The Naturalist Report - What are Prairies and Why Are They Important?

Marion County Naturalist James Anderson joined the show to talk about what prairies are and why they're important. James also talked about some upcoming programs at the parks and why motorized vehicles are prohibited from using the Tallgrass Trail.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Joining me in studio today is JamesAnderson from the Marion County Park District.
James, how are you, buddy, Oh wonderful, Thanks for coming in
today. We're going to talk aboutwhat's happening around the parks here in Marion
County. It's been a very busysummer and I know, right off the
bat, a big thank you toJonah Bottle who spent the summer with you.
I saw some of your posts theother day, and Jonah is fantastic.

(00:20):
But he's moved on to college.Yes, I think what and here
in a couple of days they officiallystarted I think Wednesday or so. Yeah.
Absolutely, But Jonah was really helpedyou out. And you had some
health things that came up this summer, so you had to take a little
bit of time off and nothing misseda beat. He did a great job
for He saved my budge. He'sa good guy and I'm sure he is

(00:43):
not going to be too far awayas he does his studies at Ohio State.
But that was really nice to havehim around. So today you want
to talk a little bit about prairiesand plants. I know you had an
event out at the Ohio State prairie, which is kind of fun. And
I don't think a lot of peoplerealize what a benefit is of having a
prairie in a community. A communityour size prairies around the state and those

(01:07):
prairie plants and what they do,And that's kind of what you want to
talk about today. Huh. Yes, absolutely, So when I'm going to
be talking in the word prairie,it can mean a lot of different things.
But when you kind of break itdown, they kind of go into
two subcategories. There's kind of thefour prairies, which is like your wildflowers.
Then of course there's the more grasslandprairies. So when we're talking about

(01:27):
prairies, we're just talking about overallboth of them together. So and then
if I do mention another word iscalled a savannah, which is basically a
prairie, but it has a littlebit more trees. Prairies have like less
than ten percent. I think savannahshave like more than thirty percent. So
if people kind of get confused withthose terms, I just want to kind
of start that off of what thosemean. So, yes, prairies are

(01:52):
ferry very important for us. Alot of people don't realize Ohio what it
used to look like in presettlement times. We're thinking about seventy to eighty percent
of Ohio's landscape was forested. Butactually there was five major prairies in the
state of Ohio and Marion County wewere part of that. We were part
of what's called the Sandusky Plains,and I forget what the other four are,

(02:15):
but but yeah, the Sandusky Plainscovered Marion, Yon, Dot,
Crawford, and I think maybe justa tad of Harden and Seneca County.
So yeah, great, great ecosystems. I mean a lot of great biodiversity
back in the day. I meanwe had things like bison and prehistoric times,
we have the mammoths because I knowI've mentioned in years past about the

(02:38):
whole mammoths and mastodons. Mastodons atemore trees and mammoths for more grass eaters.
So it kind of shows you thathow prairies have a big, big
biodiversity. I mean, just likeforests and wetlands, I mean, there's
all gonna be all kinds of differentplants and animals that will be in different
kinds of habitats. But I thinkwe just overlooked prairies because we just think,

(03:01):
oh, it's just a grassy fieldor a little field with flowers.
I think we gained more in appreciationabout forests because you know, we see
the big group of trees, andyou know they provide shade and things like
that. But unfortunately, when settlerscame into Ohio, Marion County, you
know what we did, what wedid best, we destroyed a lot of

(03:22):
that natural landscape for agriculture also tofor developments such as Marion or Columbus or
places like that. And unfortunately,I think we have a little bit less
than one percent of the original prairiesthat are left in presettlement times. So
I want to save us. Aboutthe seventies or eighties, I guess there

(03:42):
was quite a bit of natural prairiesin Marion County. Well, then a
lot of the developers were coming in, so a lot of private people were
buying pieces of property to protect thoseprairies. I know they're at OSU.
You mentioned there's the the Yoder Prairie. I can't remember his full name,
but I just called professor Yoder.Yeah, he was a teacher there and

