Volume 39, Issue 4
Table of Contents
Calendar
Please sign up to volunteer or attend these walks or events. Visit beavercreekwetlands.org/event
October
BCWA Volunteer Booth at Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience
Saturday, Oct 4 – Sunday, Oct 5
Eastwood MetroPark
Wetlands 101 Presentation
Tuesday, Oct 14, 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Beavercreek Senior Center
Boo Bash Trail
Saturday, Oct 18, 9:00am – 11:00am
Creekside Reserve
Cocktails & Cattails
Saturday, Oct 18, 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve
November
Honeysuckle-Palooza Volunteer Event
Saturdays, Nov 8, 22, 8:30am – 4:00pm
Locations TBD
Ornament Hunt Begins
Thursday, Nov 27
Locations Vary
January
Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, Jan 3, 9:00am – 12:00pm
Locations Vary
Dave Nolin Inducted into ODNR Hall of Fame
We celebrate and congratulate Dave Nolin on his induction into the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Hall of Fame on July 31, 2025, at the Ohio State Fair. As one of just seven recipients of Ohio’s highest conservation honor this year, Dave has been recognized for a lifetime of extraordinary dedication to protecting the natural world.
For three decades with Five Rivers MetroParks, Dave helped preserve more than 7,000 acres of Ohio’s natural areas. Beyond his professional achievements, he sparked a community effort to form Beaver Creek Wetlands Association* in 1988, a grassroots movement that continues today in the ongoing work to protect and restore Greene County’s wetlands. He also played a pivotal role in protecting and restoring the historic Wright Brothers flying field, Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark, later sharing its story in his book Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie.
Even in retirement, Dave remains a tireless advocate, inspiring others through his books**, leadership, and volunteer service. His humble, steadfast approach has rallied volunteers and community members to join him in protecting ecosystems, shaping the future of conservation in our region.
We are deeply grateful for Dave’s vision and persistence. His induction into the Hall of Fame is both a tribute to his achievements and a call for all of us to follow his example in caring for our natural treasures so they remain places of beauty, discovery, and renewal for generations to come.
– Beth Edsall
* See Dave’s 1991 article below, where he shares the inspiration behind BCWA.
**Dave has authored two books. The second is Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes: Wildlands of the Dayton, Ohio Region in 1800 and Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie.
Dave gives his acceptance speech, Photo by Brent Anslinger
Left to Right: Mindy Bankey, ODNR Assistant Director; Mary Mertz, ODNR Director; Dave Nolin; Governor Mike DeWine, Photo by Brent Anslinger
Dave in Huffman Prairie, Photo by Elisabeth Rothschild
President's Message
As I began my term as President of the BCWA Board, I asked myself: Who are the most important people in our organization?
Is it the Board of Trustees? Is it our staff? Is it our donors?
The answer came to me during something as simple as checking bluebird boxes. I was helping Robbi Valley with boxes at Cemex Reserve. Robbi had been trying to get the tall grass and poison ivy cleared so she could safely reach them. The trail itself was nicely mowed, but the boxes sat just off the path—easy enough to reach if the area was cut back.
Beth sent an email to our Land Management team, and Wesley Chivington, who lives right around the corner, responded. Armed with directions to the boxes, Wesley stepped in and quickly cleared the way.
That small act opened my eyes. There is no single group that is the most important – it’s all of us working together that makes BCWA successful.
• Our volunteers who show up and get things done in the wetlands.
• Our donors who make projects possible.
• Our staff who keep the organization running day to day.
• Our Board who set the vision and direction.
Together, you are the strength of BCWA. Thank you for making my job as President not just easier but deeply rewarding.
– Eric Marcus
Before and after photos of one of the bluebird nest boxes at Cemex Reserve, Photos by Robbi Valley
Greene County’s Land History
In elementary school during the 1990s, I was taught that a determined squirrel could go from the Ohio River to Lake Erie without touching the ground due to the dense forest cover in Ohio. But is this story real or a myth?
If we want to restore the land’s health and biodiversity, we need to understand how it functioned before Euro-American settlement and land management. With so many changes over time, it can be challenging to piece together what once existed. Fortunately, the surveyors incidentally recorded plant communities during their efforts. Local conservation legend and BCWA cofounder David Nolin has used these survey notes to create an interactive map of the Dayton area circa 1800. This has become an essential resource and guide for my work as a native habitat restorationist.
