{"id":29662,"date":"2018-06-29T09:05:05","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T13:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=29662"},"modified":"2025-03-17T13:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T17:13:20","slug":"baltimore-checkerspots-monarchs-and-chats-theres-much-to-monitor-at-beaver-creek-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/baltimore-checkerspots-monarchs-and-chats-theres-much-to-monitor-at-beaver-creek-wetlands.htm","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore Checkerspots, Monarchs and Chats: There\u2019s Much to Monitor at Beaver Creek Wetlands"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With its orange antennae knobs and distinctive orange, black and white spotted wing patterns, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.butterfliesandmoths.org\/species\/Euphydryas-phaeton\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baltimore Checkerspot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an unforgettable butterfly. While Baltimore Checkerspots are the state insect of Maryland, they have become rare in some areas of the state where they used to be booming. These declines have happened for a number of reasons, such as loss of wetland habitat due to development and climate change. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is true for Baltimore Checkerspots that live in Ohio, too. Ohio has lost about 90% of its native wetlands, primarily due to drainage to create farmland. These wetlands were once considered \u201cwasteland.\u201d Incredibly, there is still a place in Ohio where the Baltimore Checkerspot is still thriving: Siebenthaler Fen, one of the areas that is part of the Beaver Creek Wetlands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPeople come here every year to see the Baltimore Checkerspots,\u201d says <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beavercreekwetlands.org\/team\/james-amon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jim Amon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Vice President of <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beavercreekwetlands.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beaver Creek Wetlands Association (BCWA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Amon is also a retired Professor Emeritus, Biology, Wright State University. \u201cVisitors who come out here on our boardwalk in the Siebenthaler Fen during the four weeks around Memorial Day usually see several. After that, they can still see the orange and black caterpillars. The caterpillars overwinter and then form chrysalises in the spring, which then become butterflies. The Baltimore Checkerspot is a unique and memorable butterfly, well worth a visit.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visitors can also see another butterfly that has seen declines, the Monarch, and many birds that aren\u2019t easy to find in the rest of Ohio, including the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Yellow-breasted_Chat\/id\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yellow-breasted Chat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Sora\/overview\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sora Rail<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cThroughout the spring, summer and fall dragonflies and damselflies put on a spectacular show. Beavers and river otters occupy the stream,\u201d Amon adds. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The entire corridor is an important stopover place for migrating neotropical birds. During spring migration, it is common to find about a hundred or more species in the BCW.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeaver Creek Wetlands are groundwater driven and are mostly fens. Fens are unique in that they are the home to many rare species. Baltimore Checkerspots and other similar butterflies need the fen environment to thrive. Fens are peat-accumulating wetlands that are fed by mineral-rich groundwater. Fens support a high diversity of plants and the BCW corridor has about 500 species of plants and probably more. High diversity of plants naturally supports high diversity of animals as well. \u00a0The key is the groundwater,\u201d says Amon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beaver Creek Wetlands include: Siebenthaler Fen, Koogler Wetland\/Prairie Reserve, Creekside Reserve, Beaver Creek Wetland Nature Reserve, Beaver Creek Wildlife Area, Cemex Reserve, Fairborn Marsh, Fairborn Community Park, Phillips Park, Rotary Park and Oakes Quarry Park. All are connected along Beavercreek. More wildlife areas are along Little Beaver Creek and are parallel to the bikeway, like Zimmerman Prairie and Hagenbuch Reserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29664\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29664\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-600x960.jpg\" alt=\"Beaver Creek\u2019s Baltimore Checkerspots\" width=\"600\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-600x960.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-187x300.jpg 187w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-768x1229.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-960x1536.jpg 960w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-1280x2048.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-940x1504.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img1_edit-scaled.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29664\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Wells used for water studies at Beaver Creek Wetlands (Credit: Jim Amon)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Amon explains, \u201cThe BCW is a complex of many wetlands stretched out over a more than ten-mile corridor interrupted by only a few roads. Most of the wetlands present are fens or have a strong component of their water source as groundwater. The same aquifer that feeds the fens also is the sole source of water for most of Greene County, Ohio. