Beaver Creek Wetlands Association

In this IssueAnnual Meeting Speakers ...... 1President’s Message ................. 2Volunteer Corner ....................... 3Citizen Science ........................... 5Christmas Bird Count .............. 6Upcoming Workshops ............. 7Seed Preparation ....................... 8News and Reminders .............. 9Save the Date ............................... 10Endowment Fund ..................... 11

Volume 30, No. 1 Winter 2016

www.beavercreekwetlands.org

Calendar

January Sunday, Jan. 31, 2-4 p.m.Bluebird Workshop (RSVP needed)Beavercreek Fire Station #12195 Dayton-Xenia Road

February February 12-15Great Back Yard Bird Count

Sunday, Feb. 21, 2-4 p.m.Cabin Fever Hike at Phillips Park

March

Saturday, Mar. 5, 10 a.m. - NoonSkunk Cabbage Hike at Siebenthaler Fen

Sunday, Mar. 6, 2-4 p.m.Go Native! Native Plant Workshop (RSVP needed)Beavercreek Fire Station #12195 Dayton-Xenia Road

April

Sunday, Apr. 17, 2-4 p.m.Spring Hike at Creekside Reserve

Speakers for Annual Spring Meeting

Beaver Creek Wetlands Association:Combined Federal Campaign

#72199

We are proud to announce that Hope Taft and Aaron Rourke from the Little Miami Watershed Network have agreed to be our speakers for the BCWA’s 28th Annual Meeting on May 17, 2016. Hope, a former First Lady of Ohio while her husband Bob Taft was Governor, is involved with numerous conservation efforts in Greene and other counties and Aar-on is president of Rivers Unlimited. Both are involved with Little Miami River Kleeners, which coordinates

the Little Miami River clean up every year in Greene County. Aaron also has led our team from the wetlands on the river clean up several times. Since the Beaver Creek wetlands are part of the Little Miami watershed, their presentation will be of value and interest to all our members. More information about the Annual Meeting will be in the spring edition of The Spotted Turtle and a special mailing to the membership.

—Jim Schneider

BCWA President and BCWA Highlighted by Ohio Watershed NetworkTake a look at the web address below for a fine article on our organiza-

tion as part of an interview with our president Jim Schneider. It is a little too large to include here, but well worth looking over. Nice pictures, too.

http://ohiowatersheds.osu.edu/resources/best-practices/profiles-wa-tershed-leadership-beaver-creek-wetlands-association

What a Difference 24 Hours Makes!

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President’s MessagePh

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2015 was a busy year for the wetlands. The favorable weather allowed our volunteers to work into December on invasive con-trol, clean up and seed collection in the wetland areas - much later than in years past. Our Monarch Waystation at Hagenbuch Reserve received official designation. We participated in two Fourth of July parades. We initiated a bluebird box program at Fairborn Marsh. Nearly 400 folks came out for hikes and programs we offered in 2015. But there is always more we can do.

In an interview this past year by Joe Bonnell of the Ohio Water-shed Network for their newsletter, I stated: “People don’t support

in helping this species expand. We will be hiking this winter to look for birds and animal tracks; hiking in the spring to find Skunk Cabbage and looking for early migratory birds. Come summer, our hikes will celebrate Moms and Dads, accompany our annual meeting and search for summer wildflowers. With the approach of autumn we will once again par-ticipate in the Monarch tagging program and have programs to classify and look for signs of local wildlife. At the end of year we will offer a program to help wildlife prepare for winter and help with the Audubon winter bird count. We hope you will join us for any or all of these programs and hikes.

—Jim Schneider

what they don’t understand and if they can’t get out and in it, they can’t understand it.” To that end, over the years Beaver Creek Wetland Asso-ciation volunteers have helped build numerous trails and boardwalks that enable people to get out into the wetlands. We want to reach out to more people and demonstrate the value of the wetlands to the public. We are expanding our reach through social media and expanding our program offerings to attract more people to explore the wetlands and to appreciate their value.

