CASTALIA, Ohio - After more than 30 years of maintaining Ohio's largest prairie remnant, state wildlife officials are finally dedicating the 120-acre site along Erie County's western border.
Castalia Prairie, which is east of Northwest Road and north of Vickery Road in Margaretta Township, is part of the 2,272-acre Resthaven Wildlife Area, a broad swath of woodlots, brushland, open fields, and wetlands.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife officially will name the prairie remnant during a ceremony at 10 this morning at a clearing on the east side of Northwest Road, south of Oxbo Road. Besides state officials, also attending will be representatives from Ducks Unlimited, the Ohio Prairie Association, Ohio Lepidopterists, and Pheasants Forever, which are co-sponsoring the dedication.
Gregg Pressler, superintendent of the wildlife area, said the prairie remnant is home to moths, butterflies, and native plant species that are seldom, if ever, found elsewhere.
"It's the largest prairie in the state," Mr. Pressler said yesterday as he gazed out over the site's mix of tall grasses, wildflowers, and other native plants. "You'll find these species only in areas that are prairies."
The prairie remnant includes six species of endangered moths and rare plants, such as big bluestem (a prairie grass named for the bluish tint of its stalk, which reaches up to 8 feet high) and the gray-headed cone flower (a 3-foot-tall plant with golden flowers whose spiky brown center goes bare at the top).
"This is actually what they call a wet prairie," said Bob Ford, a state wildlife area technician who helps maintain the site. "The species that thrive here can stand quite a bit of moisture."
The prairie and the rest of the surrounding wildlife area have no walking trails, but are popular with bird-watchers, fishermen, hunters, and others who walk the site.
"There's a wide variety of uses," Mr. Ford said. "It's a great habitat for pheasants, rabbits, and even deer."
The wildlife area also has 13 ponds where fishermen reel in large-mouth bass, bluegill, crappies, and channel catfish.
In preparation for the prairie's dedication, the Division of Wildlife this spring built a culvert to allow visitors to get over a stream that runs along Northwest Road and a gravel parking lot for 10 vehicles across the highway from the entrance.
Much of the Resthaven Wildlife Area, including parts of the prairie, were strip mined for marl between the early 1900s and the mid 1950s, Mr. Pressler said. Marl is a powdery, whitish substance formerly used in the production of cement.
The state began buying sections of the current wildlife area from the former Medusa Portland Cement Co. in the early 1940s.
At one time, state wildlife officials believe, the prairie may have covered up to 15 square miles. Mr. Ford said the remaining section survived because it was too wet for farming, and because periodic wildfires kept trees from overrunning the site.
The Division of Wildlife still conducts controlled burns on the entire prairie site every two to three years to halt the spread of fast-growing trees, such as dogwoods, and invasive species, such as fragmites.
"That's the largest burn that we ever do," Mr. Pressler said. "When this grass gets up 7 to 9 feet, it's a pretty large fire. It roars. You can see this fire from 30 miles away."
Three months after the most recent fire, the prairie shows few signs of burning to the casual observer. It's a wild mix of 5-foot-high grasses, shorter native plants, and burgundy-edged dogwood saplings.
"There's a little bit of everything in this area," Mr. Pressler said.
Contact Steve Murphy at:
smurphy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6078.
First Published July 30, 2004, 11:08 a.m.