COLUMBUS, OH -- Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline provides some of the country's best bird-watching opportunities. And thanks to donations to the Natural Areas Income Tax Check-off Program, birders and other outdoor enthusiasts are finding more ways to explore those opportunities, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
At Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve in Erie County and at North Pond State Nature Preserve on Kelleys Island, check-off funds have helped complete about $140,000 in improvements in recent years.
The check-off program gives Ohioans an opportunity to contribute all or a portion of their state income tax refund to ODNR's nature preserves, scenic rivers and endangered species programs, said ODNR Director Sam Speck. Many improvements in our state nature preserves are possible only through check-off contributions.
About 80,000 visitors come to Sheldon Marsh annually to explore the preserve's wildflowers and eye its population of waterfowl, shorebirds and neo-tropical migrants, said Gary Obermiller, ODNR regional preserve manager for northern Ohio. One of the last remaining natural marshes on Lake Erie's south shore, Sheldon Marsh has a 1.5-mile barrier beach that has kept waves at bay for generations. The barrier is the largest protected beach on the lake's south shore. Because the area is off-limits for swimming and similar recreational activities, natural plant communities and beach-nesting birds thrive on its sandy surface.
Two observation platforms along the trail give visitors up-close views of the preserve's seven habitats. All were constructed in recent years with about $30,000 in tax check-off funding. In the spring, large-flowered trillium, bluebells, wild hyacinth and Dutchman's breeches bloom along the trail.
The marsh is a migratory stopover for small songbirds, as well as many kinds of waterfowl. The federal government has designated it an excellent prospective nesting area for the threatened piping plover. And, state-endangered common tern nest on the beach.
The preserve's 'transition zones' make it ideal for birding, Obermiller said.
Out on Kelleys Island, 36 acres of prime birding marshland characterizes North Pond State Nature Preserve. The preserve is a natural coastal wetland that attracts neo-tropical migrating birds, such as warblers and thrushes. High water periods bring a variety of ducks and geese to the area.
A tremendous wetland plant community of smartweeds, button bush, arrowheads, water lilies and irises thrives here, Obermiller said.
More than $110,000 in trail improvements, completed in 1999 and 2000, allow large numbers of visitors to observe the preserve's natural wonders in comfort. Those improvements include an observation tower and a recycled plastic boardwalk. Tax check-off funds paid for all the improvements.
Taxpayers can donate part or all of their state income tax refund to the Natural Areas Check-off or Wildlife Diversity Funds by checking the appropriate boxes on lines 16 and 17 on the IT-1040 EZ forms or lines 24 and 25 on the IT-1040 form
Persons not eligible for a refund may make a direct donation by sending a check to either the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves or the Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Diversity Account, at ODNR Fountain Square Complex, Columbus, Ohio 43224.