(04:05):
he helped kind of started that overthere. Treillo Romane, you know,
she helped started the Historical Society,she helped form the park District, but
she actually bought a piece of propertyoutside of Green Camp, which is a
prairie area now. And then ofcourse there was the Beaver family that they
converted their farm to a prairie area. So we are very actually very fortunate

(04:29):
in Marin County that we do havea lot of public prairie areas that you
can go visit. That's why Ireally hit hard in the summertime for people
to go out into those green spacesand check out those different prairie plans.
And you know, the prairie flowers, they'll definitely start blooming usually about late
June and usually can go into aboutSeptember, but the big peak region is

(04:49):
about mid July to mid August.That's when a lot of the different flowers
blooming at the same time, soyou get a lot of diversity of colors.
So I always recommend that timeframe gogo visit at them because I think
when you go, especially in thattime, you really gain an appreciation about,
you know, really one to protectthese prairies. You know, in

(05:11):
these prairies, you know they've beenhere for a very long time, but
again, unfortunately we've been destroying alot of them. There's actually the Clarendon
Prairie which is out there by ninetyeight on Maryon Galleon Road. There's no
hiking trails there at the Clarendon Prairie, but if you just drive really really
slow, put your emergency flashers on, and drive really so to the side,

(05:34):
you can see a lot of theprairie plants that are growing right next
to the railroad there by the whatis that Moral Companies? Right, Yeah,
that's actually where I grabbed this plant, the prairie dock. And what's
really cool about like this one prairiedock. They can get up to about
ten to twelve feet tall. Andyou know, I'm six five, so
some of these prairie plants make mefeel very very sure. And and even

(05:57):
though they're really really tall, they'retap root can go ten twelve feet deep
into the ground. Because you've gotto think about prairies are designed to not
to get a lot of rainfall,so having that very long tap roof,
they're able to extract a lot ofmoisture. You know, especially during the
heat drought season. These guys don'ttypically dry out as fast, and you
know, your typical lawn grass doesbecause your typical lawn grass, I mean,

(06:21):
the roots are only just a coupleof inches again versus the prairie roots
can go several feet down into thatground. And you know, being a
prairie plan of course, is goingto be offering a lot of different benefits
for wildlife and humans. Like theone I brought right here is called prairie
dock. So if you go especiallyaround the Clarendon Prairie, a lot of
them right there, and the flowerit kind of looks like a little sunflower,

(06:44):
but then they're starting to disappear.They're wonderful seed heads. It's going
to be great for things like finches, some of our sparrows. And then
of course around if you go aroundthe Big Island Wildlife Area on the west
side of the county, a lotof prairie wetland air as or what's called
prairie potholes. Of course, we'vegot our special visitors during the wintertime,
like the shorter owls and the northernharriers. So it just kind of just

(07:08):
really shows you that a lot ofdifferent things really utilize these ecosystems. Wow,
it's it's amazing. Most people,I don't think realize how important that
is. I know, we talka lot about, you know, the
milkweed and the pollinators and things likethat, and prairies obviously help with all
of that as well. Yes,absolutely, And you know you've been talking

(07:30):
about the whole milkweed and monarch situationsand kind of tying in with the prairie
you know, Yes, I know, the milkweed is important for the monarch
to you know, complete its lifecycle for the caterpillar to eat. But
once that caterpillar hatches out of thechrysalis stage, you know, in the
butterfly, you know it's going tobe wanting those great nectar bearing plants that

(07:51):
you can find in prairies like prairiedog and compass plant and blazing star and
ironweed. I mean, I couldgo on and on. So I tell
people, if you want to attractmonarchs, yes, plant milkweed, but
also promote other nectar bearing plants orespecially if you can prairie plants in your
era, because that's really going tobenefits a butterfly species. Yeah, some

(08:11):
really good stuff, and it reallyis important to have those prairies, the
plants that are in there and mostof the things that we see in Mary
and James. Are those going tobe the same types of plants and flowers
and types of weeds if you will, that you're going to see all across
the state. Or is it verydifferent depending on where you're at, very

(08:33):
different, because, like I said, because we only have certain pockets of
prairies. I mean there are,of course there's people who try to help
restore their prairie areas, and Imean they do their fairy best. But
luckily, again we have some ofthe original prairies that were left, like
the Trailer Room Mind Prairie, theClaridon Prairie. Those are two great examples.

