Why is site important?
Cedar Bog Nature Preserve is the largest and best example of a boreal and prairie fen complex in Ohio. It has many rare plants and animals, as well as excellent orchid, prairie, and woodland wildflower displays.
An almost mile long boardwalk guides the visitor through this preserve of Ohio's recent to Ice Age past. Mastodons probably fed here, and all of the Indian cultures of Ohio lived around here.
What to know about this historic site
http://www.cedarbognp.org/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cedar-Bog/111408542244125
Operated for OHS by Cedar Bog Association
Geocache site: http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/geocache/
TIMELINE article: April-May 1992 ;Volume 9/Number 2
FAQs:
• Cedar Bog is actually a fen, not a bog. Bogs clog, fens flush!
• It’s not grass you see in the bog, it’s sedges. Grasses are round; sedges have edges!
• Yes, the site has rattlesnakes; no, you more than likely will not see one during your visit.
Key things to see or do while visiting the site
A new Education and Visitor Center was constructed in 2009. The much need classrooms and restrooms are a welcome addition but the true jewel of the site is the fen itself.
Depending on the time of year, you will encounter a variety of unique wildflowers including skunk cabbage [image] in February – it blooms because it can thaw the ice and snow around it!, a sea of marsh marigolds [image] in March and April and photographers’ most sought after showy lady slipper orchid in May. [image]
Walk slowly and quietly and you might at least here the “plop” into the water of the elusive and endangered spotted turtle [image].
The site is also home to the even more reclusive endangered masassauga rattlesnake.
Special guided tours for some of the sites most interesting flora and fauna includes a Skunk Cabbage Walk in late February, a Spring Bird Walk, May 26, 2012, and the Orchid Walk on June 3, 2012.
Cedar Bog’s largest event of the year is Boo in the Bog, October 19 & 20, 2012. This non-scary guided night hike for young children and their parents stops throughout the bog to learn about a variety of nocturnal animals. The Education Center hosts hands-on activities, story-telling and food for sale.
The Friends of Cedar Bog Nature Preserve has started a fundraising campaign toward the goal to establish a $500,000 endowment fund. For more information: http://www.mfrtech.com/articles/28000.html