Restoration & Management

Management of natural areas within Great Parks is guided by the Natural Resources Management Plan. This makes planning and prioritizing crucial, and requires adapting to new threats and changes in the effectiveness of management approaches.

Great Parks’ overarching goal, outlined in board policy, is to have a diverse representation of native plants, animals and habitats. Higher priority is given to rare and endangered resources. Most of the effort is spent protecting water quality, monitoring resources like plants and wildlife, stewarding mature and urban forests and removing invasive plant species.

Invasive Plants

Bush Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is the most invasive shrub. Bush honeysuckle leafs out earlier than most native plants, thereby shading out everything under its branches, including native wildflowers and young trees. In Hamilton County, without any natural predators or controls, bush honeysuckle is weed enemy number one. 

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) was imported to control erosion and to be used as a landscape plant. This vine quickly forms dense patches that climb over and smother extensive areas of native vegetation. 

Winter Creeper (Euonymus fortunei) is an evergreen groundcover. This tough plant carpets the forest floor, engulfing everything in its path.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) can out-compete native plants and wildflowers by monopolizing light, moisture and nutrients. The animals that depend on the many species of displaced native plants are also eliminated where garlic mustard prevails. 

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)may be pretty to behold with its bright yellow flowers, but it wreaks havoc on native species as its thick foliage smothers out anything trying to sprout from under its leaves. Lesser celandine can spread as much as 50 feet up steep hillsides. 

Some other non-native invasive plants that escape into natural areas include: 

• Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
• Glossy Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
• Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
• Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
• Asian Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
• Crown Vetch (Coronilla varia)
• European Cranberry-Bush (Viburnum opulus)
• Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
• Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)

Don't Move Firewood

The forests of southwest Ohio have been under attack for years by a variety of non-native plant and insect species, but none have had the dramatic effect on our area as the emerald ash borer (EAB), which can now be found in every Ohio county. Unfortunately, another potentially more destructive insect is making its way into our area, called the Asian long-horned beetle (ALB), but so far it has not reached Hamilton County. These invasive species are spread mostly by people unknowingly moving infected firewood into uninfected forests and campgrounds. If you want to help save our forests, follow these two simple rules:

• Collecting Firewood in the Park Prohibited. Collecting firewood and use of chainsaws is prohibited at Great Parks. Parks with camping offer firewood for sale.
• Please DO NOT bring your own firewood. Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Department of Agriculture are trying to stop the spread of invasive species and would prefer you get your firewood locally. Firewood is offered for sale at most Ohio State Parks or otherwise available from local private vendors near each park.

Natural Resource Management Plan

Great Parks is home to a diverse array of plant and animal communities, and many other natural resources that are unique to Southwest Ohio. As called for in the Comprehensive Master Plan, the Natural Resource Management Plan(NRMP) supports the mission of Great Parks through the employment of ecologically sound land management practices. The NRMP is based on an adaptive management approach, which allows for flexibility in the face of changing conditions.

The NRMP helps Great Parks balance conservation measures with the development of recreation and education facilities to pursue its mission, minimizing negative ecological impacts. Such an approach recognizes the need for conservation of natural areas as a precursor to achieving the mission's education and recreation components. The overall management vision is to protect and restore resilient native ecosystems at Great Parks, which provide abundant resources and services. The NRMP supports this vision with goals and management objectives, as well as best practices to achieve these goals.