Black Swamp Conservancy is a land trust dedicated to protecting natural areas and family farms …

Restoring land back to the way it was before it was a crop field, before it was a golf course or the footings for structure, can feel as though it is a work of fiction or a work of art. You can almost imagine the guiding hand of the author as the ground begins to rumble, dirt churning under large mechanical hands as the land begins to undergo change as far as the eye can see.

On a brisk fall morning with the sun just rising over the horizon, Education and Events Manager, Laura Rodriguez, walked with Mrs. Duhamel and her 7th grade science class over to Tontogany Creek, the stream that runs through the Fox-Shank Living Laboratory.

The Conservancy is seeking to hire a Conservation Easements Coordinator to join a staff of seven in protecting the region’s natural communities and family farms.

On a brisk fall morning with the sun just rising over the horizon, Education and Events Manager, Laura Rodriguez, walked with Mrs. Duhamel and her 7th grade science class over to Tontogany Creek, the stream that runs through the Fox-Shank Living Laboratory.

The Black Swamp Conservancy is seeking quotations for habitat maintenance and enhancement on up to 19.6 acres of relatively mature woodland at Quinstock Woods Nature Preserve.

Our summer field crew plays a vital role in the conservation work done by the Black Swamp Conservancy. With over 1,600 acres of land managed by the Conservancy, our summer crew is critical to the success and management of our restored fields. As critical as our summer team is, the role of the summer field crew leader is not always an easy one to fill. Yet, this past summer AmeriCorps member, Meredith Holler, took the mantle with a practiced ease.

“What does this place mean to you?” It’s a powerful question, rooted deep within ourselves and our feelings surrounding it. When you think about a favorite place, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Black Swamp Conservancy is a land trust dedicated to protecting natural areas and family farms …

The Black Swamp Conservancy is seeking proposals for a design-build restoration project on about 21 acres of a privately owned farm and woods along Toussaint Creek in Ottawa County, Ohio.

As we move through the month of gratitude, we would like to take some time to recognize Black Swamp Conservancy’s most dedicated volunteer: Rick Bryan. This year marks Rick’s 15th year as a volunteer monitor for the Conservancy and we couldn’t be more thankful for him.

The 160-acre Clary Boulee McDonald Nature Preserve has been donated to the Seneca County Park District (Seneca Parks). Transfer of ownership of the nature preserve to Seneca Parks was completed during the second week of September following the completion of the restoration work done on the property. The Clary Boulee McDonald Nature Preserve, located in Kansas Ohio, is the largest restoration project Black Swamp Conservancy has undertaken to date.

We are thrilled to announce an upcoming scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year—the Dr. Donald R. Knepper Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship has been funded in perpetuity by an estate gift to the Conservancy by Dr. Knepper and will be administered in partnership with the Sandusky County Community Foundations (SCCF).

The Black Swamp Conservancyis soliciting proposals for a design-build stream restoration project at Forrest Woods Nature Preserve, in Crane Township, Paulding County, Ohio.

Amidst the urban hustle and bustle of Toledo’s Point Place neighborhood there’s still a place where the sounds of songbirds emanate from tall trees and amphibians breed in wetland pools on the forest floor. It’s here that you’ll find Webber Woods, Black Swamp Conservancy’s newest nature preserve.

Nestled along the picturesque shores of Lake Erie’s West Harbor, between quickly growing residential areas and commercial developments, lies the West Harbor Preserve—an undeveloped 12-acre parcel featuring farm and floodplain landscapes.

This year marks the launch of the Conservancy’s educational outreach program, Learning Landscapes, which works to conserve land within walking distance of schools in our region and to support educators to use these field sites for outdoor learning with their students.

One of the responsibilities of the Conservancy is to maintain the properties under our protection and work to improve their health and ecological function. This requires planning and hard work.

Mud-thick boots, cold farmers, an adze chopping holes for tiny trees in a huge field. These are memorable images from “Flowing Forward,” a new film by Christy Frank and Alex Goetz of Running Wild Media that follows one recent restoration project of the Black Swamp Conservancy to tell the larger story of the history and mission of the Conservancy.

Meridith Beck loved her lakeside community of Port Clinton and protected it with passion and energy. Her neighbors and the greater community of environmentalists have lost a champion with her recent passing at the age of 82, but her life is evidence that one person with a vision can make a big difference.

Black Swamp Conservancy and Scouting make natural partners. We both value good citizenship, enjoy spending time outdoors, and want to leave an area better than we found it. We’re grateful to some Scout troops that bring their energy and mission to our field work days. Recently, we are proud to have partnered with some Scouts working toward their Eagle Scout rank.