As shown on the map, in 1800, Beavercreek was dominated by prairie (light and dark red) along Beaver Creek and Ludlow Creek with extensive Oak-Hickory savannas (tan, labeled Oak-Hickory Forest, but this area was less dense than a forest.) These areas were interspersed with thickets of Wild Plum, Hazelnut, Dogwood, Sweet Crabapple, and other thicket species. All of this was maintained by the indigenous peoples such as the Shawnee, Miami, Wyandotte, Potawatomi, and others. By using prescribed burns, these tribes shaped the landscape for thousands of years, managing both wildlife as well as food and medicine resources. Bison and Eastern Elk lived in this region and contributed to keeping trees and shrubs out of grasslands by grazing and trampling the vegetation. The now-extinct Passenger Pigeons nested and roosted in massive congregations that disturbed every area they occupied. Their droppings killed ground vegetation, while the sheer weight and number of birds broke branches and thinned the canopy. Yet, because they moved on periodically, the affected areas had time to regenerate. Together, these animals played a role in sustaining grasslands and prairies.
In certain areas, Oak-Maple (light green) or Beech-Maple (green) forests were common and generally weren’t burned.
The original survey notes simply refer to areas as ‘Prairie’ or ‘Barrens’; however, these designations hide a great deal of diversity. Yes, there were extensive mesic (areas requiring a moderate amount of moisture) tallgrass prairies as we know them. There were also various wetland habitats, including prairie fen, a highly diverse community including species endemic to fens like Kalm’s Lobelia and Marbleseed, as well as residents of the tallgrass prairies such as Prairie Dock, Slender Mountain Mint, and Joe Pye Weed. Zimmerman Prairie State Nature Preserve and Siebenthaler Fen are excellent examples of present-day prairie fens.
As our ecological understanding has improved, it is now agreed that the story of the squirrel my teacher taught was a myth. As this map shows, the idea that Ohio was once completely covered in trees doesn’t hold up. At least not in the early 1800s! Beavercreek, and generally Ohio, was a mosaic of prairies, wetlands, thickets, savannas, and forests.
If you’d like to see some of these remaining remnant plant communities, visit properties in the Beaver Creek Wetlands such as Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve, James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve, Siebenthaler Fen, or Pearl’s Fen.
– Austin Miller
The map shows the region’s landscape between 1798 and 1803. View “1800 Native Landscapes Of Dayton, Ohio Region,” online at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=a9850ab5d299424fbc21e3feb3986025
Exploring and Learning in the Wetlands
This spring and summer, Beaver Creek Wetlands Association has been proud to offer a wide variety of educational programs that brought nature to life for people of all ages. From photography hikes, long-distance treks, migratory bird hikes to guided fossil explorations, scout badge programs and citizen science projects, these experiences have reached hundreds of participants and inspired a deeper connection with wetlands and the natural world. This was made possible by the incredible dedication of our staff and volunteers who generously share their time, knowledge, and passion. To volunteers who make these programs meaningful and memorable, we extend our heartfelt thanks.
– Shandah Brannen
Administrative and Education Coordinator
Guided Hikes
Here are a few of the hikes BCWA offered this year. Eric Wright, Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist and owner of Fly Wright Photography, led three nature hikes focused on photographing birds and other elements of the natural world (left). In June, Beth Edsall guided members on a “Fork in the Trail” outing through Amon Reserve, Beerman Fen, and Valle View, ending with lunch at T.J. Chumps (middle). Then in July, Mike Abel introduced ten members to the wonders of dragonflies at Community Park, where the group spotted seven dragonfly species, cricket frogs, and several birds (right).
Girl Scouts
BCWA partnered with local Girl Scout troops to bring nature-based learning to the next generation. At Pearl’s Fen, Anastasia Thomas introduced Junior Scouts to the wetland food web as part of the Animal Habitats Badge (left). Meanwhile, at Amon Reserve, Daisy Scouts explored wetlands through the Eco Learner Badge Program. Natasha Miller taught how wetlands filter groundwater (middle), and Carol Vandersluijs shared Leave No Trace principles (right).
