Learn about the Ohio Environmental Council's Vernal Pool Program and how you can make a difference.

1. Vernal Pool Monitoring
W orkshop
W est G eauga Middle
School
March 7,2009
D avid R. Celebrezze
D irector ofAir & W ater
Special Proj ects

2. The OEC
The O hio Environm ental Council
advocates for healthy air,land,
and w ater to m ake O hio a better
place in w hich to live,w ork,and
play.

3. O verview
» Registration/w elcom e
» O EC’s Vernal Pool Program
This is a space f a photo or
or
» Vernal pools in the age of
graphic or m ore text.
developm ent
» Lunch
» H ow to construct a vernal
pool
» State overview
» Creature feature
» H ow to m onitor
» Field trip
» Conclusion
» Vernal pool stickers
» Central O hio Vernal Pool
Monitoring Team sign up f orm

4. The Joyce Foundation
Thank you!
» The Joyce Foundation
» W est G eauga Middle School
» W estern Reserve Land
Conservancy
» Friends ofW etlands
» Cleveland Museum ofN atural
H istory
» G eagua Soil and W ater
Conservation D istrict

5. O EC’s W ater Program
» G reat Lakes Restoration
» D itches
» W etlands
» O hio River
» Statehouse

6. O EC’s W ater Program
» Raise aw areness ofvernal
pools and the links that m ake it
an integral part ofa healthy
ecosystem and im prove quality
oflife.
» O hio Vernal Pool Partnership
(w /listserv) (w w w .ovpp.org)

7. W etlands- H istorical Aspect
» O riginal around 5,000,000
acres
» Acreage lost: 4, 200
517,
» Less than .05% ofO hio is now
w etlands
90+%

8. Main Culprits
» Poorly planned developm ents
»Ignorance:
» Vernal pools are dry by
sum m er’s end

9. Solutions:O hio EPA 401
proposed rules
» Every 5 years the Agency review s the rules that
govern how a perm it to im pact a w etland is
issued/denied.
» The O EC participated in the m any w etland and
stream external advisory groups
» The good:
» Perf ance standards for m itigated
orm
w etlands
» The bad:
» N o avoidance language
» The ugly:
» Many w etlands are m itigated outside the
w atershed

10. Solutions:O hio’s Vernal Pool
Mitigation Program
» Com pensatory m itigation program
» D evelopers w ho destroy a w etland m ust replace
them
» Focused on vernal pools to increase their
num bers

11. Vernal Pool Q uiz #1
» W hat anim al that relies on vernal pools is
considered to be the “coldest” anim al on the
planet (outside bacteria and crustaceans)?
Photo: ODNR

12. W hat is a vernal pool?
» Seasonal w etland that are separated from other
bodies ofw ater
» U sually dry up by sum m er’s end
» N O FI !
SH !
» Meet hydric soil,hydrology,flora criteria

13. B etter definition
A m ini ecosystem that plays out every spring. A sm all but
dynam ic,w etland that f w ith w ater,blossom s w ith lif and
ills e
hosts a cacophony ofsounds and a plethora oflif f s every
e orm
spring,only to disappear into the forest floor every autum n.

14. Caddisf ly
Am erican Bullfrog
Predacious diving
W ood f rog
W ho lives in a vernal pool?
beetle
G reen frog
Craw ling w ater
N orthern Leopard f rog
beetle
Pickerel frog
W ater scavenger
G ray Treefrog
beetle
Spring Peeper
W hirligig beetle
Spadef toad
oot
Com m on green
Am erican toad
darner
Fow ler’s toad W ater m ites
Black-tipped
Spotted salam ander Am phipod
D ragonf ly Isopod
Marbled salam ander
Fairy shrim p
Yellow -legged
Blue-spotted
Clam shrim p
m eadow haw k
salam ander
O stracod
Com m on
Jf
ef erson salam ander
D aphnia
baskettails
Re-spotted new t
Copepod
Frosted w hitef ace
Four-toed salam ander
Am phibious snails
Four-spotted
Redback salam ander
Fingernail clam
Skim m er
N orthern w ater snake
H orsehair w orm
Backsw im m ers
Eastern garter snake
Planaria
W ater boatm an
Ribbon snake
Leech
W ater scorpion
Spotted turtle
Aquatic
G iant w ater bug
W ood turtle
oligochaete w orm s
W ater strider
Blanding’s turtle Photo: L. Lee Cerny
Sw am p w hite oak
Fishfly
Snapping turtle
Sw eet pepperbush
Mayf ly
Eastern painted turtle
Three-w ay sedge
Chironom id m idge
Eastern box turtle
Phantom m idge
Mosquito
Springtails

