Jane Beathard

While black bears are becoming a more common sight in Ohio these days, the big male captured and collared in this northeast Ohio county in mid-June is a rarity.
Most adult male black bears weigh between 150 and 700 pounds and average about 300 pounds, according to published reports.
The Ashtabula County bear weighed 576 pounds. Katie Dennison, a biologist with the Ohio DNR (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, called the bear “unexpected” in the state.

The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving forward with plans to open a unit of the Wayne National Forest in southeast Ohio to leasing by oil and gas companies.
The BLM proposes opening 2,840 acres of the forest in Monroe and Washington counties (Marietta unit of the Wayne) to leasing. Bids are slated to be taken in September on 41 parcels. Comments from the public regarding the leasing proposal were taken from May 18 to June 17.

A three-year research project to measure the success of H2Ohio and its overall effect on Ohio’s environment is underway at 80 sites along Lake Erie and in many of the state’s restored wetlands.
Secretive marsh birds are at the center of a three-year study to determine their presence in the Great Lakes region, according to Rachel Mansfield, a doctoral student at Wright State University.

Adults and children of all ages can learn the importance of maintaining pollution-free rivers and streams in Ohio and elsewhere from a new interactive exhibit at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus.
Project: Ripple Effect opened April 3 with a ribbon cutting by COSI President and CEO Frederic Bertley, Ph.D, and Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio DNR (ODNR).

Despite 1,337 public comments against the move, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission opened 513 additional acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County and 8,233 additional acres of Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont and Guernsey counties to leasing by oil and gas companies.
The decision came during the commission’s March 27 meeting.

A total of 860 outdoor enthusiasts attended the Ohio Wildlife Diversity Conference on March 11 at Ohio State University (OSU).
This year’s theme, “Celebrating Success,” focused on the positive restoration of certain native Ohio wildlife species – most especially since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972.