The story of how a couple hundred acres on the Little Auglaize River came to be purchased and permanently protected by the Black Swamp Conservancy is the meandering story of land use in northwest Ohio.

What was once a small eight-acre hayfield is a newly restored wetland tucked away in Forrest Woods in Paulding County. It is quietly holding and filtering water, naturally converting excess fertilizer into native plants, and making a home for frogs, toads, newts, and birds.

Students at Otsego Schools used to look out their classroom windows and see a bean field. Now they see a new immersive outdoor classroom that they and their teachers had a hand in designing.

As a part of the Black Swamp Conservancy team, you care about our natural world. You value fresh air, clean water, and a lush landscape alive with healthy plants and animals. And you want to ensure that future generations are afforded the same outdoor opportunities that we have had.

Black Swamp Conservancy works locally. Our mission is here in northwest Ohio … day-to-day our team is focused on making this community a better place to live, work and play. But our local work holds lessons for conservationists across the Midwest, and we in turn can learn from other great organizations.

With the arrival of spring, our corner of the world transforms into a hub of life and activity. Yes, bugs and flowers but also new enthusiasm and strong backs. We welcomed the 2023 field crew interns in May, and we say thanks and goodbye as they finish up their work in August.

One reason for the Conservancy’s success in preserving land is strong partnerships. We work closely with governments and park districts, as well as the private landowners who entrust us with the stewardship of their properties under permanent conservation agreements. One instance of a successful partnership is unfolding on Catawba Island.

Nestled at the northeastern tip of Middle Bass Island, just a stone’s throw away from Canada, lies a captivating nature preserve accessible only by canoe or kayak. Welcome to East Point Preserve – a pristine sanctuary where nature unfolds its wonders.

Are you someone who enjoys exploring the outdoors and observing the beauty of nature? Are you interested in contributing to the vital mission of the Black Swamp Conservancy by taking leisurely walks in the woods? If you have a few spare afternoons and a passion for conservation, we invite you to join us as a volunteer for our easement monitoring program.

In Paulding County, the upper Maumee River is a ribbon that unrolls in lazy loops across flat, mostly rural land. A 73-acre parcel called Black Swamp Audubon Reserve is nestled in one of the loops, with the Maumee forming borders on both the east and west sides of the reserve.

The Black Swamp Conservancy is lucky to have a web of regular volunteers, supporters, and board members who support our small staff. One very helpful asset is the class of Jen Robertson at Bowsher High School in Toledo.

Students in Otsego are growing their own outdoor classroom on a former farm field adjacent to their school. Last year, Otsego teachers and students worked with land restoration professionals to reinvent a 16-acre parcel across the street from the school.

A big planting day is a day of rebirth. When we’re ready to plant, we’ve already graded the site, removed invasive species, and water is moving the way we planned. Then, we add a lot of young life in confidence that we have done everything we can to help them grow.

“The main character is the land,” said filmmaker Christy Frank talking about the documentary she and collaborator Alex Goetz are working on for the Black Swamp Conservancy. Their story documents how a drab member of the chorus is transformed into a vibrant star actor.

The Greater Toledo Community Foundation helped the Conservancy throw a spring party at our homestead in late April. It was perfect! The spring ephemerals were peaking, making a gorgeous carpet throughout Bell Woods. More than 200 guests took part in hourly tours of the woods with Conservancy staff.

Hopeful commercial and real estate developers used to call Jane and Tom Schetter regularly, asking about their 145 acres of farmland and 40 acres of woods just north of Fostoria on a tributary of the Portage River. “Now we can just tell them, it’s in a conservation easement,” said Jane, “and that closes that down.”

A few things are hard to find in northwest Ohio, a good ski slope, and a rock-climbing venue. We can’t help you with skiing, but Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve is a rare local opportunity to climb.

One of the first cheery bursts of color in early spring are also helpful, friendly plants that have a place in your yard and garden. Dandelions are not just a welcome sign that everything around us is waking up, they are also a first food for pollinators, a delicacy for people who know how to forage, and free soil treatment.

Last year Black Swamp Conservancy was chosen as one of only three organizations in the state to receive an equipment grant from Ohio Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (OHPARC). Staff installed the automated game camera trap in Forrest Woods from April through October and sent the collected photos to OHPARC. This year, OHPARC renewed the grant.

No one is more connected to or appreciative of the land than the families who farm it. When your acres have fed you and your neighbors, sent your kids to school and sheltered you, you want to do your best by that land. Sometimes the best thing you can do is ensure that things stay just the way they are.

