Ohio

Native plant update: Of Ohio’s 1,800 native plants species, 271 are endangered, 93 are gone

Published

8 months ago

March 16, 2024

Native plant update: Of Ohio’s 1,800 native plants species, 271 are endangered, 93 are gone

Jim McCormac
| Special to The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio is a crossroads state when it comes to natural history. A convergence of major habitat types comes together in our region, spawning a great diversity of flora, which in turn means a vast array of fauna. Midwestern prairies reach their eastern terminus here. While scattered relicts occur further east, about 5% of Ohio was prairie at the time of European settlement. Indiana was 15% prairie, Illinois about 60%, and Iowa 80%. The formerly great Midwestern prairies have largely been eradicated, with less than a percent remaining.

Boreal forests and bogs dipped into Ohio from the north, offering a taste of Canada. The Appalachian Mountains reach their western limits here; 32 of the state’s 88 counties are considered part of Appalachia. Four hundred and fifty one miles of the mighty Ohio River form Ohio’s southern boundary. The valley of this great stream is the northernmost limits for a number of southern plants.

All of this ecological diversity means plants, and lots of them. About 1,800 native species have been documented in Ohio. Unfortunately, we’ve been very hard on habitat.

In 1800, Ohio’s human population was about 45,000. Today, it is approaching 12 million, an increase of 26,527%. This avalanche of humanity has wrought great changes in our natural resources. Of Ohio’s 1,430,000 acres of pre-settlement prairie, less than one-tenth of a percent remain. Ninety-two percent of our bogs and other peatlands have been destroyed. While 95% forested at the time of settlement, Ohio’s forest cover has dipped to as low as 10%, and is about 33% today. Forestry practices and fragmentation have greatly diminished the ecological value of many remaining forested tracts.

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A great many of those 1,800 native plant species have taken it on the chin due to the hand of man. Nearly 650 species are now listed as being in some degree of imperilment by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP). DNAP is the state’s authority on Ohio’s flora and maintains the biennially updated Rare Native Ohio Plants Status List. The most recent iteration lists 271 endangered, 159 threatened, and 92 potentially threatened species. A further 93 species are considered extirpated — gone from the state.

Sometimes plants are thought to be rare because of their obscurity factor. They are difficult-to-identify species such as grasses and sedges, known by few people, and their true status can be tough to quantify. Over time, however, botanists are usually able to accurately determine their status and many such plants have had their status downgraded or been removed from the list altogether. Other species are at the edges of their ranges in Ohio, and may only occur in a county or two, although they are common elsewhere. Some plants are genuinely rare, such as the five federally threatened species found in Ohio.

The gorilla in the room is habitat destruction, though. In 1837, a displaced Vermonter living in Illinois, John Deere, launched his steel chisel plow. It didn’t take long for the vast Midwestern prairies — some of America’s richest biodiversity — to become America’s breadbasket. Scores of prairie specialist plants were replaced with a botanical triumvirate of beans, corn and wheat.

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Cities and suburban sprawl have displaced forests and meadows, and poor treatment of Ohio’s 60,000 miles of streams and numerous natural lakes have led to greatly diminished water quality. One group of aquatic plants, pondweeds in the genus Potamogeton, have been especially hard-hit. Of the 23 species, six are endangered, one is threatened, two are potentially threatened, and five are no longer known to occur in Ohio.

Twelve species are listed as imperiled in Franklin County. Two are endangered and one of those is a beautiful little mustard known as spreading rock cress (Arabis patens). It is especially significant as it was discovered by botanist William Sullivant on rocky cliffs along the Scioto River in Dublin in 1842. Probably less than 100 plants survive. Sullivant’s father was Lucas Sullivant, founder of Franklinton.

Conservation and restoration of habitat is the most important thing that we can do to protect Ohio’s rich biodiversity. Only about 4% of Ohio is protected in the form of parks, wildlife areas, nature preserves, national forest and the like. The Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, various county parks and other conservation organizations have done much to ensure the perpetuation of our botanical heritage. But much more remains to be done if we are to arrest the decline in Ohio’s flora, and ideally, increase our botanical diversity.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

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Ohio

Judge rejects 2nd Amendment argument from illegal immigrant living in Ohio charged over possession of 170 guns

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25 mins ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Judge rejects 2nd Amendment argument from illegal immigrant living in Ohio charged over possession of 170 guns

A federal judge denied a request to dismiss a gun charge against an illegal immigrant in Ohio who had been in the U.S. for more than 15 years, rejecting the man’s argument that he has a right to bear arms.

Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was charged earlier this year and was subsequently indicted for possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the U.S., according to WSYX.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began investigating and watching Serrano-Restrepo after he purchased at least 22 firearms, and claimed to be a U.S. citizen on the firearms forms.

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Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was charged earlier this year and was subsequently indicted for possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the U.S. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

Agents conducted a search of his home and seized roughly 170 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and smoke/marine markers.

Serrano-Restrepo said some of the guns were purchased for self-defense.

Photos that agents took at his home revealed he kept firearms in gun safes. Some handguns were also mounted in holsters on the wall of a closet.