15. W ho lives in a vernal pool?
Balsam f ir
Tussock sedge
Beggar’s-ticks,stick-
Viburnum
tights
W ater lilies
Birches
W hite oak
Black ash
W hite pine
Black w illow
W hite spruce
Black spruce
W illow s
Marsh f ern
Bladderw ort
W interberry
N orthern w hite
Bluej oint
W ithered,w ild raisin cedar
Box elder
Yellow birch Pin oak
Bulrushes
Sedges Pitch pine
Burreed
Sensitive f ern Poison ivy
Buttonbush
Sheepberry Pondw eeds
Cardinal f er
low
Sheep laurel Red m aple
Catbriar
Silver m aple Red spruce
Cinnam on f ern
Sm ooth alder Reed canary grass
Eastern cottonw ood
Stinging nettle River birch
G reen ash
Speckled alder Rushes
H em lock
Sw am p loosestrif e, Mallard D uck
H ighbush blueberry
w alter W illow W ood D uck
Leatherleaf
Alders Raccoon
Maleberry Photo: Ray Stewart
Am erican elm Canada G eese
Manna grasses
Arrow w ood Snow G eese
Atlantic w hite cedar

16. Functions and B enefits
» Flood control
» Mosquito control
» I proves w ater quality
m
» Educational opportunities
» Recreational opportunities (photography)
» H abitat to hundreds of species
» I proves property values and quality oflif
m e

17. H ow to f a vernal pool
ind
Team up w ith local w atershed group
(w w w .ohiow atersheds.osu.edu/groups/)
and/or county soil and w ater conservation
district
(w w w .dnr.state.oh.us/soilandw ater/default/sw
cds/default/tabid/9093/D efault.aspx)
Check out N ational W etland Inventory
- w w w .fw s.goc/nw i/
- Click on “w etlands m apper”
- N ext “G o to w etalnds m apper”
- Click on m ap ofthe U S
Photo: ODNR

18. H ow to f a property ow ner
ind
County Auditor’s of ice
f
Franklin County:
w w w .co.franklin.oh.us/auditor
search by “Property Maps G I S”
Scroll to bottom and search by address,
point on a m ap or intersection
W rite property ow ner a letter

19. Vernal Pool Q uiz #2
W hat anim al that occasionally uses vernal pools is
considered the sm elliest anim al on earth?

20. O EC’s Vernal Pool Program
» Monitoring
» O nline database
» Curriculum
» Land ow ner brochure
» Educational D VD
» Potential vernal pool m apping

21. Monitoring opportunities
» Friends ofW etlands
» Stratf Ecological Center
ord
» Tom B iebeihauser (see handout)

22. Vernal pool quiz #3
» W hat anim al is considered the best “w ater
w alker” on earth?

23. Vernal Pool D VD
» Threats to Protection

24. H ow You Can G et Involved
» Contact local w atershed group
» J the O VPP listserv
oin
» Stay on top oflegislation and take
action on it by signing up f the O EC’s
or
Action Alerts at w w w .theO EC.org.
1207 G randview Avenue,Suite 201
Colum bus,O H 43212
(614) 487-7506
O EC @ theO EC.org
w w w .theO EC.org