Ghosts of the Great Black Swamp are still alive in a small hayfield in Paulding County. Water sometimes rises in ancient pathways, and heavy rains bring the waters of the Marie DeLarme Creek back to old haunts in the field.

A big new classroom is being developed at Otsego Schools. It leaks a bit and can be cold in the winter but everyone is excited about it. The classroom in progress is 16 acres right across the street from the schools.

Imagine that you have 650,000 needles in a haystack. In that pile are some great needles: needles that are very valuable and make many of the other needles more valuable, too. But to find the best needles, you need to sort out every single needle and compare it to every other one. Now imagine that you have built a tool that will do that.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources included an update about our H2Ohio Huddle Project in its Winter 2022 Natural Areas Newsletter. The Huddle Project, now called Rotary Riverside Preserve, is a 57-acre property near Napoleon, with more than ¾ mile of Maumee River shoreline within its 100-year floodplain.

Inside a deep and playful curl in the Sandusky River north of Fremont are about 500 historic acres that have been saved over and over again. They are saved for good but – much like the river itself – it has been a long and winding path.

Even before the restoration is complete, wildlife is finding a home in the new wetlands of the Rotary Riverside Restoration Preserve in Henry County. After a recent rain, frogs were jumping into shallow wet depressions recently dug out. Turtles will soon sun themselves on higher hummocks and woody debris placed throughout the site.

Our local wild places are a gift to all of us. Everything we do as an organization is to preserve and enhance the natural habitats for the benefit of current and future generations. It’s how we thank nature for misty mornings, sensational sunsets and the multitude of other gifts she gives.

Once a farm, then a campground, and now a quiet lakeside park, the Dr. Robert L. Nehls Memorial Nature Preserve is 40 acres on the south end of Catawba Island’s West Harbor. The Nehls family owned and enjoyed the land for many years, using it as a family haven to enjoy nature. Following the death of veterinarian and nature lover Robert Nehls, his wife Norma decided to sell the land to Black Swamp Conservancy so it could be permanently preserved.

For more than 25 years, a variety of caretakers have slowly and lovingly worked to restore the 226-acre Little Auglaize Wildlife Preserve in Paulding County, converting it from farm fields to a diverse and healthy habitat. Now, due to grants secured through the research and persistence of the Black Swamp Conservancy, restoration efforts there are taking a big leap forward.

With new housing creeping toward what remains of the marshy shorelines and interior woods in this popular resort area, the Black Swamp Conservancy was pleased to recently be awarded a Clean Ohio grant for the purchase of two privately owned pieces on Catawba Island. One piece preserves 12 acres of pristine shoreline and the other is more than 19 acres of mature hardwood forest.

Our Maumee River starts small and slow, snaking through nearly flat land, coming north and east. Then, between Grand Rapids and Providence, Ohio, the river is wide and hits its first fast water and river rapids. Standing in the middle of the Maumee River there, shaped like a fish swimming upstream, is the beautiful 9-acre Howard Island. The waters of the Maumee roll around it from its nose to its tail and pick up speed falling around it down the shallow, rocky riverbed.

Wading through tall ripe grasses and fading wildflowers is a lovely way to spend a fall day. It’s also an important way to support the restoration efforts of the Black Swamp Conservancy. Our volunteers collect the seeds that we’ll use next season to restore additional acres of meadow and prairie.

In Ottawa County, there is a jewel of marshland in private hands that is protected by Black Swamp Conservancy through a permanent conservation agreement. It is about 70 acres tucked between a marina and farm fields, sharing a Turtle Creek border with the iconic Magee Marsh. The property is currently named South Lake Hunt Club, but it won’t be used for regular hunting anymore.

There’s a hidden wonderland in Paulding County, Ohio where pheasants nest, chorus frogs sing and river otters splash. Little Auglaize Wildlife Reserve is a veritable Shangri-la for more than 70 different documented species.

The workday starts early at the Conservancy’s new Clary-Boulee-McDonald Nature Preserve along Wolf Creek in Seneca County. Just after first light, heavy machinery starts moving, working to sculpt the landscape back to natural conditions.

So Wild a Place was our first big public event in a few years, and it was a great success! Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible by buying tickets or home celebration kits, volunteering their time and talent, and promoting the event. Special thanks to our auction donors and event sponsors, as well as Jimmy G’s BBQ for the delicious meal.

Historical accounts of swamps are rarely kind. Their still waters were a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Swamp land also made travel difficult and prevented agricultural pursuits and commercial development.