(08:54):
I don't know if you met agentleman. His name was KENCEL Clutter.
He was a local Marian. Hewas a great prairie Thuthius and right
after he retired, for almost thirtyyears just volunteered. He would go out
and manage those prairies. I thinkhe spent a little over four thousand hours
pulling weeds, doing selective sprain likeif invasive species like ragweed or what we're

(09:18):
coming in. But people like Kensel, I mean, we really need,
you know, in our areas tohelp keep these prairies for a long time,
because what happens is, and thisis naturally is over time. If
you just leave a prairie alone overtime, then bigger, thicker plants will
come in, small trees will comein. And Kens always told me,

(09:39):
he said, the quickest thing thatwill naturally kill a prairie is shade.
And that's why you have to doeither pulling sprain or the biggest thing is
a prescribe burn. And like theBeaver Wildlife Area last year, the ODNR
pheasants forever, they did a prescribeburn because if not, again, what's
it, lovely words called succession.So it's basically when our landscapes change over

(10:03):
time. And you know, Ialways tell people, if you leave it
alone in that prairie and one hundredyears will become a forest. Now at
the same time, they do theseprescribe burns at the Yoda Prairie about every
couple of years, right, yes, yeah, you want an average about
every about three to five years,because again, if not, then you

(10:24):
get that thick, woody vegetation thatcomes back. Now. I was told
some of the old college professors,Bob Clips and Rich Bradley. They're kind
of consultants even though they're retired,but they're kind of coming in kind of
help restoring that prairie. I guessover time since they left, I guess
some of the thicker vegetation is comingin, especially some of the invasive species.

(10:46):
So they're just trying to restore thatYoda prairie out there. Yeah,
and like you were mentioning too,Yeah, we did two programs out there
of this summer. It was ourfirst year partnering with OSU. They actually
reached out to me and they're like, Hey, we're trying to get this
prairie restored and we're just trying toget people aware. Can you partner with
us and can we do stuff outhere? I said sure. So we

(11:07):
did the Prairie Plant Tour at thebeginning of August. Unfortunately it was overcast.
We had two people came, butthen like ray at the end,
then then a start raining. Yeah, and then last Friday we did a
night hike and we had eleven peopleshowed up. That's fantastic, even though
I mean it was during the nighttime, but I mean we still I mean,
I had people had no idea thatthey're like, I'm on University Street

(11:30):
all the time, and I hadno idea this was back here, and
I want to check it out,you know, during the daytime. So
doing those programs really got me excitedthat that people are really wanting to explore,
you know, these green spaces CenterCounty. Yeah, we used to
do Scout meetings back there in theshelter house at the Yodor Prairie back in
the day. And of course nowthere's actually a bike path that runs through
the woods over that way, soyou can get on the property from over

(11:54):
in the Chateau area and some ofthose without ever really having to get on
any major roads to ride your bikeover and check it out, which is
extremely nice. A lot of peopledon't realize that that bike path runs through
there, over behind some of thosebusinesses on Mount Vernon Avenue, but it
is there. It's a nice bikepath that's well maintained, giving an opportunity
to get over to the campus tobe able to see that particular prairie and

(12:18):
enjoy the things that happened there.You guys did a prescribe burn at the
wild Flower of the Wildflowers there infront of tall Grass a few years ago.
We did. Yes, yes,so we do that and then sometimes
we just during the winter time,we'll just cut a lot of that stuff,
cut it out because again, ifnot, then a lot of that
thicker vegetation, the woody stuff willcome back. So trying to keep that
controlled and being out at tall Grass, you're gonna see a lot of prairie

(12:41):
plants just being on the trail.Oh yeah, absolutely, it makes it
really really nice. And of coursethis time of year, you're gonna start
to hear some other some other animalsout there as we get to turn seasons.
That's what's always cool about tall Grass. Every time you go out there,
it's something different. Sometimes it's it'sthe s season. Sometimes it's the