Water Quality Sampling
In June, adult water quality sampling was completed at four sites along Beaver Creek and Little Beaver Creek (left). A few months later, Scouts from Pack 519 attended Go Creekin’ where they explored Little Beaver Creek and learned to identify macroinvertebrates as part of their own water quality study (right).
Other Educational Programs
Educational programs reached a wide range of audiences throughout 2025. At Oakes Quarry, the Fabulous Fossils program brought Tipp City 4th graders face-to-face with history, as Bill Fox explained glacial formations (top, left) and Shandah Brannen guided students to the fossil hill (top, right). At BCWA’s Native Plant Sale and Speaker Series, board member Patrick Higgins inspired attendees with his presentation, Milkweed Was Just the Beginning: Level Up for Greater Impact (not pictured). Summer camp youth from the Jewish Community Center also joined BCWA’s Wetland Wonders program at Amon Reserve, where David Goldstein taught “What is a Wetland,” (bottom, left) and Amber Good introduced them to common wetland animals (bottom, right).
Photos by Shandah Brannen
A Season of Growth and Renewal
What’s New in the Wetlands
This summer brought exciting upgrades across our preserves, making trails and boardwalks more accessible, scenic, and enjoyable.
At Beavercreek Swale, teams focused on removing invasive teasel, with Debbie Karr, Lois Gschwender, Ethan Shackelford and many others lending their time for careful seed disposal and cleanup.
At Hagenbuch Reserve, Ethan continued the battle against teasel along the west boundary and volunteers from Leonardo DRS helped remove invasive trees and shrubs.
At Little Beaver Creek Prairie, hours of scouting and careful treatment kept cattails in check. The Monarch Waystation came alive this summer thanks to volunteers who edged borders, staked plants, removed vines, and planted native golden ragwort and a wafer ash tree. Special thanks to Ed Bogden and Valarie Van Griethuysen for keeping shrubs watered through the summer heat.
Zimmerman Prairie State Nature Preserve hosted the largest restoration efforts, with seventeen volunteers from BCWA, the Department of Natural Areas & Preserves, and the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association tackling woody vegetation, cattails, and teasel. Week after week, dedicated volunteers like Lois Gschwender, Tom Whitman, Don Shipley, and others returned to restore balance and beauty to the landscape.
Koogler Wetland Prairie Reserve has several noticeable improvements. An Eagle Scout project removed invasive cattails and planted native species in their place. Be Hope Church volunteers built a 20-foot bridge, began a new boardwalk connection that will eventually link Koogler Reserve to Beaver Creek Wildlife Area, cleared invasive honeysuckle, and assembled 15 benches that will soon provide hikers with more spots to pause and enjoy nature throughout the wetland corridor.
On the south side of Beerman Fen, hikers can now enjoy a brand-new 43-foot ramp and gravel trail, replacing the muddy detour. Volunteers also started clearing space for a future boardwalk that will link the Beerman Fen and James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve boardwalks.
Fairborn’s Community Park gained a new observation deck overlooking Beaver Creek, perfect for birdwatching or simply soaking in the view. Restorations began on the long wooden bridge, including new handrails, landings, and composite caprails for durability, to ensure safer crossings for visitors.
Left: Rick Foster power washes the deck of the bridge crossing the Beaver Creek at Fairborn’s Community Park in preparation for the upcoming bridge work; Middle: Many of the handrail posts have begun to rot. Notice the broken bolts on the 4×4 post. Many of them broke as we took them out. They weakened due to rust in just 15 years; Right: (left to right) Ken Moran, Scott Ley, Jim Lewis, Greg Meyer and Skip Beehler (not pictured) replace handrails along the ramp.
Photos by Skip Beehler
Elsewhere, CarolLee Reserve saw the removal of invasive Callery Pear trees. Trails at Amon Reserve, Koogler Reserve and Siebenthaler Fen were trimmed and mowed for easier access, while invasive cattail and Reed Canary Grass control continued at Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve.
Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, crews, and community partners, our trails are safer, more scenic, and full of fresh discoveries. Come see the changes for yourself!
