Oak Openings Preserve Metropark | |
---|---|
Type | Nature preserve |
Location | Swanton Township, Ohio |
Coordinates | 41°33′14″N83°51′11″W / 41.554°N 83.853°W |
Area | 4,291 acres (1,737 ha) [1] |
Created | 1931 [2] |
Operated by | Metroparks Toledo |
Open | Year-round, 7 a.m. until dark daily [3] |
Website | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark |
Oak Openings Preserve Metropark is a nature preserve located in Swanton Township, Ohio, owned and operated by Metroparks Toledo. Most of the park is an oak savanna ecosystem, characterized by alternating wetland and vegetated dunes.[ citation needed ]
The park hosts the Beuhner Center, an interactive nature center. [4] There are over fifty miles of trails in Oak Openings Preserve.[ citation needed ]
The park gets its name from the region in which it is located. Oak Openings Preserve lies within the larger Oak Openings Region. The region hosts over 180 rare species of plants and animals. This is over one-third of all rare species found in the state of Ohio. [5] [ self-published source? ]
According to The Nature Conservancy, the Oak Openings Region is one of the 200 "Last Great Places on Earth".[ citation needed ]
Toledo is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 270,871, making Toledo the fourth-most populous city in Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Toledo is the 85th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Toledo metropolitan area, which had 606,240 residents in 2020. Toledo also serves as a major trade center for the Midwest; its port is the fifth-busiest on the Great Lakes.
Oregon is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. Located on Lake Erie, it is a suburb of Toledo lying east of the city and is home to Maumee Bay State Park. The population was 19,950 at the 2020 census.
A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
The Maumee River is a river running in the United States Midwest from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, where Fort Wayne, Indiana has developed, and meanders northeastwardly for 137 miles (220 km) through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the Maumee Bay of Lake Erie. The city of Toledo is located at the mouth of the Maumee. The Maumee was designated an Ohio State Scenic River on July 18, 1974. The Maumee watershed is Ohio's breadbasket; it is two-thirds farmland, mostly corn and soybeans. It is the largest watershed of any of the rivers feeding the Great Lakes, and supplies five percent of Lake Erie's water.
The Great Black Swamp was a glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century. Comprising extensive swamps and marshes, with some higher, drier ground interspersed, it occupied what was formerly the southwestern part of proglacial Lake Maumee, a Holocene precursor to Lake Erie. The area was about 25 miles (40 km) wide and 100 miles (160 km) long, covering an estimated 1,500 square miles (4,000 km2). Gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century, it is now highly productive farmland. However, this development has been detrimental to the ecosystem as a result of agricultural runoff. This runoff, in turn, has contributed to frequent toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Old Brooklyn is a neighborhood on the West Side of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, located approximately five miles south of downtown Cleveland. It extends east-to-west from the Cuyahoga River to the city of Brooklyn and north-to-south from the Brookside Park Valley to the city of Parma. It is home to the Cleveland Metroparks, including the Cleveland Zoo; the Jesse Owens tree at James Ford Rhodes High School; and the Benjamin Franklin Community Garden, the largest urban community garden in Cuyahoga County. Old Brooklyn has recently adopted the slogan "Old Brooklyn, a great place to grow" to commemorate its history and potential growth.
Cleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. Eighteen reservations, which largely encircle the city of Cleveland, follow along the shore of Lake Erie and the rivers and creeks that flow through the region. Referred to unofficially as the 'Emerald Necklace', the network of parks spans over 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) and includes over 300 miles (480 km) of walking, bicycle, and horse trails as well as numerous picnic areas, nature education centers, golf courses, and countless fishing spots. In addition, the district includes the zoo in Cleveland. Four of the reservations are adjacent to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Metroparks Toledo, officially the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a public park district consisting of parks, nature preserves, a botanical garden, trail network and historic battlefield in Lucas County, Ohio.
The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.
Wildwood Preserve Metropark is a nature reserve and historic estate located in Sylvania Township, Ohio. Wildwood is the most-visited of the 19-park Metroparks Toledo district.
Secor Metropark is a regional park in Richfield Township and Sylvania Township, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo. The park is in the Oak Openings Region.
Farnsworth Metropark is a regional park in Waterville, Ohio, owned and operated by Metroparks Toledo. The long narrow parks sits on the western shore of the Maumee River with a view of several islands, including Missionary, Butler and Indian islands, all of which are owned by the State of Ohio.
Blue Creek Metropark is a park and conservation area in Whitehouse and Waterville Township, Ohio, owned by Metroparks Toledo and partially leased to the city of Whitehouse.
Pearson Metropark is a regional park in Oregon, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo. It is one of the few remnants left of the Great Black Swamp. The park contains old-growth forest and wetlands. The park contains a pond with paddle boat rentals in the summer months and sledding in the winter months.
Side Cut Metropark is a regional park in Maumee, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo and named for being a sidecut on the Miami and Erie Canal. The sidecut was built over an 18-year period in the nineteenth century and completed in 1842, opening to boat traffic the following year. It closed in 1850 after being bypassed by an extension of the main canal. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Swan Creek Preserve Metropark is a regional park in Toledo, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo. The park contains several miles of often used trails.
Toledo Botanical Garden is a botanical garden in Toledo, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo.
The Oak Openings Region is a globally rare ecosystem composed of over 1,300 square miles (3,400 km2) of Michigan and Ohio. The land consists largely of oak savanna and grassland prairie. It is considered by The Nature Conservancy as having a similar ecological importance as the Florida Everglades and is one of the 200 "Last Great Places on Earth".
Goll Woods State Nature Preserve is a 321-acre (130 ha) nature preserve in western Fulton County, Ohio, near Archbold. It has been designated a National Natural Landmark for its oak–hickory forest.