We had a great turnout for our first nature walk of the season with more than 30 people coming out to wade through black swamp muck and vernal pools to explore the early signs of spring at Bell Woods. Carpets of trillium lined our path through the woods, and we were treated to a myriad of ephemeral blooms along the way. And, the herons put on a great show, winging to and from their nests in care of their chicks.

Black Swamp Conservancy was recently chosen as one of only three organizations in the state to receive a temporary equipment grant from Ohio Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (OHPARC).

Storytelling is an ageless joy that keeps getting better. At several Black Swamp Conservancy-protected properties, families have enjoyed walking Storybook Trails for several years.

Thirty-five acres of mostly flood-prone farmland along the Maumee River near the North Turkeyfoot Wildlife Area in Henry County are about to be returned to natural habitats. Work is scheduled to start in June on this property that is full of potential.

Those who have joined us for wildflower walks through Bell Woods know just what an incredibly special place it is. In early spring, the great blue herons return to their rookery in an ancient sycamore tree near the center of the property to re-establish nests and raise the next generation.

Nature and time do most of the work on a restoration project. The staff of the Black Swamp Conservancy and our contractors help habitat development along. We restore topography for water retention, connect habitat that had been separated, and reintroduce native plants and encourage them to get their feet down deep and become well established. On the 75-acre Weisgerber- Pohlmann Nature Preserve north of Defiance, we are doing that and a little more to rebuild a diverse habitat.

The Black Swamp Conservancy is excited to share that our status as an accredited land trust program has been renewed. This endorsement is a mark of distinction that confirms the organization has strong leadership, uses best fiscal practices, and maintains the tools and operations to remain permanent stewards of the land it protects. It demonstrates confidence in our business practices and land management techniques.

The Toussaint Shooting Club features 1,100+ acres of coastal marshland wrapped in more than a mile of Lake Erie shoreline. It’s the second-longest stretch of undeveloped shoreline left unprotected on Lake Erie – at least until December 22nd when we officially protect the property with a conservation easement.

Any walk through a lush prairie garden opens the imagination and creates a sense of joy and wonder. Add a story to your stroll and a simple walk becomes a fresh exploration.

A new, large restoration initiative on a major tributary of the Sandusky River will soon become Seneca County’s newest park, a wholly natural area.

The Conservancy’s newest conservation project will protect a parcel of land that was threatened by development and, instead, create a living laboratory for students at Otsego schools to explore and supplement their classroom learning.

As stewards for more than 150 properties totaling nearly 20,000 acres, our staff and dedicated volunteers spend a lot of time in the field. We visit each of our properties at least once every year to monitor the conservation agreement.

Rob Krain, executive director of the Black Swamp Conservancy, has been appointed to a four-year term on the National Conservation Defense Advisory Council of the Land Trust Alliance. His term began June 2021.

A new tool that uses technology most people have in their pocket allows private citizens to help document growth and other changes in areas where Conservancy stewards are eager to see conservation in action.

Native plants thrive and pollinators flutter on two new two-story murals in urban Toledo. Both displays tell the story of how plants are part of the great water cycle, taking up water through filtered soil, creating flowers and seeds, and making a living landscape that supports life above ground and below.

This spring and summer, we’re putting final touches on four landscape-scale restoration projects and beginning three new ones. In all of these projects, we have been able to return critical lands back to natural habitats and improve water quality.

Exploring the newest and largest Conservancy project, it’s easy to imagine Ohio’s first residents enjoying this pristine and beautiful region. A narrow, sandy beach on Lake Erie’s coastline extends as far as we can see.

The Dr. Robert L. Nehls Memorial Nature Preserve on Catawba Island is well on its way to becoming a new, special resource for nature lovers. The 40-acre lakeshore property on West Harbor has been Conservancy property since 2019.

Wildlife use a lot of strategies to survive winter, but they boil down to three basic options: go south, sleep it off, or just tough it out.

In 2019, Ohio set forth a bold vision to improve water quality in Lake Erie and throughout the State with the advent of the H2Ohio program. This new program is now resulting in on-the-ground work that will have long-reaching benefits.

If Misty Copeland and Michael Phelps had a bird baby, it would be a Sandhill Crane. With a wingspan of up to seven feet, Sandhill Cranes spend most of their lives pirouetting and leaping in freshwater wetlands.

Quarantine stopped a lot of things this year, including our annual fundraiser, but it didn’t hold us back from completing the installation of new native gardens at our Homestead. The former landscaping, which contained mostly non-native ornamental species, was removed in late 2019. The new native landscaping features more than 250 native shrubs and plugs.

