Wylie Ridge Preserve

Laurel Run Watershed.  AOA purchased the 70-acre Wylie Ridge property along Dunlap Road in 2024.  This property is part of the Laurel Run watershed. 

Protection of the upper Laurel Run watershed has been a priority of AOA for many years as part of our Greater Hocking Hills Conservation Initiative.   To date, AOA has preserved 13 properties and over 1,300 acres within this area. 

Dunlap Creek.  Wylie Ridge Preserve protects over a mile of stream corridor, including 2,100 linear feet of Dunlap Creek, a very high-quality Class 3B Coldwater Habitat stream.  These streams lie in the upper headwaters of Laurel Run. 

Mixed Forest with Steep Gorges of Exposed Sandstone.  Most of the property is covered in relatively mature mixed forest with steep gorges of exposed sandstone and shale bedrock along Dunlap Creek.  The site includes outcrops of Blackhand sandstone and several stone-lined tributary corridors.

Former Golf Course. Portions of the upland areas of the site were previously used for a golf course which went out of business around 2010.  The old course has since reverted to a largely native grasses.  AOA plans to return these upland areas to their original native forest habitat.