CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
The Great Miami Wetland Mitigation Bank Conservation Area, owned by Five Rivers MetroParks, represents one of the largest tracts of open land in Montgomery County, creating critical habitat for such native wildlife as rare bird species. Since the mitigation bank was established in 2008, volunteers have spotted more than 89 species of birds at the wetland, including Ohio endangered species, such as American bittern and sandhill cranes, and state species of concern, such as sora rails, bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows and sedge wrens.
The site includes 360 acres that are a mitigation bank, previously farmland and once slated for a landfill. The remaining 180 acres are the former Larch Tree golf course, which Five Rivers MetroParks acquired in 2015. The land is still developing different habitats but already includes wetlands and prairie, and thousands of tree seedlings have been planted. The Great Miami Mitigation Bank is the first mitigation bank in Ohio owned, designed and managed by a conservation agency.
Our on-site host will be the site manager, Grace Dietsch and she has promised to wrangle one of her top birders to join us on a guided tour of resident wildlife and ongoing habitat restoration activities at this site.
If you would like to follow our trip leaders as they drive from Oxford, meet at the TJ Maxx parking lot located at 550 South Locust Street in Oxford at 7:45 am. If traveling directly, the destination address is a gravel driveway to the north, opposite 8180 Little Richmond Rd., Trotwood, OH. Please arrive at 9:00 am. Travel time from Oxford is approximately 1 hour. Please bring a personal lunch if you would like to join us for an informal picnic mid-day.
The site is located at
8180 Little Richmond Road
Trotwood, OH 45426