For 2016 we have programs or hikes scheduled every month of the year. In January, we have a pro-gram on bluebirds and are offering bluebird boxes for those interested

Fairborn Marsh in Winter

See this newsletter in full color online at www.beavercreekwetlands.org 3

Volunteer Corner: Fall Volunteer Activity

For land management volun-teers, fall means honeysuckle control. Whether using a foliar spray after native vegetation has gone dormant (to prevent damage to desirable plants) or using “lop & squirt” technique—cutting it down and treating the remaining stump, fall is the optimum time for effec-tive treatment. Honeysuckle and other woody invasive plants were targeted throughout the wetlands corridor, from Hagenbuch Reserve and Creekside Reserve along the Little Beaver Creek, to Phillips Park, Koogler Wetland/Prairie Reserve, and Fairborn Marsh along the main channel of the Beaver Creek.

A less strenuous, but no less important, fall activity is collecting seeds of both wetland and prairie species. This locally collected seed will be used to improve habitat where invasive species have been removed, either by direct sowing or by growing plants and trans-planting where appropriate.

Other land management activi-ties this fall included treating a patch of Phragmites, a non-native grass species, which was found in the constructed wetlands in Creekside Reserve. Narrow-leaf cattails, another species spread-ing at the expense of native wet-land plants, were targeted at both Koogler Reserve and Zimmerman Prairie. Boardwalk repair contin-ued at Siebenthaler Fen, as did periodic trimming of overhanging vegetation. At the Monarch Way-station, the small volunteer group worked on end of growing season maintenance—deadheading the more prolific seed producers and removal of tree seedlings. Prairie dropseed, a low-growing native grass, was planted along the edge to better define the border of the

Waystation. This will also create an esthetically pleasing transition from the more formal landscape of the 9/11 Memorial and Beavercreek Station to our informal butterfly meadow across the bikeway.

Land management volunteers, under the direction of Don Geiger (Saturday crew) and Jim Amon (Sun-day crew), included: Deb Adams, Carol Amon, Nancy Bain, Melissa Bartell, Eric Bee, Skip Beehler, Jim & Ann Byrd, Jayne Chen, Alex D’Angelo, Sarah Fieldhammer, Bill Gruner, Lois Gschwender, Julia Hall, Kayla Ha-man, Anna Kamnyev, Debbie Karr, James Lucot, Meg Maloney, Laura May, Travis Meidinger, Sean Peters,

Steve Peters, Jankees Post, Claire Ru-tiser, Jim Schneider, Nicholas Spivey, Sundar and sons Aadi & Ranga, Richard Swigart, Hitesh Trivedi, Tom Whitman, Jonathon Wright, Alex Zelles, and Mike Zimmerman. In ad-dition, a group of University of Day-ton Tri-Beta volunteers participated in a special honeysuckle removal project, and included: Maria Ander-son, Lauren Asman, Jessica Bond, Katie Brown, Joseph Emery, Les-ley Klein, Claire Mitchell, Michelle Rabara, Krissy Tinkle, Brian Wagner, and Taylor Wouters.

In addition to participating in hands-on land management activity, BCWA volunteers staffed the booth at the Beavercreek Popcorn Festi-val, the display table at the Wright State University Volunteer Fair and

the CFC Kickoff and Charity Fair to provide information about the Beaver Creek wetlands to partici-pants. Others came in to the office at the Coy House to assist with the fall fundraising mailing. And many participated in the Monarch Tagging and Edible Entomology program in September, at the public event and the additional programs scheduled for groups of students and scouts. Participants in these events were: Deb Adams, Jim Amon, Nancy Bain, Melissa Bartell, Eric Bee, Skip Beehler, Ann Byrd, Carole Dudley, Dave Duell, Rob Foor, Lois Gschwender, Denny Jarvi, Debbie Karr, Michaela Lanter, Meg Maloney, Shannon Mueller, Dane & Priscilla Mutter, Neils & Sally Sator, Jim Schneider, Chris Simmons, Richard Swigart, Hitesh Trivedi, Alex Zelles, and Mike Zim-merman.

