Orange-Crowned Warbler

Something you may see during May is the Orange-crowned Warbler

These don’t nest in Ohio, but you may see them fly through as they head north into Canada. You’ll see them more commonly in western states also. They winter in southern US states and in Mexico.

Learn more about The Biggest Week in American Birding>http://bit.ly/24BR3NH

More info at:  Ohio Nature Conservancy

https://www.traillink.com/trail-gallery/western-reserve-greenway/

A new parking area has been constructed on the Greenway Trail near Roaming Shores and is now open. The address is 2700 Rome Rock Creek Road.  Parking  is limited to persons wishing to hike, bike or cross country ski on the Greenway; vehicles pulling snowmobile trailers are to use the Lampson Staging Area Trailhead on Lampson Rd in Austinburg.

The Metroparks Board, Staff, and Volunteers are grateful for the overwhelming support of the voters and supporters throughout Ashtabula County for the passage of Ashtabula County Metroparks 2019 levy renewal. We are happy to serve you and continue to improve our parks.  Thank you.

photo courtesy of Carl Feather

Ashtabula County Metroparks is holding a Ribbon Cutting to dedicate its recently opened Red Brook Metropark on Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 6:00pm, at the new park entrance sign at 4338 Lake Road West, Saybrook Township.

Ashtabula County Metroparks’ new Red Brook Metropark totals 145 acres of upland fields, recovering fairways, forest and 5 miles of paved and mowed trail loops. Metroparks acquired the former Ashtabula Country Club and Harbor Golf Course through the Western Reserve Land Conservancy using state and federal grant funds in October 2018 and is undertaking the process of transitioning from prior uses to an accessible wildlife habitat and nature preserve with trails.

Red Brook is expected to soon become a county resident favorite situated near the shores of Lake Erie, within walking distance of thousands of local residents and Kent State Ashtabula students, faculty and staff, and anchored by Martinis! Restaurant. Ashtabula Metroparks protects nearly two miles of Red Brook, a cold-water habitat stream that supports Steelhead trout and many native fish species.

The development of Red Brook Metropark into a four-season park attraction will occur in many phases, as a transition from golf course to full-fledged Metropark supporting migratory birds and other wildlife takes time and considerable funds. The planning and additions of wildlife habitats such as wetlands, meadows, emerging forests, buffered stream corridors will be costly and requires the securing of millions in grant monies.

This newly opened Metropark already has a large, repaved driveway, restriped parking lot, 3 miles of paved trail for hiking, fishing, dog-walking and birdwatching.

Metroparks is pleased to provide a Metropark within walking distance of both Ashtabula and Saybrook Township residents. It provides public access to two miles of a beautiful and healthy fishing stream and Lake Erie tributary in addition to its existing and planned hiking trails.

“Red Brook Metropark is already being used by residents as well as Ashtabula County visitors; we expect this park and preserve to be a favorite throughout the County. Metroparks is happy to provide this resource to our community”, commented Metroparks Board Vice President and local Saybrook resident, Marie Lane.

This ribbon-cutting event will precede a brief community update meeting which will be held on Monday, October 28, at 5:30pm at Martinis! banquet room.  Metroparks will announce its initial plans and grants secured to undertake the development of an ADA-accessible upland trail, habitat restoration, sledding hill and benches and tables. The county-wide park system has been able to obtain another $769,000 in Clean Ohio grants to construct upland trails and install 30 acres of native habitat. These funds must be matched by in-kind or local cash donations in order to leverage this sizable state grant. Some of the matching funds will be derived from donated plants and labor such as that provided by the Ashtabula County Master Gardeners Club and US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as planned native plants to be propagated by ATECH through its Horticulture program. While some $270,000 in Metroparks funds were committed to secure the grant, Ashtabula Metroparks plans to leverage additional state, federal and/or local grant money to stretch its levy funds as far as possible for other projects throughout the County.