– Skip Beehler, Beth Edsall, Debbie Karr
Left: Before photo at Siebenthaler Fen; Middle: Greg Clark trims along the boardwalk at Siebenthaler Fen. He is one of five crew members who trim the trails at Siebenthaler Fen and Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve; Right: After photo
Photos by Jeff Schimer
Persistence
You don’t have to work in the environmental field to care about the environment—or to make a difference. What matters most is persistence.
At the recent Partners For the Environment Fall Celebration, I spoke with CQ, Dave Nolin’s wife, about republishing his article on the founding of Beaver Creek Wetlands Association (see A Peek Into the Past, page 9). She told me he was persistent. That word has stayed with me. Dave didn’t build BCWA overnight, and he certainly didn’t do it alone. He started with himself, reached out to others, and gathered like-minded people who shared his passion for protecting wetlands. Through persistence and a refusal to give up, he created a movement that continues today.
That spirit of persistence deeply connects with what I’ve been learning through the Partners for the Environment Leaders Program, which I completed this August. Our program, called the “Ripple Effect,” is the idea that when one person acts with passion, others join in, and the impact ripples far beyond that single drop of water. That’s exactly what we are called to do now.
Recently, I’ve been surrounded by communities that embody this spirit: at the Land Trust Alliance Rally in Cleveland, through my coursework with Partners for the Environment, and at their fall celebration. I am in awe of those who came before me, especially the BCWA founders, and their example inspires me to do my best to carry the work forward.
I don’t have an environmental degree. My background is mathematics and statistics. But I’ve learned that our unique skills, whatever they may be, are powerful tools for change. For me, that means using my strengths to connect volunteers, build community, and help ensure these wetlands remain thriving ecosystems.
The question I leave with you is this: How persistent are you? You don’t have to save the world on your own. But if each of us commits to doing our part, together we can create a ripple effect strong enough to protect what matters most.
– Beth Edsall
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
— Calvin Coolidge
Wetland Wows!
A Peek Into the Past
The “Discovery” of the Beaver Creek Wetlands and The Beginnings of BCWA
Originally published in The Spotted Turtle, Volume 3, Issue 3, Summer 1991, by Dave Nolin
This reprint includes corrections to the original version.
Of course, it is a little ridiculous for a person to claim they discovered something that has been around for 14,000 years, or so, and has been a part of numerous farms for nearly 200 years. It may be accurate to say that the significance of the area as a large, diverse and important living wetland system was better realized in 1986. Prior to that time, several people, particularly Steve Madewell, a former naturalist with the Greene County Park District and former Greene County Game Protector Bob Wood, had been well aware of the wetlands for many years.
My personal discovery of the wetlands happened as a result of a project I became involved in while in graduate school at Wright State University. Dr. James Runkle was analyzing surveyors’ records from 1802 in an attempt to determine the composition of the Wright State University woodlands at that time. These early surveyors used vegetation types as reference points and were botanists out of necessity. Scanning the notes and maps from what is now western Greene County revealed many references to “wet prairies,” “prairies,” and “boggie prairie lands.” Many of these areas were outlined by the surveyors on the early maps. It was possible to transpose this information onto modern USGS topographic maps and know their former boundaries in relation to our modern world.
This was the beginning of a very enjoyable adventure. This map became a veritable treasure map, and I started driving and walking to these sites in an attempt to determine if any remnant of them remained. Of course, most of them had been converted to farmland or housing many years ago but tucked away in nooks and crannies of various farms and backyards of what is now Bath Township were at least 12 previously unknown prairies and wetlands. Some of them were degraded by grazing or some other disturbance, but many were chock-full of a diversity of rare plant and animal life. Three of these sites have now received some measure of protection and appreciation. Huffman Prairie on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is now a State Natural Landmark, and Pearl’s Fen and Doorley Fen, east of Fairborn, are voluntarily registered by their owners with the Nature Conservancy.
In 1802, surveyors’ records also showed a long ribbon of prairie and wetland extending from what is now Fairborn to Beavercreek along Big Beaver Creek, and west to Dayton, adjacent to Little Beaver Creek. The surveyors’ notes had many interesting references to this area, and it obviously needed to be explored. Most of the area was, and still is, rather inaccessible to automobiles and could only be explored on foot.