Thank you, BCWA volunteers, for all you do to benefit the Beaver Creek wetlands!Note to Volunteers

Land management volunteer activity will resume as weather permits in early spring. E-mail notices of the planned Saturday and Sunday activity are sent to all on the volunteer list, normally on Thursday afternoon. Each notice provides the date, time, meeting place and details of the planned ac-tivity so you may choose whether or not to join us and so you may be prepared for the work and site conditions. If you are interested in joining in, please be sure to sign up to receive the e-mailed notices by going to www.beavercreekwet-lands.org/supportus-volunteer.html or contacting the BCWA office at admin@beavercreekwetlands.org or 937-320-9042.

—Debbie Karr

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Tri-Beta Honeysuckle Conquerers at Koogler Wetland/Prairie Reserve

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Volunteer Corner, Continued

Koogler Cleanup and BioremediationCrews from our usual volunteers were

joined by Tri-Beta students (a Biology Honors group) from the University of Dayton to re-move a large stand of honeysuckle at Koogler Reserve. The cleared area will be planted with a variety of deep-rooted prairie and woodland plants with the hope that their deep roots will clean up the groundwater entering the fen at the reserve. For reasons unknown the water that emerges is contaminated with phospho-rous at levels much higher than normal and this contaminant seems to be fostering the growth of several invasive and fast growing plants. The project will reduce invasive honey-suckle, improve the upland where it grew and help control the invasion in the fen.

—Jim AmonTri-Beta Students from U.D., with BCWA Volunteers, Clearing

Honeysuckle at Koogler Wetland/Prairie Reserve

Eagle Scout ProjectThe Koogler Trail Revamp project by Vidur

Prasad is designed to help repair parts of the trail that have been eroded or covered in mud due to the creek overflow caused by a dam built by beavers and by a logjam. The project will involve laying Geo-textile on the trail, and then covering it with several inches of gravel, thereby reducing the chance of weeds. A cover of 3” gravel (20 cubic yard of chips and dust) on the trail will also provide good solid walking surface for visitors. This project is necessary as many parts of the wetland are inaccessible to the general public for many days during and after heavy rains. This project will require ap-proximately 100 hours of the group’s volunteer time. Vidur is currently awaiting approval from the Boy Scout council.

—Hitesh Trivedi

The Mess in the CreekA large, multi-trunked tree fell across the Little Beaver Creek

at Hagenbuch Reserve, with one of the trunks right at water level. As a result, it acts as a strainer and catches everything floating down the creek—plastic bottles, cans, bits and pieces of Styrofoam, and balls of every type—tennis balls, basket-balls, volleyballs, soccer balls, footballs, golf balls, and even an eyeball (a ping pong ball painted to look like an eye)! What’s upstream? All this trash originates from US 35, RT 835, west-ern Beavercreek, and Kettering. This unsightly mess is visible to users of Creekside Trail. Unfortunately, the logjam is beyond the ability of our volunteer crew to safely remove. Until ar-rangements can be made to have it removed by a contractor with heavy equipment, our volunteers periodically clean up the collected trash. The first cleanup filled sixteen 7-bushel gar-bage bags, subsequent cleanups yielded several bags each, and eight bags were removed on December 31st.

This logjam was a blessing in disguise after a truck ran off US 35 and down the embankment, resulting in a diesel fuel spill into the creek. The logjam prevented the spill from spreading farther downstream. The Ohio EPA directed the cleanup by a contractor on this occasion.

—Debbie Karr

Volunteers Can Only Make a Dent in This Mess! See Story, Below.

