An 8-acre ODNR natural resources park will be on display this year at the Ohio State Fair. Visitors to the Ohio State Fair will find a break from the hustle of the midway at the Natural Resources Park, located in the southeast corner of the fairgrounds.

Outdoor and indoor nature exhibits focused on hands-on learning will greet fairgoers as they tour the park-like setting of the area, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

“ODNR’s Natural Resources Park at the state fair is just a snapshot of what Ohioans can do outdoors” said ODNR Director Sean Logan. “We hope our visitors’ experience will inspire them to get out and explore all that Ohio has to offer.”

Beginning on opening day, Wednesday, visitors of all ages are invited to talk to a 15-foot-high Smokey Bear who has been greeting youngsters by name for more than 30 years. Smokey Bear will continue his tradition of sharing the importance of forest fire prevention and safety with all fairgoers.

The Natural Resources Pavilion, located next to Smokey Bear, will offer a variety of interactive exhibits promoting conservation and outdoor recreation, such as Explore the Outdoors and the demonstration Ohio dog park. One of the newest exhibits gives visitors a chance to see ancient fossilized organisms once found in Ohio. Also new this year, the pavilion will feature a hands-on nature lab which will enable families to interact with interpretive staff from the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program.

Young visitors, ages 18 and under, are encouraged to explore paddle sports by grabbing a kayak paddle and trying the 7,000-square-foot kayak pond, located next to the pavilion. This hands-on activity, which is supervised by ODNR Division of Watercraft professionals, teaches children and parents alike about the importance of wearing proper fitting lifejackets and offers paddling basics. Nearby, Rudder’s Boat Shack offers an array of boating information.

The Natural Resources Park features a 500-seat amphitheater where fairgoers will be treated to all types of entertainment every day from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The long-time favorite Great Lakes Timber Show, featuring log rolling and lumberjack contests, will be returning along with the Columbus Zoo and several musical acts. From cloggers to retriever dogs, jugglers to naturalists, there’s something for everyone at ODNR’s amphitheater.

Across the pond from the amphitheater is the extensive ODNR Division of Wildlife display area, home to the always busy kiddy fishing area. In addition to free fishing for the youngsters, families can try a number of outdoor sports including the free archery and BB gun ranges.

Other popular Wildlife displays include a collection of live native animals. New this year, a live coyote will reside at the Natural Resources Park along with river otters, a bobcat, wild turkeys and birds of prey including owls and eagles. After visiting native wildlife, fairgoers may enjoy a stroll through the colorful aviary and butterfly exhibits.

Another outdoor natural display awaits fairgoers at the authentic tall-grass prairie; a number of stunning prairie blossoms can be viewed along an accessible boardwalk trail. Nearby, an early pioneer cabin gives visitors a glimpse into life along the Ohio frontier. The Ohio State Parks exhibit also includes a camping village, featuring distinct and unique ways to camp in Ohio.

Before leaving the park, fairgoers are encouraged to stop by the ODNR Information Booth to pick up pamphlets and other information related to ODNR lands and programs. The information booth is also an excellent place to ask ODNR-related questions while visiting the park area. Attached to the information booth, the Ohio State Parks Gift Shop is full of great gift ideas as well as State Parks merchandise for the entire family.

ODNR’s Natural Resources Park is open daily during the run of the fair from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and entry is free with state fair admission. Visit www.ohiodnr.com to access more detailed information about the ODNR Natural Resources Park or check out the daily amphitheater schedule.

The Ohio State Fair runs from Wednesday through Sunday, Aug. 8. For more information about the state fair, go to www.ohiostatefair.com.



Native Ohio wildlife

A variety of native Ohio wildlife is slated to arrive at the Natural Resources Park, located on the southeast corner of the Ohio State Fairgrounds, beginning Tuesday at 10 a.m., according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

 Rare and endangered species from across the state, such as a bobcat and bald eagles, can be seen in the ODNR Division of Wildlife's educational exhibit during the 12-day state fair, along with more abundant species, which this year includes a coyote, beaver, owl, river otter and wild turkey.

