen & Colleen M. Sutheimer https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/ClimateChange/PrescribedFireCarbonDynamics.pdf

National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, https://www.ncelenviro.org/resources/state-and-wildlife-agency-funding/

Nowacki GJ, Abrams MD, 2008.  The demise of fire and "mesophication" of forests in the eastern United States.  BioScience 58 (2): 123-138.

Schumacher, Gregory A., Michael P. Angle, Brian E. Mott, and Douglass J. Aden. “Geology of the Dayton Region in Core and Outcrop: A Workshop and Field Trip for Citizens, Environmental Investigators, Geologists, and Educators.” Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey Open-File Report, 2012, available online at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site, https://geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/portals/geosurvey/PDFs/OpenFileReports/OFR_2012-1.pdf.

Palus, James D., P. Charles Goebel, David M. Hix, Stephen N. Matthews, “Structural and compositional shifts in forests undergoing mesophication in the Wayne National Forest, southeastern Ohio”, Forest Ecology and Management, 2018, 430: 413-420.  ISSN 0378-1127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.08.030.

Sears, Paul B., "The Natural Vegetation of Ohio II. The Prairies" (1926). The Ohio Journal of Science, v. 26, no. 3 (May, 1926), pp. 128-146

Steele, Robert W. and Mary Davies Steel, Early Dayton: With Important Facts and Incidents From the Founding of the City of Dayton, Ohio to the Hundredth Anniversary 1796-1896

(Dayton, Ohio U.B. Publishing House; W.J. Shuey, Publisher; 1896)

 

Stewart, Omer C. Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness. Edited by Henry T. Anderson and Kat Lewis. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.

Tulowiecki SJ, Robertson D, Larsen CPS.  David Robertson & Chris P. S. Larsen. 2019. Oak savannas in western New York State, circa 1795: synthesizing predictive spatial models and historical accounts to understand environmental and Native American influences. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 110(1): 184-204.  https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2019.1629871

Stuckey, Ronald L. “Robert Benson Gordon (1901-1981): A Biographical Sketch Emphasizing His Studies of Natural Vegetation Mapping.” Bartonia, no. 48 (1981): 34–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41609863.

Sugden J. 1997. Tecumseh: a life. New York (NY): Henry Holt and Co. 544 p. ISBN13: 9780805061215.

United States National Archives Catalog, Field Notes for Public Land Survey Township Plats, 1789–1946, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/566714

 

White, C. Albert. A History of the Rectangular Survey System. United States: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 1983, 774 pp.

 

 

 

 

NOTES

---

[1] A lyric from "Calypso" by John Denver, from the 1975 album Windsong.

 

[2] Gregory A. Schumacher et al., “Geology of the Dayton Region in Core and Outcrop: A Workshop and Field Trip for Citizens, Environmental Investigators, Geologists, and Educators “Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey Open-File Report, 2012, 3, available online at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site,

https://geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/portals/geosurvey/PDFs/OpenFileReports/OFR_2012-1.pdf

 

[3] Lafferty, Michael B. Ohio’s Natural Heritage. Columbus: Ohio Academy of Science, 1979, 274.

 

[4] The Official Ohio Lands Book. United States: Auditor of State, 2002, 9.

 

[5] Gordon, Robert B. The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1969, 15-19.

 

[6] Stuckey, Ronald L. “Robert Benson Gordon (1901-1981): A Biographical Sketch Emphasizing His Studies of Natural Vegetation Mapping.” Bartonia, no. 48 (1981): 34–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41609863.

 

[7] Braun, E. Lucy, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America.  New York and London: Hafner Publishing Company, 1967, 526-528.

 

[8] Nowacki GJ, Abrams MD, 2008.  The demise of fire and "mesophication" of forests in the eastern United States.  BioScience 58 (2): 123-138.

 

[9] Abrams, Marc D.  2003. Where Has All the White Oak Gone? BioScience, Volume 53, Issue 10, October 2003, Pages 927–939, https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0927:WHATWO]2.0.CO;2

 

[10] Cohen JG, Wilton CM, Enander HD, Bassett TJ. 2021. Assessing the ecological need for prescribed fire in Michigan using GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis: Igniting fire gaps. Diversity 13(3), 29-31.

 

[11] Omer C. Stewart; Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness, ed. Henry T. Anderson and Kat Lewis (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2002), 70–312.

 

[12] Denevan, William M. “The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, no. 3 (1992): 369–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563351.

 

[13] Steele, Robert W. and Mary Davies Steel, Early Dayton: With Important Facts and Incidents From the Founding of the City of Dayton, Ohio to the Hundredth Anniversary 1796-1896

(Dayton, Ohio U.B. Publishing House; W.J. Shuey, Publisher; 1896)

 

[14] Crew, Harvey W., History of Dayton, Ohio with Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Pioneer and Prominent Citizens.  Dayton, UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING, HOUSE PUBLISHERS 1889, 9.

 

[15] Gordon, Robert B. The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1969, 20-21.