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Agents conducted a search of the suspect’s home and seized roughly 170 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and smoke/marine markers. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

The suspect’s lawyer submitted a motion to dismiss the charge on the argument that he has the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

The judge denied his motion to dismiss the charge on Thursday, writing in his opinion that “disarming unlawful immigrants like Mr. Serrano-Restrepo who have not sworn allegiance to the United States comports with the Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.”

“Mr. Serrano-Restrepo’s as-applied challenge lacks merit,” the judge continued. “The swearing of an oath of allegiance occurs through the naturalization process, not through his asylum application or his years of living in the United States.”

A judge denied Carlos Serrano-Restrepo’s motion to dismiss a gun charge. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

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His trial is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2025.

Serrano-Restrepo moved from Arizona to Orient, Ohio, in 2022. He told the court he last unlawfully entered the U.S. in 2008.

He also owns a business that remediates fire and flooding damage.

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Ohio

Ohio State Buckeyes’ Biggest Weakness Revealed Before Michigan Game

Published

8 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Ohio State Buckeyes’ Biggest Weakness Revealed Before Michigan Game

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to take care of business against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. Now, they are set to prepare for the massive rivalry matchup against the Michigan Wolverines to end the regular season.

Ohio State has been unable to beat Michigan for the last three years. In order to get a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, they’ll need to snap that losing streak.

At this point in the year, the Buckeyes absolutely look like a national championship favorite. However, there is one weakness that is worth monitoring.

David Pollack, a former star college football linebacker and a current analyst, spoke out about the one weakness that he sees with Ohio State.

“I don’t see a lot of gamewreckers,” Pollack said. “But I don’t see a lot of weaknesses, except at the cornerback spot. I’ve got to address the cornerback spot as a weakness. I’ve seen enough to know. There are enough penalties back there, enough flags, enough big plays that it’s not a strength.”

All season long, the Buckeyes’ cornerbacks have underperformed. Denzel Burke has looked nothing like the expected first-round pick talent that he was being hyped up to be. Davison Igbinosun has been heavily penalized and has struggled as well.

Going up against other elite national championship contenders will be a tough task with a struggling secondary.

Outside of the cornerback position, everything else seems to look solid. If they can fix the issues and get better production out of it, they would be a much more complete contender.

Thankfully, the talent is there for them to improve. Both Burke and Igbinosun are talented players who have simply struggled this season. They are more than capable of turning things around.

All of that being said, the stage has been set for Ohio State and Michigan. On paper, the Buckeyes should be able to dominate the game, but rivalry games can get tricky. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening.

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Paul Finebaum names CFP National Champion favorite between Oregon, Ohio State

Published

17 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Paul Finebaum names CFP National Champion favorite between Oregon, Ohio State

With just one week remaining in the regular season, there is only one team across all of college football that remains undefeated at this point: the Oregon Ducks.

So, it stands to reason that the undefeated Ducks should be the favorite to end the 2024 hoisting the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, right?

Not according to SEC Network host and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum.

“I’m ‘Paul Out’ with block letters. I don’t even think Oregon is the best team in the Big Ten, let alone the favorite to win it all,” Finebaum said during Sunday morning’s ‘Paul-In, Paul-Out’ segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “And thanks Ducks fans waking up on the West coast, I’m aware that you beat Ohio State. But Ohio State, to me, looks like the best team in the country.

“I think they’ll have a fun game in a couple of weeks in the Big Ten championship game, and both are going to go to the Playoffs and be in very good shape. But Oregon, to me, looks a tad below Ohio State.”

As Finebaum reminded the college football world, this exact matchup has already been decided on the field once this season, with the Ducks eking out a 32-31 win in Eugene in mid-October. While it’s not official yet, all expectations are Oregon (11-0, 8-0 B10) and Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) will meet again in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.

But in the meantime, Finebaum is sticking by the preseason favorite Buckeyes.

Ryan Day wanted to ‘leave no doubt’ vs. Indiana

Ryan Day wanted to leave no doubt during Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana Saturday in Columbus and it certainly worked out by the time the game came to its conclusion.

After trailing 7-0, Ohio State ripped off 31 straight points to erase any opportunity of the Hoosiers pulling off the biggest win in school history. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers came in No. 2 and 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

But with Day and Ohio State one step closer to the Big Ten Championship vs. Oregon, they can put this game to rest.

“Game got a flip there with the punt return (for a touchdown by Caleb Downs),” Day told FOX’s Jenny Taft postgame. “I thought, you know, we had a chance to really separate ourselves in the first half. We didn’t do that. I thought we played well in the second half. I thought we played physical all across the board, and our guys had a great look in their eye. And so now it’s onto the rivalry game.”

As far as scoring the final touchdown, despite a 31-15 lead with less than two minutes to go, Day and Ohio State wanted to leave their mark.

“Well, you say, leave no doubt,” Day said. “And you know, these guys want to finish the game the right way. TreVeyon (Henderson) did the right thing going down at the one-yard line. We ate up the clock. We didn’t want to put the defense back out there. You just never know in games like this, it’s a top five matchup. So we wanted to finish it the right way and make sure that everybody knows that this is the Ohio State Buckeyes.”

Nick Kosko contributed to this report.

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