2024 was another incredible year for AOA’s land and water conservation efforts!
AOA is celebrating 22 years of conservation achievement and 16,440 acres conserved! Some of our highlights from 2024 include:
◙ Added four new properties to AOA’s Greater Hocking Hills Conservation Initiative, increasing our conservation in the Hocking Hills to 94 properties and over 5,600 acres.
◙ Added the 42-acre Crane-Jones property to the now over 1,100-acre Bison Hollow Preserve in the Hocking Hills,
◙ Attended the Bison Hollow Preserve State Nature Preserve Signing Ceremony with ODNR.
◙ Added the spectacular 32-acre Gertrude Hill Preserve along Queer Creek in Hocking Hills.
◙ Added the 112-acre Shelly Lakes preserve in Fairfield County. This preserve will be restored to remove nutrients and enhance water quality in the Hocking River.
◙ Established the new 280-acre Salt Creek Narrows Big Woods Preserve along Salt Creek in Hocking County.
◙ Added the 220-acre Ruggles Fen Preserve which will protect a large, rare fen system near Circleville, Ohio. This Fen Preserve will be a part of our Scioto River Flyway Corridor Initiative. Our efforts so far have led to the protection of 50 properties and over 5,300 acres in the Scioto River Flyway Corridor.
◙ Completed extensive stewardship activities at AOA Preserves to enhance native habitats and ecological diversity
◙ Planted over 260,000 new trees on five AOA Preserves in partnership with Living Carbon.
◙ Treated Hemlock Wooly Adelgid infestations on AOA Preserves in the Hocking Hills
◙ Continued major ReWilding and Ecological Restoration projects at several AOA Preserves to reestablish and enhance wetlands and native habitats. Finishing work soon at Kiser Preserve at Cackley Swamp in Jackson County, Darby Lakes in Madison County, and Scioto Bend and Utzinger Bog in the Scioto River Flyway Corridor.
◙ Initiated ReWilding and Restoration activities at AOA’s Cedar Run Preserves in Champaign County adjacent to Cedar Bog and at the Genevieve Jones Preserve along the Scioto River in Pickaway County.
◙ Received over $9 million in grant funding in 2024 for new conservation properties and site restoration
For more detailed information on our most recent activities and accomplishments, check out our 2024 Year in Review.
If you would like to receive a hard copy of our 2024 Year in Review via mail, please contact AOA at aoalt@earthlink.net. |