(13:01):
turtle season. Sometimes you can seethe beavers a little bit more. But
that's what makes tall grass so uniquebecause it's always something different out there for
you to enjoy. James, let'stalk for a minute or two about tall
Grass Trail, and I know we'vebeen seeing if you follow the Merrin County
Park District or tall Grass Trail orany of the different social media sites that

(13:22):
James helps manage for the Marion CountyPark District, we've been seeing some folks
on tall grass trail with motorized vehiclesand that's a no, no, absolutely,
yeah, talk a little bit aboutthat situation and what we need to
do to fix that. Yes,So unfortunately, we're getting people on four
wheelers, dirt bikes, just allsorts of again motorized vehicles that are just

(13:43):
using it more for recreation. Andthe problem is is they're driving ferry ferry
fast. And we usually hear alot of reports that people get pushed to
the sign and of course, youknow, if they're have their kids or
their dogs, you know, they'reyou know, those people are afraid,
you know, of getting injured.So I always tell people if you want

(14:03):
to, don't have to. Butthe more evidence the better. If you
get pictures or photography or video anythinglike that, because we do turn it
into the local law enforcement and ifthey can recognize the person. Sometimes we
do you know, tournament and allthat. But we just again and you
know, we do try to talkto some people's that that that are riding

(14:26):
on the trail. Some people aren'tconsiderate, and of course there's some that
I want to I want to rideit, So again, if you do
and kind of just you know,try if you want to, you know,
say, hey, this is nota motorized trail. Now, we
do allow law enforcement, like youknow, a few weeks ago Dan Sheridan

(14:46):
was on there doing maintenance. Andof course, like scout projects in the
past, you know, we've we'vehad to drive on the trail. Oh,
you gotta get truck out there todo work. Yeah, you got
treedes down things like that. Youneed to actually get those guys out there,
which is why it is built theway it was built. So yeah,
that's the only time we really wantmotorized vehicle. So yeah, again,
reporting it to us on our Facebookpage, Instagram, all of our

(15:09):
social media platforms, and again themore information the better. But you are
allowed to have an e assist bikeon the trail, up to certain restrictions.
I want to say, it's likefifteen to forty. I'm feeling like
it's fifteen range. The signs areposted. Yes, yeah, but you
are allowed to have an e assistbike, So don't feel like, hey,
I've got an e bike. Ifit is a legitimate e bike that

(15:33):
you purchased and it is pedal assistedwith electric you're going to be fine.
If it is a fully motorized vehicleand you're not good. I mean,
that's really what people have asked me, and that's what I've told him.
I'm like, does it pedal?I'm like, what do you mean?
Do you have any bike that pedals? And they're like, yeah, well
then you're fine. Well do youhave a mini bike that does not?

(15:54):
No, well then that's not right. So to me, it's it's pretty
simple, but I know some peopleget get confused on so realize it that
you are allowed to have electric assistbikes, but they have to be bicycles
if you are out there. Bigthank you to Emma McKinney. Yeah,
my girl, Amma, she's awesome. Oh she is. Tell everybody about
her project. So yeah, shedid two free little libraries. We installed

(16:18):
one at the trailhead and then weput the other one at the de Cliff
section of the parking lot. Soshe put in nature animal books the Maryon
Public Library. I think either donatedor give her at a very discounted price.
And then I think today or sometimethis week it will be on the
actual national website, so on thefree little library. So because I guess

(16:41):
there's people who will travel to someof the different free libraries across Ohio and
different parts of the country. Soyeah, she came up to me and
she was asking me some projects shewanted to do, and I give her
some suggestions and then she said,how about free little library because I guess
that's what she wants to do whenshe graduates. She wants to be an
English teacher. Okay, So I'mlike, yeah, we could work with

(17:03):
that. Because her brother, herbrother a CJ. He made the book
box, he made the bug boxesfor you. Yeah. Emma McKinney is
a busy, young young student outof Marion Harding. She does cheers,
she does band, she's in Scouts. This is her Eagle Scout project.
She is she's fabulous. So,Emma, thank you so much for that.
It is a beautiful design. Andyou got a nice group of people