An aviary featuring cardinals, Baltimore orioles, Kentucky warblers, green herons, wood ducks and mergansers, as well as box and painted turtles is a feature of this year's fair. Fairgoers can also check out the Buckeye Bat Cave, an exhibit about Ohio bats.

The 8-acre Natural Resources Park features tree-shaded picnic areas, walkways and an amphitheater with live entertainment daily from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The park's popular kids' fishing pond is restocked regularly with bluegill and catfish throughout the 12-day state fair run.

Other attractions in the Natural Resources Park include a 7,000 square-foot kayaking pond, a 15-foot animated Smokey Bear, a walk-through butterfly garden, tall grass prairie, educational pavilion, historic log cabin and camping village.



Food-plot frenzy

Those of you who follow my writings may remember some past stories on my actions as to trying to finally plant a couple of food plots on our family hunting land. This year being the second year of my endeavor was somewhat frustrating. Mother Nature just didn’t cooperate along with some ill fated mistakes I learned from last years

Last year’s planting turned out fairly well but I knew they could be better. In an effort to learn more I spent the entire winter reading anything and everything I could that had to do with food plots. A wide array of articles from soil preparation to liming and fertilization, soil samples, implements needed as well as the ever confusing “What to plant.” Talk about a hodgepodge of confusing misleading information, the more I read the more confused I got.

Now I’m a pretty intelligent guy or at least I like to thinks so (despite a few reader’s analysis of me in Opine) but if you take note of each seed company’s portrayal of their product I guarantee you’ll either go broke or go crazy trying to figure out what to plant and how to do it.

In an effort to help those of you who are considering or new to the food plot craze keep your sanity and not end up spending an exorbitant amount of money on useless products I’ve come up with some guidelines you may want to consider.



Plotting food plots

In the modern deer hunting civilization, it’s hard to imagine that anyone would question the value of planting food plots, much less not knowing what a food plot is. However, in the past many, if not most; of the deer hunting public was completely unfamiliar with the “food plot” concept. Terminology such as soil pH, cultipackers and perennials was foreign vocabulary to the average deer hunter.

The philosophy was that the quality and/or quantity of a deer herd could be improved by planting specific forages designed to increase the nutritional plain of that deer herd. Initial research conducted lead to the introduction of deer forage blends such in the clover families. The success of these and other products along with an informational and educational campaign slowly began to bring about a change of thinking among deer hunters and managers. It was realized that instead of just planting something to attract deer, now you could plant something that attracts and improves the overall quality of the herd. As this momentum grew, what is now called “the Food Plot Revolution” began.

It’s safe to say that, unless you have been hiding under the proverbial rock, you are probably familiar with food plots and the tremendous results they can provide. The next obvious question then is, what should I plant? Without a doubt, this is the most common question asked by both knowledgeable and novice food plotters. And, when you step back and look at all the options available, there is little wonder why this question is the most confusing and ranks at the very top of the list.

To really figure out which food plot product is the right one to plant, you must first understand that there is no one “best” product to plant for every situation. Instead, you need to analyze all the factors that would be involved in planting a particular food plot in a particular situation and then match them to the product that would work “best.” In other words, look at food plot products as tools. No one tool is the best tool for every job. If you need to drive a nail then use a hammer. Even though a pipe wrench may “kind of” work to drive the nail, the hammer would work better.

On the other hand, the only thing the hammer would be good for if a leaky pipe fitting needed tightened would be to bash the heck out of it when you have lost your patience with the job. Sometimes different tools can be used for the same job but normally, there is one tool in particular that will be the most effective and finding that tool is the key.

To identify the best food plot product to use given the parameters you are faced with, we must first identify the questions we need to ask ourselves. Even though the list of questions can be endless, let’s examine the four most common you will need to answer before deciding what type of food plot to plant.