One day in the fall of 1986, Jeff Knoop of the Nature Conservancy and I decided to explore the Beaver Creek to look for remnant prairies and wetlands. We parked on Fairgrounds Road and walked north almost to New-Germany Trebein Road. We were absolutely stunned by the extent and diversity of the wetlands we walked through. It was like a time machine trip back to 1800. This was clearly one of the finest natural areas in this part of Ohio, and so close to the Dayton Metro area. Although some areas had been drained, farmed, and grazed over the years and the Beaver Creek was channelized around 1920, much of the wetlands still existed precisely where they did in 1802.
Although I became busy with other things for a while, I thought about the Beaver Creek wetlands a lot and wondered how they could be protected. While returning from a vacation in the Pacific Northwest, CQ [Dave’s wife] and I noticed the landscape between the Mississippi River and Dayton from the jetliner. It was so ordered and tamed with only tiny pockets of wild land. We also noted the suburban sprawl around Dayton and other Midwestern cities. On that flight I resolved to protect the Beaver Creek Wetlands.
The first step was to come up with a map showing the extent and ownership of the wetlands. The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission provided aerial photography. Land ownership is documented in the county courthouse, and numerous trips were needed to outline the private tracts onto the aerial photos and look up the names and addresses of the owners. I then approached the Dayton Audubon Society for the funds necessary to compose a professional-looking map that conveyed distribution and ownership of the wetlands. They gladly provided the funds, and Charles Chambers, a professional architect in Dayton, agreed to draw up the plan at cost. With this plan in hand, it was then possible to approach governmental officials and local groups with the idea of protecting this natural resource. Unfortunately, local government officials showed little interest in the idea at first, and I didn’t know what else to do.
At that time another plan came to my attention, one that showed the development of two 18-hole golf courses right on top of the southern section of the wetlands. I expressed concern about this to many people in the local natural resources community. John Wilson of the Aullwood Audubon Center took action and, with the help of Nancy Bain of the Dayton Audubon Society, called a meeting of the conservation groups in the area to discuss the situation and come up with some kind of solution. This initial meeting on February 17, 1988, led to the creation of a slide show, a series of presentations to local conservation and service organizations, and an excellent article by Paul Knoop in the Dayton Daily News.
At a subsequent meeting of the new Beaver Creek Wetland Committee at Aullwood, Ann Malone of the Trust for Public Land had attended and told us how to form a Land Trust. We listened carefully and eventually voted to form a trust, incorporate as a 50l(c)(3) non-profit, and actively worked to protect the wetlands even if we had to buy it ourselves. Ann told us that the only way it would work was to make it a community organization with a board composed of respected local people.
By then we had made the front page of the Beavercreek News several times and local people seemed very interested. We held an informational meeting at the Beavercreek Library on April 21, 1988, and over 150 local people packed the building. Clearly the project could be supported in the community. At a presentation to the Beavercreek Rotary, Lee Schatzley became very interested and was instrumental in the early selection and formation of the Board of Trustees.
Interestingly, this Board was outlined in Jane Henry’s Beavercreek kitchen in May 1988. Most board members agreed to help, and the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association was off and running. Bill Hagenbuch agreed to be the first President and worked miracles with his personal charm, hard work, and Macintosh Computer. At this point, several other [initiatives] concerning wetlands were happening at the State and National levels. George Bush promised a “no net loss” of wetlands in his campaign, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started enforcing their authority to regulate the dredging and filling of wetlands, and the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Ohio Chapter of the Nature Conservancy became interested in the Beaver Creek Wetlands. This led to a very important agreement by these two bodies. They would both contribute a combined total of $650,000 for land acquisition. The Nature Conservancy would negotiate land purchase with the owners, but the land would revert to the state for management as a non-game wildlife area. The Greene County Park District, under the leadership of Ed Dressler, applied for and received a Land and Water Conservation Grant from the Federal Government as well as a large private donation for the wetland purchase.
The Wetland Association has been the catalyst for all of these efforts, and it would never have happened without the support of local citizens and the dedication of the board and officers of the BCWA. Dane Mutter and Jim Amon are going statewide and gaining national reputations as experts in the delineation and protection of wetlands, and the BCWA is firmly established as a respected, proactive association of local people working to conserve a cherished resource in their community. The work is by no means over. The purchase of land and development of interpretive facilities in the wetlands could take many years to complete, but with continued local support will surely happen.
– Dave Nolin