 

[16] Lafferty, Michael B. Ohio’s Natural Heritage. Columbus: Ohio Academy of Science, 1979, 5.

 

[17] Lafferty, 10.

 

[18] Lafferty, 8.

 

[19] Faux, W., Memorable Days in America, Being a Journal of a Tour to the United States, Principally Undertaken to Ascertain, by Positive Evidence, the Condition and Probable Prospects of British Emigrants ; Including Accounts of Mr. Birkbeck's Settlement in the Illinois, London : W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1823: 232-234.

 

[20] Harris, Thaddeus Mason. The journal of a tour into the territory northwest of the Alleghany Mountains; made in the spring of the year 1803: with a geographical and historical account of the state of Ohio; illustrated with original maps and views. Boston: Manning & Loring, 1805:22-23.  ISBN:9780608420189, 0608420182

 

[21] Ellicott, Andrew, William Fry, Jay I. Kislak Collection, and Joseph Meredith Toner Collection. The journal of Andrew Ellicott: late commissioner on behalf of the United States during part of the year , the years 1797, 1798, 1799, and part of the year 1800for determining the boundary between the United States and the possessions of His Catholic Majesty in America: containing occasional remarks on the situation, soil, rivers, natural productions, and diseases of the different countries on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Gulf of Mexico: with six maps comprehending the Ohio, the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, the whole of West Florida, and part of East Florida: to which is added an appendix, containing all the astronomical observations made use of for determining the boundary, with many others, made in different parts of the country for settling the geographical positions of some important points, with maps of the boundary on a large scale, likewise a great number of thermometrical observations made at different times, and places. Philadelphia: Printed by William Fry, 1814. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/19001311/, 8.

 

[22] Beers, W.H. & Company, The History of Champaign County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Map of Champaign County; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc. United States: W.H. Beers & Company, 1881:498.

 

 

[23] Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 363.

 

[24] Beers, 213.

 

[25] Abrams MD, Nowacki GJ, Hanberry BB. 2022.  Oak forests and woodlands as indigenous landscapes in the Eastern United States.  Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 149 (2): 101-121. https://doi.org/10.3159/TORREY-D-21-00024.1

 

[26] McEwan, Ryan W.1*; Hutchinson, Todd F.; Long, Robert P; Ford, D. Robert & McCarthy, Brian C., Temporal and spatial patterns in fire occurrence during the establishment of mixed-oak forests in eastern North America, Journal of Vegetation Science 18: 655-664, 2007 © IAVS; Opulus Press Uppsala.

 

[27] Palus, James D., P. Charles Goebel, David M. Hix, Stephen N. Matthews, “Structural and compositional shifts in forests undergoing mesophication in the Wayne National Forest, southeastern Ohio”, Forest Ecology and Management, 2018, 430: 413-420.  ISSN 0378-1127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.08.030.

 

[28]  Cohen et al., 29.

 

[29] https://www.landfire.gov/frcc/documents/docs/bps/east/OKHK4.pdf, 2

 

[30] Howe, Henry, LL.D., Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol 2, 1907, State of Ohio (C.J. Krehbiel & Co. Printers and Binders, Cincinnati, 396.

 

[31] Cohen et al., 30.

 

[32] Howe, 397

 

[33] Gist C, Darlington WM. 1893. Christopher Gist’s journals: with historical, geographical and ethnological notes and biographies of his contemporaries. Pittsburgh (PA): JR Weldin & Co. , 51.

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009833465

 

[34] Cohen, 30.

 

[36] Lewis RG, Dawley WM. 1902. A map of Indian towns, camps, and trails in the Virginia Military District and south-western Ohio. Ohio History Connection Archives/Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll32/id/23924.

 

[37] Tulowiecki SJ, Robertson D, Larsen CPS.  David Robertson & Chris P. S. Larsen. 2019. Oak savannas in western New York State, circa 1795: synthesizing predictive spatial models and historical accounts to understand environmental and Native American influences. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 110(1): 184-204.  https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2019.1629871

 

[38] Misencik, Paul R.., Misencik, Sally E., American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2020, 10-11.

 

[39] Sugden J. 1997. Tecumseh: a life. New York (NY): Henry Holt and Co. 544 p. ISBN13: 9780805061215, 30-32.

 

 

[40] Meszaros, G., & Denny, G.L. (2017). The Prairie Peninsula. Kent: The Kent State University, Press., https://doi.org/10.1353/book51701, 2.

 

[41] Cohen JG, Wilton CM, Enander HD, Bassett TJ. 2021. Assessing the ecological need for prescribed fire in Michigan using GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis: Igniting fire gaps. Diversity 13(3): 100.

https://doi.org/10.3390/d13030100

 

[42] Jed Meunier & Colleen M. Sutheimer

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/ClimateChange/PrescribedFireCarbonDynamics.pdf

 

[43] National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, https://www.ncelenviro.org/resources/state-and-wildlife-agency-funding/

 

[44] Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 363.