(17:25):
to help you. From what Icould see, that's good stuff. About
eight people. Yeah, you guyshad a pretty good load to do it.
It was pretty good. So andthey're very nice boxes. So check
those out when you're out there.Take care of those and realize that that
is another resource you can use.Paleontology in the Park is coming. Yes,
we're so excited. And if you'renot familiar about paleontology in the park,
it's basically the dinosaur offense. WayneValor, our local dinosaur expert I

(17:51):
like calling him. He has putthis together and this is our six year
doing it, and so yeah,he's the one that actually plans it all.
He does all the activities. Andthis year he has told me the
Ohio Geological surveys coming back and theColumbus Sioux is bringing their Nina the Aliasaurus
costume out again, so I'm soexcited about that. So yes, the

(18:12):
event is from one to five pm. It is to come as you go,
so you don't have to stay theentire one to five unless you really
want to, and it is gearfor all ages. We will have some
or little programs for the little ones, and of course there's things for adults
to learn. We'll have Rick Haver, a local here in Marion. He
was the guy that help got someof the bones out the Marian mammoth bones

(18:34):
when he was an OSU student overforty years ago. So unfortunately the bones
are not allowed to come out anymore. A couple of years ago, the
Ohio History Connection made a new policy, and you know that makes sense.
I mean those are fragile, fragileartifacts, so you know, we don't
want them to be damaged. Sobut yes, we are looking for volunteers.
So if you don't have to bea dinosaur expert, I willman I

(18:57):
am not a dinosaur expert. Evenif you want to help set up,
tear down or actually help with theevent. My volunteer, Wayne Fowler,
he will definitely hook you up andgive you the rundown. And again,
do not have to be an expert. And from high school to adults,
and they can reach out to youto sign up. Yes, you have
reach out to me. Ye okay, great, And you can always stop

(19:17):
out at maryon tall Grass Trail there'sa lot of times he's out that way
or at any of the different events. Or please just reach out on Facebook.
You can find the Marrion County ParkDistrict and all of those up there
to get you those details. Butthat's just one thing that's in the calendar.
Talk about some of the earth thingsyou have coming up. Yes,
So for the rest of September,we have on the six at six six
o'clock pm, we have the WetlandExploration Program at tall Grass Trail. So

(19:41):
we'll be talking about wetlands, andthen we'll be actually going out. There's
a little wetlands on the side ofthe lake, and please bring boots and
old clothes because we will get netsand we'll be exploring, so you may
get a little bit dirty. Andthen we actually have our park board meeting.
It's a little bit different this month. At least two meetings a month,
we like to do it at adifferent location at a different time because

(20:03):
we get some people that can't comeout to our typical park board meeting.
We usually do it every third Thursdayof the month, and then we do
it at noon at the County Building. And again there's some people that work,
so this one will be at tallGrass Trail at the R Road parking
lot. We're going to meet underthat casebo and that will start at six
o'clock PM and then we'll be partof the oh again. That is on

(20:26):
the twentieth. So on the twentyfirst, I will be for the downtown
Third Thursday events, so hopefully wedon't get rain out this time. Yes,
Yes, Night hike on the twentythird from nine thirty to eleven o'clock
and that will be at tall GrassTrail at the trailhead, so we will
be doing science in the dark,so we'll be doing some fun experiments and

(20:48):
for all ages. And then thelast program for September, and I know
we've always talked about, but onthe twenty eight at six thirty pm is
the Paul Paul Programs, because thePaul Paul's will be out and that will
be at the Paradise Nature Preserve andbecause we have a lot of Poppa plants
but we haven't found any fruits.But then in October we'll do one that
tall Grass Trail and we'll bring insome of the fruits there. Excellent,

(21:11):
great stuff coming to the Marion CountyPark District. James, always a pleasure
of having you in. Thank youso much for coming in. And folks
can get more details on all ofyour social outlets, Marion County Park District,
Tall Grass Trail, any of those, just to a search around.
James handles a lot of social mediaaccounts that you may not even know,
some birding things and stuff like thatthat James does a lot with and that's

(21:33):
how you can keep track of what'sgoing on with our Marion County Parks.
But get out and enjoy them,