Conservation is more effective – and more fun – when it’s a collaborative effort, and we have a wonderful partner in Nature’s Nursery. Dedicated to improving the well-being of Northwest Ohio wildlife populations and habitats, our friends at Nature’s Nursery provide medical care and rehabilitation to injured, orphaned or ailing wild animals.

In 2019, The Toledo Zoo, along with several partners, were awarded a competitive state wildlife grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct Blanding’s Turtles surveys in Michigan and Ohio. The goal of this project was to fill in data gaps by assessing Blanding’s Turtles (an Ohio Threatened Species) populations using standardized surveys, genetic analyses, and distribution models to guide management efforts.

Conservation is a team sport, and Black Swamp Conservancy often works with partners (park districts, state & federal agencies and other nonprofit organizations) to protect and restore land in northwest Ohio.

Wetlands are some of the most biologically productive habitats on earth. They are also incredibly efficient at removing pollutants from the water. That’s why Black Swamp Conservancy has been working so hard in recent years to restore wetlands across northwest Ohio.

Everyone who lives in Bowling Green, Ohio has a park within 1.5 miles of their home. It’s a point of pride for the city, especially for the Parks and Recreation Department, which has worked diligently for many years to create open spaces that appeal to the many recreational interests of the community.

In 2015, the Conservancy small farmhouse in rural Wood County and established a permanent office space. That moved our daily operations closer to our work. The office abuts Bell Woods, one of the finest remnants of the Historic Great Black Swamp, which is protected by a permanent conservation agreement.

These last several months have been challenging for all of us as the threat of Coronavirus has disrupted nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Through all of this upheaval, the undeniable healing power of nature has remained a constant and the importance of its protection has been more evident than ever before.

A one-mile stretch of the Maumee River has been transformed from a frequently flooded farm field back to a functioning streamside forest by the Black Swamp Conservancy. The Paulding County property was purchased in 2017 as an addition to the Conservancy’s 393-acre Forrest Woods Nature Preserve.

Black Swamp Conservancy recently finalized the purchase of a new 140-acre nature preserve in Williams County. The St. Joseph’s Confluence Preserve takes its name from the east and west branches of the river, which converge on the property.

With your help, Black Swamp Conservancy is making a difference in northwest Ohio. In 2019, the Conservancy completed thirteen new conservation projects, protecting another 1,840 acres of land in our community – forever.

Black Swamp Conservancy protects more than 19,000 acres on 145 properties in Northwest Ohio. The diverse habitats we protect are also home to more than 60 rare, threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna.

Simply put, water is life. Yet, communities throughout the state have long-faced water quality issues caused by nutrient pollution, failing septic tanks, and lead contamination. H2Ohio, a new environmental program recently established by the state, aims to change all that.

This past spring, Michael Schiewer of Herbaceous, ltd. – the first participant in our Food & Farm Initiative – began operations on Conservancy land. As the winds begin to chill and herb beds are put to rest for the winter, we spoke with Mike about his experiences this season.

Land trusts like Black Swamp Conservancy partner with the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Office of Farmland Preservation and landowners to establish agricultural easements that keep farmland under private ownership and protect it against future non‐agricultural development.

Do not bathe or wash clothes. Do not cook with tap water. Definitely, do not drink the water. These were our directives in August 2014 after a perfect storm of nutrient pollution, soaring temperatures and swirling winds led to a poisonous algal bloom in Lake Erie that contaminated our local water intake. But Lake Erie was in trouble long before that.

With more than 164 species identified in Ohio alone, dragonflies and damselflies are an important indicator of the health of our wetlands and water. The Ohio Dragonfly Project, a joint effort between the Ohio Odonata Society and the Ohio Division of Wildlife, is currently underway (through July 10) to update a survey completed between 1991 and 2001.

Construction is set to begin this month to create streamside forests and wetlands on a 48-acre site along the Maumee River in Paulding County, which is part of Forrest Woods Nature Preserve. The Forrest Riverland project will expand habitat for birds, animals and fish while reducing nutrients and sediment entering the Maumee.

Our Food & Farm Initiative’s first farm is coming to life, and it’s an experience reflective of all the other farmers in northwest Ohio this spring.

Certainly, one of my favorite Oak Openings Region spring ephemerals, is the Large-flowered Trillium. It will flower, produce seeds and store nutrients for the following spring within a short time. Then it returns underground for the remainder of the year leaving only a bare stalk with seeds into the summer.

Some of the earliest visitors to Forrest Woods Nature Preserve took part in many of the same activities we do along the Maumee River today: boating, fishing, hunting and camping. But they were here long before us – likely during the Late Woodland Period (400 – 950 AD).