The Logjam in Little Beaver Creek

See this newsletter in full color online at www.beavercreekwetlands.org 5

Citizen ScienceMonarch tagging recap

Nearly 200 people came to Koogler Wetland/Prairie Reserve to participate in BCWA’s 6th annual monarch tagging program held in September. For many, this program is their first visit to a reserve in the Beaver Creek wetlands! In addi-tion to the public event, there were additional programs scheduled by request for homeschool students, Brownie Troops, and a Junior Girl Scout Troop. And the monarchs were everywhere! Their numbers were higher than anticipated for the 2015 fall migration and for

Great Backyard Bird CountFebruary 12-15, 2016

The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is hosted by Audubon, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada during a 4-day period in February. It is spon-sored by the Wild Birds Unlimited franchise. The global data that is retrieved is valuable to scientists. Everyone is invited to participate by submitting the number and spe-cies of birds they spot in their own

the first time in 4 years, we used all 100 of the tags purchased. My hope is that this resurgence in numbers means that people have heeded the plea to plant milkweed for monarchs to compensate for habitat loss all over the eastern US & Canada.

From September 16-26, we tagged 100 monarchs, all wild, 70 males and 30 females. All but two were tagged and released at Koogler Reserve. We even tagged one at our Monarch Waystation at Hagenbuch Reserve!

—Debbie KarrEasy Does It: Tagging and Releasing

a Monarch Butterfly

2015 Christmas Bird CountFourteen Beaver Creek Wetlands

Association volunteers partici-pated in the Christmas Bird count on the morning of Sunday, January 3. The group met at the barn at Phillips Park and divided into three teams to cover four Beaver Creek Wetlands sites. Under a cloudy sky, temperatures ranged between 30-33°F, with NW winds 10-15 mph.

The Creekside Reserve team included Deb Adams, Lois Gschwender, Debbie Karr, Lee and Carol Smith, and Jim Schneider. This group walked on Creekside Trail bike path west from Factory Road, then entered the reserve and

walked the wooded path next to the Little Beaver Creek on the trip out, then circled back on the service road and bike path creating a loop trail with minimal overlap. Habitats in-cluded woods, riparian, prairie strip (under power lines).

The Phillips Park team included Jim Amon, Richard Swigart, Alex Zelles, and Mike Zimmerman. This group surveyed the pond, then walked along the wooded trails be-side the Beaver Creek, through the well fields to BCWA’s 21-acre prairie and conservation easement called Tower Wetlands, which includes sedge meadow and wet woods.

The third team included Blythe Hazellief, Anna Kamnyev, Dave Nolin, and Christine Simmons. They visited both Siebenthaler Fen and Koogler Wetland/Prairie Reserve, both of which include sedge mead-ow, wet woods, and riparian habi-tats along the Beaver Creek.

34 different species were ob-served in the Beaver Creek Wetlands for the 2015 Christmas Bird Count. One real treat was seeing four Pile-ated Woodpeckers at the same time as three Red-tail Hawks.

—Debbie Karr

backyard or at places with public access. They can participate either once or multiple times throughout the count. This is a good opportu-nity to submit birding data from one or more of the sites in the network of the Beaver Creek Wetlands. There are often scheduled counts for this event held at some other parks and preserves, including Aullwood Audubon Center. There will also be

a free event at Glen Helen’s Trail-side Museum on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 10 am - 5 pm. Visitors can help count birds at their feeders and take information about how to further participate at home. For more information and instructions about how to participate, visit the following Website: www.gbbc.birdcount.org

—Bethany Gray

Continued on Page 6:Christmas Bird Count Results

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Christmas Bird Count

Location Creekside Reserve

Phillips Park & well field, Tower Wetlands

& PrairieSiebenthaler Fen Koogler Wetland/

Prairie Reserve

Great Blue Heron 1 Canada Goose 44 Mallard 6 15 Turkey Vulture 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 3 Ring-billed Gull 1 Mourning Dove 1 1 3Belted Kingfisher 1 1 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 3 1Downy Woodpecker 2 5 1 1Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 1 3 1Pileated Woodpecker 1 4 Blue Jay 4 3 1American Crow 1 6 Carolina Chickadee 12 2 4Tufted Titmouse 4 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 2 Carolina Wren 7 2 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 1 Eastern Bluebird 5 American Robin 48 42 34 6Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 4 16 105 Northern Cardinal 14 5 4 2Eastern Towhee 1 American Tree Sparrow 5 4 Song Sparrow 3 2 4 Swamp Sparrow 2 1 White-throated Sparrow 1 2Dark-eyed Junco 4 American Goldfinch 4 1 9 Total Species (by site) 20 26 17 9

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Upcoming BCWA Activities!

