The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Natural Areas Program
By: David Kriska, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
“East meets west meets north meets south.” That mouthful of a sentence describes why Northeast Ohio is such a treasure trove of natural diversity. Four uniquely different communities meet right here in the Cleveland/Akron/Canton region—the Alleghenies, prairies, northern hemlock hardwood forests and Appalachians. Throw in Lake Erie and you have the fixings for a naturalist’s paradise.
We are fortunate that, over the past century, several individuals recognized this unique confluence of natural communities and had the foresight to work and preserve examples of each of these important ecosystems. Among the individuals were former Cleveland Museum of Natural History director William Scheele and former board president Harold T. Clark. Long before urban sprawl was even recognized as a problem, they worked to protect areas that harbored biologically significant habitats. In the early 1950s, Scheele and Clark arranged for the purchase of eight acres at Fern Lake Bog in Burton and additional property on Kelleys Island.
Fifty years later, the Museum’s Natural Areas Program now comprises 33 nature preserves and 4,256 acres. These “living collections” contain unique natural communities, such as hardwood forest, Lake Erie island, fossil dune ridge, marsh, swamp and glacial wetland. They protect 110 state-listed plant species and 90 state listed or rare fauna. Together, they represent the remarkable biological diversity that was once widespread throughout the region.
Among these is the exceptional North Kingsville Sand Barrens Preserve. It is one of only three good examples left of a Midwest sand barren, a community that historically occurred from Sandusky through Cleveland to western Pennsylvania on the sandy beach ridges and relict dunes of lakes that preceded our current Lake Erie. You have probably heard of some of these ridges, most likely while driving on them: Detroit Road (North Ridge Road in Lorain County) and Middle Ridge Road west of Cleveland, U.S. 20 and Johnnycake Ridge Road. Now literally paved over, they once provided natural high and dry highways for people and animals, such as bison on their way to Buffalo, New York.
At the North Kingsville Sand Barrens, sandy openings in these open savannah systems support flora that includes black oaks, grasses and wild lupines. Entomologists have discovered several rare beetles that are restricted to the beach ridges. One of these is only known in Ohio from the North Kingsville Sand Barrens and the Museum’s nearby Cathedral Woods Preserve. The first U.S. occurrence of a burrowing wolf spider, previously only known from Canada, was also found there. Spring seeps on the preserve’s forested ridge line contain rare dragonflies and caddisflies, as well as several rare birds nesting in the northern hemlock hardwood forest community.
This sand barren community was also common within oak-chestnut forests on the hilly glacial sand ridges and knobs found from Ravenna and Kent down to Akron and Canton. This community is now rare, too, due to the suppression of fire and natural forest succession, sand and gravel mining, and housing developments. A remnant of this sand barren community exists at another excellent Museum preserve, Singer Lake Bog, located in Green. Not your typical flat bog, Singer Lake is essentially 60-foot-high knobby islands of glacial gravel surrounded by 60-foot-deep bogs. It is one of the only known Ohio homes for several plants and animals. The State-Endangered racket-tailed emerald dragonfly, which hadn’t been seen in Ohio in more than 75 years, was discovered there in 2000 (more recently, it was also discovered at Fern Lake Bog). Singer Lake is also the only known location left in Ohio for grass leaved pondweed, a State-Endangered plant. With fifty rare species there alone, the list goes on.
There are many more examples of the amazing natural diversity protected by the Museum’s Natural Areas Program. The program remains very active in the region as we seek out the finest remnants of land and raise funds to protect—and then maintain—them. It’s a race against time, though. With the increasing threats of invasive species and urban sprawl, the opportunity to preserve pristine natural areas for future generations to enjoy will be gone within the next 50 years.
Visit www.cmnh.org for information about the Natural Areas Program and how you can support the Museum’s conservation work. You’ll also find a current schedule of field trips to these “best-of-the-best” remnants. For more information contact David Kriska, Biodiversity Coordinator, Center for Conservation & Biodiversity, Natural Areas Division, of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, at 216-231-4600, ext. 3506.