В Огайо восстановили более 1,7 тысячи акров уникальной экосистемы Oak Openings

Metroparks Meetup: Restoring the Oak Openings region The Nature Conservancy, Metroparks Toledo and partner organizations have spent four years working to protect a globally rare ecosystem TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A multi-organization conservation effort has restored more than 1,700 acres of the Oak Openings region, a sandy, globally rare ecosystem stretching from Bowling Green, Ohio, to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Over the last century, development, roads and invasive plants have reduced the region’s natural habitat. To counter that, The Nature Conservancy, Metroparks Toledo, and other partner organizations formed the Green Ribbon Initiative, a collaborative effort to protect and restore the area. Funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation supported the effort over the last four years. Workers used prescribed burns, mowing, brush cutting and targeted herbicide to remove invasive plants. “It’s a habitat that requires a lot of intervention. It is not a one and done. It is a constant need,” said LaRae Sprow, director of natural resources for Metroparks Toledo. Matty Watkins, a Green Ribbon Initiative partnership specialist with The Nature Conservancy, said the region’s ecology is built around disturbance. “A lot of folks think that disturbance is just bad. You think of things like tornadoes, fire, high winds. Those are all things that this region really thrived on, and part of this grant was bringing that disturbance back into those areas again,” Watkins said. The Oak Openings region holds more rare listed species than anywhere else in Ohio, according to LaRae Sprow, director of natural resources for Metroparks Toledo. “The Oak Openings region in Ohio has more rare listed species than any place else in Ohio... over a third,” Sprow said. Without continued intervention, conservationists say the consequences would be significant. “This region needs that constant disturbance, or we have invasive overgrowth, loss of habitat, all sorts of problems if we don’t get in there,” Watkins said. Sprow said Metroparks Toledo remains committed to the effort and is actively seeking additional funding. “We’re incredibly committed to that. We’re constantly looking for more funding to help us do that,” Sprow said. Volunteers are needed. Click here to get involved. Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals Copyright 2026 WTVG. All rights reserved.