Ashtabula County Metroparks is an Ohio Revised Code statutory park district providing quality park experiences in ten currently open parks covering over 1,200 acres of publicly accessible parkland throughout Ashtabula County and founded in 1959. It owns and manages 30 miles of paved, ADA accessible greenway and bike trails as well as more than 15 miles of primitive trails throughout its park system. Ashtabula County Metroparks is primarily funded through a five-year park levy which passed in 2014, which has permitted the significant expansion of its park holdings and open parks. Since 2014, Metroparks has tripled the number of open parks and publicly accessible acreage as well as adding amenities throughout the Western Reserve Greenway Trail and each of its open parks.

For further information on Metroparks’ parks, events or other activities, please visit the Ashtabula County Metroparks website or Facebook page. You may reserve a pavilion/shelter free or enjoy the many programs offered by park volunteers for your outdoor enjoyment. You can register on our Facebook page or the Ashtabula County Metroparks website at www.ashtabulametroparks.com. For questions, please call (440) 576-0717.

Ashtabula County Metroparks is hosting a symbolic ground-breaking to signify the final stages of construction of the North Shore Trail in Ashtabula on Friday, October 11, 2019, at 4:00pm at the corner of Bridge Street and Goodwill Drive in Ashtabula Harbor. The long-anticipated Ashtabula Metroparks’ North Shore Trail is now expected to be finished in 2020, with request for construction bids sought in late 2019 by Metroparks. The 4.25-mile trail will continue the Western Reserve Greenway Trail from Trumbull County all the way to Ashtabula Harbor and Lake Erie at Walnut Beach. The North Shore Trail is the final terminus of what will be the 110 mile Great Lake to Rivers Trail.

The North Shore Trail is primarily on-road, with a combination of bike lanes, widened sidewalks, share-the-road sections, a small portion off-road trail, and utilization of existing sidewalks. Metroparks and its project consultant, the Environmental Design Group have worked closely with ODOT District 4 staff and the City of Ashtabula on the design, final renderings, maps and cross-sections of the route.

The North Shore Trail will begin at Lake Erie, wind its way through Ashtabula Harbor and the City of Ashtabula and connect to the Western Reserve Greenway’s HL Morrison Station Trailhead at West Avenue in Ashtabula.

Of course, for those beginning at the Morrison Station Trailhead, the trail makes its way north on West Avenue to Ashtabula Parks’ Smith Field before turning westward to Michigan Avenue.  The trail then continues off road through a vacated section of Michigan Avenue, picking up the roadway at 16^th St to 8^th Street. From 8^th Street, the route crosses Lake Avenue, then heading northeast to Goodwill Drive at Ashtabula Harbor.

The trail will continue to Bridge Street, head up the Point Park steps utilizing a bike trough, head west from Point Park and the Maritime and Transportation Museum on Walnut Boulevard to Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum and finally to Walnut Beach and Lake Erie.  Alternative on-road striping and signage will also guide cyclists down Lake Avenue and other city streets.

“Ashtabula Metroparks gratefully acknowledges its partners in the project, as well as funders ODOT, CDC, ODNR, Robert S. Morrison Foundation, Ashtabula Foundation and others” commented  Metroparks’ Executive Director. “This $1.3 Million phase of the project is funded by Ohio Department of Transportation with a Civic Development Corporation matching grant. “Again, this project is 30 years in the making from conception. We have so many to thank, including our long time Board Member and project visionary Charlie Kohli and those of you here whom have persevered.” “Many of those involved had participated in multiple iterations and routes over time before settling on this practical, direct route.” “Maintenance and management of the on-road and off-road portions are covered by the MOU with City of Ashtabula” Frimerman added.

“The North Shore Trail, like the rest of the Western Reserve Greenway Trail and our Metroparks, will be protected and patrolled by our park rangers as well as our volunteer Bike Patrol”, noted Metroparks Board Vice President Marie Lane.

The North Shore Trail is considered a major link for bike trails throughout Ashtabula County, officials said. It is included in the city of Ashtabula’s and Ashtabula County’s land use plans. Next, Metroparks has secured initial funding to plan and begin the Pymatuning Valley Greenway Trail, another long-awaited project that could spur both economic development and quality of life improvements in the county. Ashtabula County Metroparks is a statutorily created County park district founded in 1959.  Metroparks has a five-member Board of Park Commissioners which is responsible for governance and policy of the Metropark system. Ashtabula County Metroparks is primarily funded through a five year, ½ mill real estate property tax approved by the voters in 2014.  Metroparks first started receiving levy funds in 2016. Since 2016, Metroparks has improved and added amenities to seven of its ten open parks and has added 15 miles of hiking trails throughout Ashtabula County.