Bluebird Workshop Sunday, January 31, 2016 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Beavercreek Fire Station #1 Meeting Room 2195 Dayton-Xenia Road

Learn about Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity-nesting birds and how you can help them as they face loss of nesting habitat, harsh winters, pesticides, and competi-tion from non-native species. Learn how to monitor nest boxes, share data, and cultivate plants that help bluebirds. Workshop is free. RSVP required. You may register for the workshop through the homepage of BCWA’s website www.beavercree-kwetlands.org or, if you prefer, you may RSVP by contacting the BCWA office at 937-320-9042.

The workshop will be presented

by BCWA member Bethany Gray, who is the Ohio Bluebird Society contact person for Clark and Greene Counties. Bethany and husband Jor-dan established and monitored the nest box trail at Fairborn Marsh for BCWA and have recently completed a trail at Greene County Parks & Trails Russ Reserve. Additional nest box trails are planned for Koogler

Wetland/Prairie Reserve and Phil-lips Park in 2016.

If you are interested in this workshop, but are unable to attend, Bethany will also conduct a Bluebird Workshop at Glen Helen Nature Preserve on Saturday, February 27, 2016. For details and to register, please contact Glen Helen or visit their website www.glenhelen.org.

Above: Find the Bluebird ...

Go Native! A Hands-on Exploration of Native Plant Seeds and SeedlingsA Family Activity (Children must be accompanied by adults)Sunday, March 6, 2016 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Beavercreek Fire Station #1 Meeting Room 2195 Dayton-Xenia Road

Did you know you can help pol-linators - bees, butterflies, birds, and even bats - by growing native plants in your own yard? Some plants need insects or birds to take pollen from one plant to another so they can make seeds.

Your friends at BCWA will help you “go native” at home with seeds from our wetland areas. Everyone will learn a lot!

• What is a native plant?• Why would I want native

plants in my own yard?• Will my plant grow if my yard

is not a wetland?• When will my plants bloom? • What will eat my plants?Participants will see photographs

of what the plants look like when

grown and photographs of what the plants attract. They will learn the benefits of native plants to the en-vironment and look at some charts to get an idea of how big the plants will get.

There will be a chance to explore seeds up close and personal at the microscope work station—some are really cool looking and oddly shaped. We can talk about why seeds come in so many shapes and sizes!

Participants will become plant caretakers by selecting three seed-lings (from several varieties) to put in pots and take home to nurture until spring. Most of the selections need bright sun and lots of moisture to get them ready to plant in the

home garden when spring arrives. Participants can help the wet-

lands, too, by transplanting at least one plant to be used in one of our restoration projects in the Spring.

There will be plenty of informa-tion to take home, recommended readings and sources for plants and seed for those with an interest in creating a native plant garden!

Please register for the workshop through a visit to BCWA’s website, www.beavercreekwetlands.org or you may call the BCWA office at 937-320-9042.

On the next page of this newslet-ter, check out pictures of seed being prepared for the workshop!

Continued on PAGE 8:Seed Preparation Pictorial

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Preparing Seed for Planting“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” - Henry David Thoreau

Volunteer Christina Simmons pours out sand for seed stratification.

Here, she adds purple coneflower seed to the sand.

Adding moisture. The seed mixture will be refrigerated for a few weeks.

Seed Preparation? What’s the point? Why not just stick the seed in the ground in the spring, you might ask?

With seed stratification, we give Nature a helping hand in the germination process. Many na-tive Ohio plant seeds overwinter in dark, moist, cold ground or leaf litter. We artificially create these

winter-like conditions in our bags of seed mixed with moist sand and placed in the refrigerator. Later on, we will simulate the end of winter dormancy by planting the seeds in soil-filled pots to germinate in bright sun with lots of moisture (ah, springtime).

