Top fall foliage trails in northeast Ohio

Well, the asters of September are starting to fade, and the leaves are yellowing on the swaying branches overhead.

The nights are crisp and cool, the days growing shorter. Soon, fall color will be everywhere. Check out the top 6 northeast Ohio trails for fall color. Get out and enjoy the fall air, the smell of winter setting in. Take your kids out to check out changing sights, and enjoy the cool, less buggy nights.

If you have other favorite fall foliage spots, whether in northeast Ohio or not, let's hear about them in the comments.

Hiking the Buckeye Trail in Bedford Reservation

This 9.7 mile segment of the Buckeye Trail takes you along the top of the Tinker's Creek Gorge, a National Natural Landmark. The hiker can also get a great look at Bridal Veil Falls, a 30-foot tall waterfall shaded by towering hemlock trees.

read more | digg story

Northeast Ohio parks buck national trend, attendance is up

While park visitation may be down on the whole, in northeast Ohio, park attendance is up 20% in recent times.

Is it because we have better parks? More Parks? People more in tune with Nature? Bad statistics? Whatever the reason, neoNaturalist.com encourages you to continue this trend and check out Ohio Parks on neoNaturalist.com.

Read more about the trends in park visitation here:

read more | digg story

Time for steelhead fishing to begin for the fall.

Soon, cooler temperatures and perfect water levels will signal the ideal time for steelhead fishing around northeast Ohio. Steelhead fishing is great on Conneaut Creek, the Ashtabula River, the Grand River, the Chagrin River, Rocky River, Vermilion River, and even spots on the Cuyahoga. This challenging outdoor pursuit is not for the faint-hearted. Cold rushing water, cold air, and feisty fish make steelhead fishing strenuous, so be careful.

To learn more check out the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders web site. If you are so inclined, join the group. Their President, Joe Moravec and the rest of the Central Basin Steelheaders care about nature and conservation and our northeast Ohio environment. Their club shows it by participating in and leading a number of efforts at education throughout the year, as well as supporting conservation groups in the area.

Check out this article in the Plain Dealer for yet more information: Cooler weather brings steelhead - Cleveland.com:

Portage Park District Video

Support Issue 32- Portage Park District, the Natural Choice for You! The Portage County, Ohio park district is seeking its first ever dedicated funding, a 1/2 mill property tax that will cost property owners $1.50 per month per $100,000 of property value. This small investment will allow the park district to bring millions of dollars of state and federal matching grants back to Portage County, and will allow the park district to operate clean, safe parks close to home. Check out this video and support the Portage Parks! Check out the levy campaign's web site at www.citizensforportageparks.org.

read more | digg story

California's 220 MPH High-Speed Train Will Be Emissions-Free

As if the announcement of a high-speed rail line that will go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes isn’t exciting enough, Navigant Consulting now claims that the bullet train can run with zero greenhouse gas emissions.

neoNaturalist.com is all about connecting people to nature. We think that smart transportation choices show respect for nature and thus do draw us closer. But, what are the cascading effects that we will then have to deal with?

Check out this story about a new high speed rail project in California that claims to be emission free and comment on whether or not you think high speed, zero emissions trains are good or bad for the environment and Nature. What about the potential to stimulate more intense or extensive urban sprawl?

read more | digg story

Their lives depend on it-Get your kids outside!

As naturalist William Hudson tells us in On Taking Kids Outside, children need to be exposed to the outdoors to thrive and connect to the real nature all around us.

Don't just take our word for it. In the newspaper article linked below, Jennie Vasarhelyi, Chief of interpretation, education and visitor services for Cuyahoga Valley National Park tells us all about it, and throws in a schedule of events to boot.

Enjoy! Akron Ohio News - Outdoors benefits children’s well-being

Division of Wildlife engaging Birders in Conservation

Hunters have bought Duck Stamps for almost a hundred years to help conserve waterfowl habitat. Will Ohio birders soon be able to purchase a "Bird Stamp" to support conservation or other bird habitat? Read about this at the Plain Dealer's web site: Should birders have to pay to play? | Ohio Birding - cleveland.com.

Seems to me to be a no-brainer. There should be Bird Stamps, Fish Stamps (maybe even Steelhead, Bass, Walleye and other gamefish separately), and private land conservation stamps. Anything that we all can do to help the state and private entities out there conserving land ought to be done. If birding is our outdoor recreational activity of choice, we should have the opportunity to support our habit by helping to preserve habitat.

