http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20091102/NEWS01/911020302
Condensed by Native Village
Ohio:
A
15,000-acre
swath
of
woodland
teeming
with
bobcats,
black
bears,
rattlesnakes
and
other
wildlife
will
soon
be
protected
as
Ohio's
first
new
state
forest
in
more
than
10
years.
The
Ohio
Department
of
Natural
Resources
says
the
state
used mostly
private
and
federal
funding
to
secure
a
$15,100,000
purchase
agreement
for
the
Raccoon
Ecological
Management
Area
in
Vinton
County,
home
to
the
Vinton
Furnace
Experimental
Forest.
Department
Director
Sean
Logan
says
it is
one
of
the
most
biologically
diverse
ecosystems
in
the
country.
The
state's
largest
known
population
of
bobcats
lives
there,
as
do
bears,
timber
rattlesnakes
and
rare
birds
and
plants.
It's
also
home
to
more
than
50
years
of
forest
research.
Combined
with
nearby
Zaleski
State
Forest,
the
area
will
have
a conservation
forest
of
more
than
40,000
acres.
"It's one of the last great conservation opportunities in Ohio," said Josh Knights, executive director of the Nature Conservancy's Ohio office.
The last time Ohio created a state forest was in December 1998 with the designation of the 1,100-acre Beaver Creek State Forest in northeast Ohio. It was the 20th state forest.
The state hopes to finalize the purchase by July.
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