Adams Soil and Water Conservation District

News you need to know...

It's Time To Collect Milkweed Pods!

Up the Creek With A Paddle

WHEN SHOULD I PICK MILKWEED PODS?
Let's talk about the harvest and storage of Milkweed! We realize that everyone wants to participate in the seed collection, but we need your help to make sure that the seeds are mature enough to be used for plantings in the future.
Common Milkweed Harvesting Tips

If pods are bright green, they are not ripe or ready to be collected.
Ready to pull pods will be gold/yellow or gray to brown in color.
Don't collect pods that are already open, as they might be infested with insects.
Test the seams of the pod, if they easily "pop" open with gentle pressure they are ready.
Freshly collected pods should be dried and kept in paper grocery bags (not plastic!).

We are only collecting pods from common milkweed, not butterfly weed, Indian hemp, swamp milkweed or related plants.

We have a collection bin just outside the entrance to our office during the day, 8:00 - 4:30. Just place your pods inside it.

By Tabby Arnold, Adams SWCD Conservation Technician

On Friday May 13th, the 32nd Annual Ohio Brush Creek took place. This was the first sweep that has happened since 2019, before the pandemic and it was a “sweeping” success. Considering that there was a two-year gap since the last sweep took place, I’m sure you can imagine the amount of debris and garbage that had made its way into the stream. The total amount of pounds removed off the creek was 2520 lbs. That is made up of 480 lbs. of metals, 39 car tires off the rim, 1 car tire on the rim, 8 truck tires (a total of 1440 lbs. just in tires), and 600 lbs. of garbage.

This was the first year I was involved with this event, and I have gained a whole new respect for it. Seeing everything from the coordination and planning that it took, to seeing the physical labor that it requires was absolutely mind blowing. As someone who works in the conservation field as my day to day, job I realized that garbage made its way into the creek, but I never would have thought that there would be this much.

Ohio Brush Creek is one of the cleaner streams in the state of Ohio and we have this hands-on, feet-wet program to thank for that. I can’t even begin to imagine how much debris and garbage would have built up in the stream over the last 32 years without this program. We probably wouldn’t be able to call it one of the cleaner streams in Ohio.

There were 16 volunteers that participated in the Sweep this year. They paddled 5.4 miles of the stream. All that debris was only in 5.4 miles. Imagine how much is along the rest of the stream. They even tied together several canoes in order to get an abandoned john boat off the stream. The john boat itself accounted for 300 lbs. of the metal. It took 3 canoes and six people to paddle that in and that’s not the only thing they had in their canoes.

Getting to see all this take place was astounding to me. It is impressive that people from the community came together just to clean up the stream. Some of the volunteers weren’t even residents of Adams County but were there with a helping hand and ready to improve the beautiful stream that runs through the county. These volunteers do this to keep it beautiful for everyone in the communities surrounding the stream. So, the next time you are enjoying this beautiful stream remember to take your garbage with you so that you can be a part of the cause and keep it beautiful too.

Take a gaze at this Grazing video!

Adams County Visitor Guide

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BOBCAT KIND

The Bobcat is often talked about but seldom seen here in Ohio. Historically it was common throughout most of Ohio until habitat destruction took its toll and ultimately led to this species being extirpated (gone from a certain geographic area) from Ohio by about 1850. As forests and habitat returned in the mid-1900’s, so did this apex predator. Because of the scarcity of this carnivore it was listed as an Ohio Endangered Species for many years. As trail cameras became more popular and more verified sightings occurred, the state eventually removed it from the Ohio Endangered and Threatened Species list in 2014. The sightings continue to rise.
The chance sighting of one of these magnificent creatures in the wild continues to be few and far between. Most sightings are as one streak across the road at dusk or dawn. Their numbers have now risen to the point that a few years ago there was an effort to have a limited trapping season on them in select counties. Although there is still no trapping season for them, bobcats occasionally incidentally find themselves caught in a leg hold trap and must be released unharmed. How? one might ask. The answer…VERY CAREFULLY!
It is important to note that any wild animal is likely going to defend itself when captured or cornered and therefore you need to be extremely cautious while releasing it. The safest way is to use a sheet of plywood with a small half circle cut out at the bottom, which allows you to place it over the foot and trap and protect you from the animal. Ideally you should have two people working on this together for safety. A third person is even better to take video of the event and to call 911 if needed!
It is important to note that although uncomfortable while in the trap, the bobcat was not harmed and was released with no injuries.

Here are some pictures and a video of an incidental trapping of a bobcat in Adams County in December 2020.

A PADDLER'S GUIDE TO OHIO BRUSH CREEK
SCAN CODE
or click here for pdf