Located just north of Forder’s Bridge on County Road 73, is a local treasure. It is called Forrest Woods Nature Preserve. This is one of a few remnants of The Great Black Swamp. It is home to a wide variety of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies and insects. It is home to more than 30 rare, endangered and threatened species.
Clair Forrest and his family owned the original 80 acre property for many years. According to some research there was some timber harvested and pasturing on this land. The property was never fully harvested and has many old growth trees. It remains one of the least disturbed woodlands in North West Ohio. This woodland was ranked as one of the top five sites of interest by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP).
In 2003, the Black Swamp Conservancy acquired the original 80 acre property from the Forrest family. Since 2003, the Conservancy has acquired the intact forested wetlands along the Marie DeLarme creek and parcels buffering those woods. In the last few years they have purchased two more parcels located in the surrounding area. One is on the southwest side of Forder’s bridge, and the other is the river bottom on the northeast side of Forder’s bridge. The Conservancy now has 391 acres in this area that is preserved and or in the restoration process. The Conservancy worked with DNAP to dedicate the site as a State Nature Preserve in 2008.
The acreage on the west side of the woods and west side of road 73 are in the restoration process. This restoration process involves wetland & stream restoration and reforestation. This process involved 3500 feet of stream restoration, habitat structures, six vernal pools and wetlands. The south west site was planted with approximately 20,000 native upland and wetland trees.
The protected woods is not open to the public, but the restoration areas are. This is not the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park. This is Paulding County, and the Great Black Swamp is a piece of our history. Over the years we have drained and tamed the swamp. But here at Forrest Woods, time has stopped. We now realize what the Great Black Swamp had to offer. A home for rare and unique plants and species and an important role in preserving clean water and controlling floods.
This is an ongoing process of restoration. It takes a lot of manpower and many hours to restore an area like this to its original habitat. This is a great opportunity to be part of a long lasting preservation project. The Conservancy has scheduled two work days to accomplish this – on September 23rd and October 21st from 9:30-2:00 p.m., and volunteers can stop in for any part of that time. We will be gathering at the Forrest Woods parking lot, ¾ of a mile north of Forder’s Bridge on County Road 73. The Conservancy is looking for volunteers to help get this done. Members from the Antwerp Conservation Club, Boy Scout Troop 143, Area Church Groups and FFA volunteered this past spring. It is time again to get more things done. What do you need to bring? Gloves, scissors, clippers, water, proper clothing for the weather and a love of the outdoors. This is a great opportunity for youth, school and church organizations to fulfill their community service hours. Go to www.blackswamp.org to learn more about this organization and the areas it protects and is restoring. For more information about this upcoming event, or for a pdf file of the flier, contact Melanie Coulter at mcoulter@blackswamp.org or at 419- 833-1025. Also you can contact Gary Mabis at garyamabis@gmail.com.
–Gary Mabis
Pistol Range Chairman, Antwerp Conservation Club