Perennial or annual?

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, perennial applies specifically to winter hardy herbaceous plants. Perennials are a type of plant that does not have to reseed itself in order to grow and produce for multiple years. In fact, even in the colder northern climates a perennial does not actually die but simply goes dormant with the winter’s freezing temperatures. Perennials usually stay green even under the snow. Sometimes it may look brown on top of the ground but the roots are still alive. In warmer southern climates, a perennial such as Imperial Whitetail Clover can stay green and growing year-round.

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. In gardening, annual often refers to a plant grown outdoors in the spring and summer and surviving just for one growing season. Many food plants are, or are grown as, annuals, including virtually all domesticated grains. Some perennials and biennials are grown in gardens as annuals for convenience, particularly if they are not considered cold hardy for the local climate. Carrot, celery and parsley are true biennials that are usually grown as annual crops for their edible roots, petioles and leaves, respectively. Tomato, sweet potato and bell pepper are tender perennials usually grown as annuals. (Defenition by Wikipedia internet encyclopedia)



Perennials

Perennials are typically the backbone of most food plot programs. They supply a consistent, constant food source for most, if not all, of the year. Using a consistent perennial food source such as chicory or various clover or clover blends helps to hold deer on a property at the same time providing a high level of nutrition. In most management programs, at least 60 percent of the total food plot acres should be planted in perennials.

These perennial food plots will supply the bulk of food over the course of the year; and because perennials typically have good re-growth, a high percentage of perennials will also help to alleviate over-grazing problems. Here are a few things to consider if you plant a perennial; typically more ground preparation is needed when planting, establishment takes a little longer than annuals and maintenance is necessary for optimal production.



Annuals

At first glance, you may ask yourself why any one would ever choose an annual over a perennial. But further examination shows that each can be used for specific purposes. Annuals are very fast growing and can be used to complement your perennial food plots. Where perennials are considered the main entrée, annuals should be considered as side dishes. For instance, let’s say you want to plant a food plot that will be at its most attractive during the fall and winter months and at the same time supply nutrition during this time of year.

You may want to take a look at planting a brassica product. Maybe you are looking for a food plot that will supply large quantities of protein-rich food during the dry summer months. In this case, a drought and browse-tolerant spring and summer annual would be wise. Yet another example of how an annual can be used is in a situation where you would like to plant a food plot in an area where tillage equipment would be impossible to use. Because many annuals can be planted with minimal tillage and there are several “throw and go” products on the market this type of annual may be your best choice. As you can see, annuals can make great complementary plots to your perennials.



The choice is yours

Now that you know the difference the choice is yours on what to plant either a perennial or an annual food source. Or, as said earlier, a balanced mixture of each. I myself have chosen to do a 50 / 50 split and I’ve done it within the same food plot. Half of my plots are perennials the other half are annuals.



My choice

This year, on the perennial side of plot, I chose to plant one half of food plot #1 in Buck Science “Antler Blend” which is mainly a variety of grasses, Quaker Boy “Northern Forage, again a mixture of several grasses and finally Crimson Red clover from Bob Rucks at Austinburg mill.

The other half of plot #1 is planted in Evolved Harvest “Shot Plot” forage rape and turnip brassica along with Mossy Oak Brassica all being all being annuals.

Now on food plot #2 my perennial side has Evolved Harvest “Throw and Grow” a grass mixture and again Crimson Red clover. On the annual side for #2 I went with again Evolved Harvest “Shot Plot” forage rape and turnip brassica along with Mossy Oak Biologic Brassica.



Stay tuned

Now that you have an idea of the types of planting you may want to go with next week I’ll discuss the types of equipment you may need along with soil conditions and what to do to bring it up to a viable level to produce you plantings.

Remember, pass it on or it will surely pass on.

Sunderlin is a freelance writer from Geneva. Reach him at djss@roadrunner.com.