Our emerging seedlings will be brought to our native plant work-

shop in March, where they will be transplanted and reared by kids. Eventually these plants will be placed in back yard gardens, and some others will be planted in our wetland restoration areas. We hope that these native plants will be enjoyed by pollinators and people alike!

Seeds of Intrigue: Clockwise, from top left. Bristly Sedge (Carex comosa); Nodding Bur Marigold (Bidens cernua); Redbud (Cercis canadensis); Wingstem (Verbesina spp.); Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.); Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)

Continued from PAGE 7

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Fund Sharing: Businesses and Individuals Help BCWA

Many businesses are now offer-ing to provide selected non-profit groups like BCWA with a small percent of their profits if customers designate their favorite charity for the contribution. Amazon (Amazon Smile program), Kroger and Dorothy Lane Market* provide that service and there may be many more. Just look on their web pages or check with the store to see if they partici-pate.

Some BCWA members are en-rolled in their employer’s matching gift programs, while other mem-bers’ employers provide matching gifts through the Benevity platform. Depending upon the program, par-ticipation can increase the impact of our members’ donations two- to four-fold!

In a different way some large funding programs have annual fund raising campaigns that help us. BCWA participates in the Miami Val-ley Combined Federal Campaign on an annual basis. If you work for the federal government please consider the BCWA when you make your CFC pledge—our number is #72199.

*Club Dorothy Lane Market If you are a member of Club DLM, you can desig-nate the BCWA as your preferred charity by going to their website www.doro-thylane.com/clubdlm/goodneighbor.pl and entering your name and BCWA’s Charity ID 671.

Fall CampaignMany thanks to our donors for

your support of the “Plant Native” fall campaign. As of Dec. 31, $16,622 has been raised for restoration ef-forts. We will be busy planting when spring arrives!

Your Email Contact InfoEvery year numerous opportuni-

ties for BCWA members are commu-nicated by email from our Adminis-trative Coordinator. To receive these in a timely way, your email address is critical. The alternative contact method is by regular mail and that can be costly. You can always call our office on any question at 937-320-9042 or email at admin@beaver-creekwetlands.org. So, if you have not done it already, please let our coordinator have your email address as soon as possible. Thanks!

Donated Red Maple Tree In early spring, the League of

Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area honored BCWA with its first Jo Columbro Memorial Environ-mental Award. In association with this award, Siebenthaler Nursery donated a cultivar of a native Red Maple tree, which was dug from their nursery in late fall and planted at Fairborn Marsh near the entrance in December.

Legislative Win: Land Trust Alliance Announcement

You may have heard about the bipartisan major budget and tax compromise bill recently passed by Congress. Some of the biggest winners of all were landowners, land trusts and charities in general. This legislation made permanent the tax incentive for farmers, ranch-ers and other individuals who place a conservation easement on their land preserving natural resources forever. It also made permanent the IRA charitable rollover. Once signed into law the incentive will be applied retroactively to start Jan. 1, 2015.

The vote also reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a means to acquire and restore

conservation land, for three years and increased its funding from $306 million last year to $450 million this year. The Land Trust Alliance want-ed to thank all of you who reached out to legislators to educate them about both the importance of this in-centive and the critical role that land trusts play in communities across the country.

—Abstracted from Rand Wentworth

President, Land Trust Alliance.

Greene County Parks Levy PassesIn our Fall newsletter, we dis-

cussed the upcoming levy for our county parks, reminding BCWA supporters how closely the upkeep of our wetlands locations is tied to the fortunes of our partners at the Greene County Park District. We were consequently quite pleased when voters went to the polls in No-vember and approved the five-year, .9 mill levy.

Xenia Gazette reported that parks district will use the additional funds to resume work on maintenance projects that had been deferred due to state budget cuts. Beaver Creek wetland sites that will potentially benefit from the additional fund-ing include Cemex Reserve, Beaver Creek Wetland Nature Reserve, and Creekside Reserve.