For more information on the North Shore Trail or Ashtabula Metroparks, visit www.ashtabulametroparks.com, like Metroparks on Facebook, or contact the Metroparks office at (440) 576-0717.

cQHEI (Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index), Oct. 5, Shale Hollow Park

Learn how to do  basic habitat assessment in Ohio streams on Saturday, October 5.  Course instruction by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute.

$30 early-bird pricing ends October 1^st; $40 after October 1.

Summary:

cQHEI Classroom Instruction (10 AM – 12 PM)

Includes a detailed overview of the cQHEI, along with an introduction to Ohio Water Quality Standards (WQS) and biological monitoring, and their relationship to the Citizen QHEI. We will focus on the importance of habitat in your local stream, and  also how cumulative habitat losses can affect stream quality at watershed and larger scales.

Field Exploration of the cQHEI (1-3 PM)

While in the field we will apply what was learned in the classroom.  We will review scoring methods, and each participant will practice scoring while trainers provide feedback. The field work will provide a practical experience in objective data collection and evaluation.

No experience needed.

This course will provide trainees with exposure to cQHEI and its uses.

The course is offered at:  Shale Hollow Park, Lewis Center

More details are at:

https://midwestbiodiversityinst.org/education/courses/citizen-qualitative-habitat-evaluation-index#

Pool season may have ended, but hiking season NEVER ends!

Ashtabula County Metroparks is presenting a series of fall hikes just in time for everyone to enjoy our crisp autumn air, local native plant and animal life, and our amazing fall colors!

• Saturday, September 14 at 9:00 AM, meet in the Hatches Corners Metropark, State Rt 7 parking lot. Marc Hanneman, president of the Sam Wharam Nature Club will lead a leisurely Fall Bird Walk. (

• Sunday, September 15 at 1:00 PM, meet in the parking lot of Eyring Wetlands Preserve Metropark on Windsor- Mechanicsville Rd. Leah Wolfe, MPH & Community Herbalist from the Trillium Center will lead a gentle Ethnobotany Plant Walk and discuss fall foraging.

• Sunday, September 22, at 3:00pm, Metroparks will be leading a guided hike at the new Indian Mound Metropark, 431 Mill Road, Conneaut (off Welton Rd) as part of its joint Nature and Boater Safety Program with the Ashtabula YMCA.

• Sunday, October 6, Fall Color Hikes have been planned in 3 of the Ashtabula County Metroparks to ensure that EVERYONE has an opportunity to get outside and enjoy our fall colors!
• At Noon, meet in the Parking Lot at Camp Peet Metropark for a hike led by Leah Wolfe, MPH & Community Herbalist from the Trillium Center.   (405 Creek Road, Conneaut)
• At 2 PM, meet in the Parking Lot near the Ellsworth Pavilion at Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark for a hike led by Joyce Bond, Certified Landscape Architect. (1143 Old Harpersfield Rd  Harpersfield)
• At 4 PM, meet in the Parking Lot at Lampson Reservoir Metropark for a hike led by Larry Frimerman, Ashtabula County Metropark’s Executive Director.  1259 State Route 307, Jefferson Twp

In addition, Wednesday, October 9 at 2 PM, meet in the Parking Lot at Lampson Reservoir Metropark. Mark Meyer will discuss Preparing for and Feeding Our Winter Birds, followed by a leisurely hike led by Shari Bailey M.Ed., student naturalist.

Finally, mark your calendars for a fun-filled indoor Edible Ornaments Workshop!

On Monday, November 11 at Noon in the gymnasium at The Nature Center on Calendar Road in Rock Creek. Shari Bailey M.Ed., Student Naturalist, Kristy Belaney, Naturalist, and other Metroparks volunteers will demonstrate and assist participants in making outdoor edible ornaments to feed our winter wildlife when food sources become scarce. This program was a favorite with homeschoolers and attendees of ALL ages last year!

For further information on these or any of the Ashtabula County Metropark programs, or to register, call 440-576-0717