If just 2% of the birders who seek out our feathered friends in Ohio each year would buy a Bird Stamp, at $25.00 each, it would raise $1.5 million dollars per year. This could pay for preservation of lots of habitat. Especially when you consider that the money can be used to match federal grant programs that magnify the impact of our local & state money.

If you agree, contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife at the address or number listed here.

Tree Farm Trail

We walked the Tree Farm Trail at the Horseshoe Pond area of Cuyahoga Valley National Park last evening with the kids. We got to watch a great blue heron patiently waiting for a chance to spear its dinner in the shallows of the pond. Also saw greater lobelia along the connector trail that takes you to the picnic shelter on the peninsula of Horseshoe Pond.

Back to the topic of the Asters of September, we did see smooth aster, and New England aster along the trail, as well as a host of other beautiful late season wildflowers. This is the perfect time to get out and see these wonderful colorful natural works of art.

I could feel winter moving closer, and see fall in the yellowing leaves of the maples and ashes. Get outside and see the wildflowers before the opportunity is gone for the year. Time flies.

Fall migrations playing near you!

My last post, about the Asters of September, reminded me that we will soon be seeing lots of changes in Nature. Late summer and fall is the time of wildlife migration. Birds, butterflies, dragonflies,, whales, bats and other creatures change their routines at this time. In Northeast Ohio, we are blessed with several flyways crossing our skies.

This month and next month are a great time to get out and explore Nature, witnessing the diversity of wildlife as the birds fly through. We have some great federal parks and preserves in Ohio, and an abundance of state lands suitable for observing bird migrations as well.

Check out this article from enature.com about fall migrations to learn a bit more: eNature: The Fall Lineup.

You choose- Spring or late summer wild flowers?

I used to pine for the coming of spring, with its trillium, and violets, and spring cress, and toothwort. From the depths of the winter with its colorless lull, I would envision the spring ephemerals and believe these spring beauties were the most magnificent of all.

Now I know, as I remember each year after August, that it is the asters of September that hold the crown. I take that back. It is not just the asters, it is late summer wildflowers in general that deserve the title of the most vibrant visions across the landscape. The goldenrods, asters, Joe Pye, ironweed, thistles. All of these create a tapestry of color on the September hills.

Today I was out on the Cross Country Trail at Virginia Kendall (Cuyahoga Valley National Park). Dozens of wild flowers lined the trail, both in the forested and field sections of the trail. September is the perfect time to see white snake root among other things. White berries weigh down the slender branches of gray dogwood shrubs. Berries abound on non-native Russian Olives, Hawthorns, Doll's Eye, and many other plants.

After reading naturalist William Hudson's "Tribute to Late Bloomers", and getting out to explore Nature in the September sunshine, I think you'll agree that the Asters and wildflowers of September are a sight we should always remember.

What do you think?

Western Reserve Land Conservancy - Plain Dealer Living News - Cleveland.com

Western Reserve Land Conservancy - Plain Dealer Living News - Cleveland.com

Here is an article about a program I gave last month-I missed it in the newspaper, but just found it online randomly. One of the most important things we can do for Nature is to conserve habitats. Read more about land conservation at Western Reserve Land Conservancy's web page.

Urban WindCubes!

Green Energy Technologies. Wind Energy for Your World.: "the future of wind energy- The WindCube 55kW rated wind turbine is designed for high power users in the urban environment."

Us neoNaturalists are all for thinking outside the box, but here is a case where thinking inside the box may be a better solution for all of us. These new wind generators are enclosed in a box that turns into the wind, always keeping the best angle for power generation. The boxes can be screened to prevent bird injury as well. The WindCubes are stackable and might just be the next breakthrough in wind energy- check it out!

Hocking Hills the Fall

I have always loved the other-worldly feel of the Hocking Hills area. The rock outcroppings, caves, mature forests and hilly landscape all make for some exciting and sometimes challenging hiking. Not to mention the feeling that you are walking through a natural "place of power". It just feels to me like the Earth's energy is very close to the surface in the region. You can close your eyes and almost feel the vital energy that holds us all together pulsing through the rocks and trees and streams. Check out this Plain Dealer article to learn more about the hunting, fishing, and natural relaxation options:

Hocking Hills fine in the fall - Cleveland Outdoors by D'Arcy Egan | The Plain Dealer - Cleveland.com