Greene County Parks & Trails Director Chrisbell Bednar told Xenia Gazette that approximately one third of the annual funds would be des-ignated by the park district for trail maintenance, another third for capi-tal improvements and the remaining portion for day-to-day operations and park management.

—Abstracted from Xenia Gazette, 11/4/15

News and Reminders

10 Spotted Turtle—Winter 2016

Event Name Date Location TimeBluebird WorkshopRegistration Required

Jan. 31 Beavercreek Fire Station #12195 Dayton Xenia Road

2-4 p.m.

Cabin Fever Hike Feb. 21 Phillips Park 2-4 p.m.Skunk Cabbage Hike Mar. 5 Siebenthaler Fen 10 a.m.-NoonNative Plant Seed Sprouting for KidsRegistration Required

Mar. 6 Beavercreek Fire Station #12195 Dayton Xenia Road

2-4 p.m.

Save the Date! BCWA Activities and Hikes Planned for 2016

Order your 2016 BCWA Calendar, a few are still available at:www.beavercreekwetlands.orgOr call 937-320-9042!

A Special Thanks to Weekend CrewsWe want to say a heartfelt thanks to our regulars who come out on

weekends to help restore and maintain the wetlands. This group is an amazing constant. They are people we can depend on week after week. They work hard and are so great to work with. It is such a wonderful feel-ing to work with these dedicated individuals. Thanks to all of you.

Sincerely,Don Geiger and Jim Amon

More Activities Coming Up ...We have lots of fun, educational activities in store, but we are still working out a few details! Watch The Spotted Turtle newsletter and our website for further information.

• Spring Hike, April 17 at Creekside Reserve (Park off Factory Road at Bikeway), Time TBA• Mother’s Day Hike, May 1 at Phillips Park; Time TBA• Spring Bird Census, April 29-May 13 at locations throughout the wetlands, details TBA• Annual Meeting, May 17 at Bergamo Center, details TBA• Bluebird Hike, May 21 at Fairborn Marsh, 10:00 a.m.• Father’s Day Hike, June 18 at Cemex Reserve, Time TBA• Butterfly Survey, July 16 at Siebenthaler Fen, Time TBA• Summer in Bloom Hike, August 14 at Siebenthaler Fen, Time TBA• Animals for Kids, September 18 at Siebenthaler Fen, Time TBA• Monarch Tagging, September 17 at Koogler Reserve, Time TBA• Halloween Hike, October 23 (rain date Oct 30) at Siebenthaler Fen, Time TBA• Tree Leaf ID Hike, November 6, Location and Details TBA• Bird Friendsgiving, November 20 at Beavercreek Fire Station #1, 2195 Dayton Xenia Road, Time TBA

A Wetland Fairy TaleIt is little known that fairies are born from milkweed pods. When con-

ditions are just right they leave the pod carrying a single milkweed seed. When they find a just right habitat for that seed to grow, they touch the earth and plant the seed and then fly away. For most of us, we will never see them again. Where they go no one really knows, but it is rumored that they guide Monarch Butterflies to milkweed plants. Occasionally, you just might see one, but it is very rare. I found this one sleeping. As you can see when they sleep they fold their wings into a ball that looks a bit like a lantern. I made a bed for this one. Rest, my precious, the milkweeds need you.

—Jim Amon

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Spotted Turtle Name and Logo: Noted area wildlife artist Charley Harper generously donated the art for our logo in 1988. His work has been adopted by the National Park Service and is appreciated world-wide. Our newsletter recognizes the Spotted Turtle as an icon for the many rare animals and plants pro-tected in the Beaver Creek Wetlands.

Submissions, Questions, or Com-ments: We rely on members like you to make this newsletter the product of many diverse voices. If you have an idea for an article or a picture to include, please send them to admin@beavercreekwetlands.org Also, we welcome any comments or questions. For submissions, ques-tions, or comments, please include “newsletter” in the subject line of your e-mail. We reserve the right to edit for content or clarity.

Change of Address/EmailMembers, please don’t forget to con-tact us if you move or change your email address: admin@beavercree-kwetlands.org. We want to ensure that you receive your issue of The Spotted Turtle!

Donations of Land/Easements: If you are interested in donating land, placing an easement on property, or remembering the BCWA in your will, please don’t hesitate to call the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association at (937) 320-9042.

BCWA Annual Report: Copies are available by request. E-mail the office at admin@beavercreekwet-lands.org or call (937) 320-9042.

Join the BCWA Today!

Choose your member level: $5 Student $10 Senior (60+) $15 Individual $25 Family

Please make your check payable to BCWA and mail to: BCWA, P.O. Box 42, Alpha, OH 45301

Name

Address

Phone

Email

Help reclaim our local wetlands corridor and restore its natural beauty and function. Your member dues fund land acquisition, education programs, habitat restoration and management of our preserve.

$35 Contributing $50 Supporting $100 Patron $1,000 Life

A 501(c)(3) land trust organization. Your donation is tax deductible.

Endowment FundOur Endowment Fund contains

more than $186,152.84. Did you know you can leave a bequest in the form of a life annuity? Planned giving can result in tax savings and/or income to you, while leaving a legacy of conservation.

The BCWA Endowment Fund is a permanent savings plan to help en-sure that BCWA continues to protect wetlands for future generations. The BCWA Endowment Fund may accept many types of planned, deferred, and outright gifts that can actually increase the value of your estate, enabling you to do more with what you leave for others.

Spotted Turtle Society mem-bers include anyone who has made a gift to the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association Endowment Fund.

I would like to learn more about gift options to help grow the Beaver Creek Wetlands Endowment Fund. Please contact me about planned giv-ing.

I have already included BCWA in my estate planning. I would like to be-come a member of the Spotted Turtle Society.

I wish to make an outright gift pay-able to ‘”BCWA Endowment Fund”.Please return to:Beaver Creek Wetlands AssociationAttn: Endowment CommitteeP.O.Box 42, Alpha, Ohio 45301

Planned Giving •

For information on a variety of planned giving options, call or write to us, or con-tact The Dayton Foundation directly.

Founded in 1988, the Mission of the Beaver Creek Wetlands Asso-ciation is to protect the wetland ecosystem in the Beaver Creek watershed through partnerships, community networks, and public education.

Label (1” x 2-5/8” ) here.Place carefully to

cover bottom line completelybut do not touch top line.

Moving? New e-mail address?Don’t miss an issue! Call 937-320-9042

or email:admin@beavercreekwetlands.org

NONPROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDXENIA, OHIO 45385

PERMIT NUMBER 76

The Spotted Turtle | Volume 30, No. 1 | Winter 2016

P.O. BOX 42ALPHA, OH 45301Address Service Requested

Spotted Turtle EditorsJim and Carol AmonSue RytelDeborah Karr

WebmasterRob Evans

Visit Us on Facebook & Onlinewww.beavercreekwetlands.org

Contact UsDeborah KarrAdministrative Coordinatoradmin@beavercreekwetlands.org

Presidentpresident@beavercreekwetlands.org

Technical Advisortechnical@beavercreekwetlands.org

Webmasterwebmaster@beavercreekwetlands.org

Newsletternewsletter@beavercreekwetlands.org

Red Headed Woodpecker at Siebenthaler Fen

Phot

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Ric

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OfficersJim Schneider, PresidentHitesh Trivedi, Vice PresidentRichard Swigart, SecretaryDoug Hull, TreasurerJim Amon, Technical AdvisorTrusteesJim AmonNancy BainRoger (Skip) BeehlerRob EvansDonald GeigerLois GschwenderDenny JarviShannon MuellerJames RunkleSue RytelJim SchneiderRichard SwigartHitesh TrivediAlex ZellesMike Zimmerman

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