All Categories

8/19/2019

The Enjoyment of Raven Rocks

Read Now

This video was passed on to us and features the very first conservation easement held by the Captina Conservancy. At just over 1000 acres, perhaps this video will help explain why the landowners wanted it protected. You can learn more about the people behind saving Raven Rocks here: http://www.raven-rocks.org/.

Raven Rocks is located in southern Belmont County. It is privately owned, but the public is invited and encouraged to explore this hidden feature that reveals itself in a big way as soon as you take the path into the woods and head down the stairs.

As a gentle reminder, this place is protected by a conservation easement. It is meant to be enjoyed forever, not abused and destroyed by humans. Stairs have been constructed to allow for easier access and to prevent slope erosion by visitors, but there are no rails for the steep edges. Please, spend some time here, but remember the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace so others can experience having their breath taken away as well.

The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace and how they apply to visiting Raven Rocks

Plan Ahead and Prepare: rocks are slippery in the rain and dew. The ravine is noticeably colder than the start of the trail. This site is not handicapped accessible. Watch your step as it is uneven terrain. Be CAUTIOUS if you intend on going immediately following a heavy rain or after snow melt as conditions of the stream can be very flashy.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: there is no camping permitted in Raven Rocks. Please use the stairs provided for your safety. There is no marked trail through the ravine (it's easy to see where it goes), but step lightly while exploring the rest of the area.
Dispose of Waste Properly: for your convenience, there are recycling and trash barrels provided at the trail head, but please do not leave trash bundled outside of the barrel if it is full (haul it back with you - pack it in pack it out). Don't forget the cigarette butts and juice box straw wrappers!
Leave What You Find: people have been enjoying this site for thousands of years and our goal is for it to be around for another thousand years at least. So ,"take only pictures, leave only footprints".
Minimize Campfire Impacts: this one is easy too as there are no campfires permitted in Raven Rocks.
Respect Wildlife: Raven Rocks provides a unique microclimate which allows plants and animals to flourish where they shouldn't be able to geographically. The stream that flows through most of the year is a headwater stream. The crisp, clear waters are vital for aquatic organisms.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors: people go to the outdoors for many reasons. It is certainly not to see messages like "Micky was here 10/14" spray painted next to the waterfall or "JM+RA" scratched into a rock with the moss torn away. Whether it's for peace, pictures, fresh air, or whatever, respect this property the way you want to see and use it. It's not a library, so you don't have to be quiet, but maybe you don't need your music to play above the bird chatter.

Learn more about Leave No Trace here: https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/

2 Comments

6/20/2019

All rainbows lead to Captina Creek Watershed.

1 Comment

Read Now

Not much needs to be said about this photo except that it was captured by our drone operator, Jonathan, on Tuesday, June 18.

1 Comment

6/12/2019

Bobolink Bonanza Recap

1 Comment

Read Now

Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Red-wing Blackbird
Killdeer
Eastern Kingbird
Savanna Sparrow
Willow Flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Great Blue Heron
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Warbling Vireo
Baltimore Oriole
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Canada Goose
Goldfinch
Phoebe
Turkey Vulture
Brown Thrasher
Mourning Dove
Great Crested Flycatcher
Ibis
Orchard Oriole
Red-tail Hawk
Bluebird
Horned Lark
Wood Thrush
Scarlet Tanager
American Kestrel
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
American Crow
Chipping Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow
Red-eyed Vireo

June 1st not only brought a break in the weather, but over 60 people to Dickinson Cattle Company for the Bobolink Bonanza. Between the free shirts, door prizes, and peacocks, visitors saw or heard a collective 40 birds over the reclaimed strip-land pastures. In 2018, we saw 34 types of birds. Neither year would have been successful without the incredible members of the Brooks Bird Club.

While most species were to be expected, two Ibis were spotted. The Ibis resembles a cross between an egret and a stork or heron and are more commonly found along coastal areas. Perhaps these two were blown off course with the recent storms, but no one could get close enough to ask them.

Cabelas was on hand with a variety of binoculars and a scope for demonstration. Barnesville's Country Sunshiners 4H Club provided food and donated all proceeds to fairground improvements. Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District and Captina Conservancy were around to talk about services each organization offers.

The Bobolink Bonanza organizers would like to thank t-shirt sponsors Belmont County Tourism Council, Woodsfield Savings Bank, and Captina Conservancy, as well as door prize donors Belmont Mills, Rural King, and Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District.

Check out the list to the left for found birds!

Photo credit: Daniel Caron

1 Comment

5/17/2019

Wildflower Walk, a blooming success

0 Comments

Read Now

Wild flowers and other herbaceous plants
Common blue violet
Yellow violet
White violet
Common Buttercup
Kidney leaf buttercup
Spring cress
Cut-leaf toothwort
Pennsylvania bittercress
Black mustard
Garlic mustard (invasive)
Spring beauty
Large flowered trillium
Toad shade
Ramps (wild leek)
Golden ragwort
Miterwort
Greek valerian
Bloodroot
Mayapple
Spring forget-me-not
Northern bedstraw
Cleavers
Wild geranium
Spring larkspur
Wild ginger
Sharp lobed hepatica
Perfoliate or Sessile bellwort
Sweet cicely
Virginia bluebells
Plantain leaved pussytoes
Golden alexanders
Common bluet
Trout lily
Rue anemone
Early saxifrage
Daisy fleabane
Colts foot
Broad leaved waterleaf
Wild blue phlox
Henbit
Ground ivy
Christmas fern
Grape fern (Botrichium sp.)
Stonecrop
Sour dock
Wild strawberry
Chickweed

Birds (seen or heard)
Canada Goose
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Carolina Chickadee
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Northern C

Trees and shrubs (Some in bloom)
American Elm
Sycamore
Box elder
Redbud
Flowering Dogwood
Silver Maple
Red Maple
White ash (most dead from the ash borer)
White oak
Northern red oak
Yellow buckeye
Black walnut
Black willow
Sassafras
Tuliptree
Pawpaw
Black-haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
Autumn olive (invasive)
Multiflora rose
Bitternut hickory
Shagbark hickory
Spice bush
Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.)
Ironwood
Wild honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica var. glaucescens)

0 Comments

4/9/2019

April 09th, 2019

0 Comments

Read Now

The US Forest Service has teamed up with the Ad Council to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act, which occurred in August 2018. I just heard one of the radio advertisements today.

This PSA campaign couldn't come at a more pressing time. In a world inundated with technology and constant notifications, we, especially kids, are spending more time looking down than around. Stop reading this for 30 seconds and take a look around yourself.

This campaign doesn't promote putting the technology away completely. Several of the tools are interactive trails and forest locators. And it also doesn't blowing the dust off the encyclopedias, but the campaign does emphasizes getting outside to get some questions answered. After all, that's how it was done.

Check out more of the PSAs here and see why "some answers can only be found on the trail."

0 Comments

<<Previous

Forward>>

Blog

The Enjoyment of Raven Rocks

All rainbows lead to Captina Creek Watershed.

Bobolink Bonanza Recap

Wildflower Walk, a blooming success

April 09th, 2019

Archives

Categories

FOLLOW US

SEARCH

CONTACT US

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST