Appalachian Ohio Alliance (AOA) recently acquired a 1,200-acre tract of hardwood forest in Northern Athens County from the Sunday Creek Coal Company. The property known as “Taylor Ridge” will be officially named the Trimble Township Community Forest in recognition of Trimble Township and its residents. Thanks to our partner - the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife - who contributed the required 25% matching funds, we successfully obtained a grant through the Ohio Department of Public Works’ Clean Ohio Fund. This grant provided the remaining 75% of the seller’s price, allowing us to complete the purchase. Local residents helped make this project a success by voicing their desire to conserve wildlife habitat and provide for public lands. This large parcel of habitat will help to connect the Wayne National Forest with the Trimble Wildlife area.
AOA has established a local citizens’ land management committee for the Community Forest that meets monthly at the Sunday Creek Watershed office, in Glouster. This land will then be managed with the assistance of ODNR’s Division of Wildlife as a Wildlife Area. The preserve is open to the public for hiking and hunting, and will remain as such in perpetuity.
The land management committee hit the ground running on August 25 by cleaning up the illegal dumpsite located at the entrance of the Community Forest just off of Derthic Road. A crew of 25 spent the morning cleaning up 13 cubic yards of trash, construction material, and approximately 40 tires. A group of adjacent landowners and committee members are relocating the gate closer to the road. This will prevent illegal dumpers from pulling off into the woods and conveniently dumping out of sight.
In addition to the illegal dumping project the land management committee is working with Trimble High School to adopt the Community Forest as their Land Lab. Principal Hensley and the Science Teachers have shown their interest in the Land Lab by allowing a group of approximately 30 interested students to meet with committee members once a month. In October the students were asked to brainstorm ideas that they had for the Land Lab. The High School students will take a field trip to visit the Community Forest in their November meeting. Once they visit the Land Lab site they will have a better understanding of its potential.
Having a Land Lab for the Trimble High School students to develop and foster is a huge asset for the community. The 1,200 acre Forest is an ecologically diverse tract of land that will provide equally diverse educational opportunities: from installing and monitoring duck and blue bird boxes, to photography and journalism pieces detailing the Land Lab’s progress. A great deal of cooperation and teamwork between Trimble High School, local residents, AOA and the Sunday Creek Watershed Group has occurred to get this project started. We appreciate the energy that the Land Lab project has developed in the community and look forward to the future Trimble High School Land Lab.