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volunteers from the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association, formed in 1988, have promoted the conservation of this corridor and while working with grants, local governmental partners, and private contributions buying and restoring or enhancing the amazing variety of habitats there. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are over 11 entry points where the public can examine and enjoy these wetlands. These are described with maps on the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beavercreekwetlands.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BCWA website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The individual parks are owned by a number of local organizations, but the BCWA tries to coordinate most of the ecological management. Trails and boardwalks, often built by those volunteers get people where they can see the unique fens and where students and scientists can do research.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While there are many things for visitors to see at Beaver Creek Wetlands, researchers there have also found that close visual observation has been key to environmental monitoring of the areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cVisual observations are very important,\u201d says Amon. \u201cOne key observation we made at one point was that there was some unusually green grass at the outlet of a spring. Upon testing, we found that the phosphate level had become atypical.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of the time, phosphorus readings are so low for wetlands that they cannot be detected with the commonly used field kits such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/products\/brands\/hach.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hach<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Amon says. \u201cThe phosphates we\u2019ve measured were soluble phosphorus, the most bioavailable kind. In the summer, our data suggests that runoff that reaches our creek has around 0.5mg\/L of that phosphorus. Groundwater that is the main source of water for our fens throughout the year typically has phosphorus at near detection limits for unconcentrated samples &#8211; around 0.015mg\/L&#8211; a big difference,\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amon explains. \u201cFor water that soaks into the ground from lawns heavy with fertilizer, phosphorus is likely to be removed by roots and microbes unless it is way beyond their nutritional needs. Getting a rise in groundwater phosphorus suggests fertilizer overuse. The Koogler Wetland\/Prairie Reserve, one of our wetlands, is an area where we\u2019ve seen really high phosphorus numbers. We only did one study in that area, so there is a need to repeat and get a year-round look at phosphorus before any firm conclusions can be made, but the plants suggest it is there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tracking down the reason for the high readings has proven difficult. Amon has asked the Greene County Sanitary Engineering people if they ever detected a sewer leak near the Koogler Reserve and they had checked near Koogler regularly but never seen a leak. Since BCWA started its work in 1988 over a thousand homes have been built on the land adjacent to the wetlands and many apply fertilizers to their lawns. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The golf course could have been another source of phosphorus, Amon believes. \u201cI recently heard that many lawn care companies are stopping application of phosphorus to lawns as it is known that the soils are essentially saturated with phosphorus and it does little good,\u201d he says. \u201cNevertheless, we have seen biological indications of eutrophication in some of our wetland areas. Because groundwater moves slowly and over great distances, we may be now seeing phosphorus that was applied decades ago!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29665\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29665\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29665\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-600x171.jpg\" alt=\"Beaver Creek\u2019s Baltimore Checkerspots\" width=\"600\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-600x171.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-300x85.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-768x219.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-1536x437.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-2048x583.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img2_edit-940x268.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29665\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">YSI 600XLM sonde used at Beaver Creek Wetlands (Credit: Jim Amon)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amon has also used a YSI XLM600 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/ysi-exo1-multi-parameter-water-quality-sonde.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sonde<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to measure temperature, conductivit<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y, salinity, pH, depth and dissolved oxygen in Beaver Creek areas. Such efforts were supported by grants and involved participation by Wright State University students. Students have also monitored the flow of nitrogen and phosphorus through the groundwater of the wetlands and creeks within the BCW corridor and looked at overall groundwater quality. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeaver Creek Wetlands depend on groundwater,\u201d Amon says. \u201cMuch of the monitoring done in the BCW has been to determine background or normal levels of the things we are looking for. Changes get our attention. Water is the lifeblood of any wetland and much of the monitoring we do is associated with restoration projects. You should never begin a wetland restoration project without a strong understanding of the hydrologic regime you are working under. We use two-inch PVC pipe and well screens to make wells and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/solinst-model-601-standpipe-piezometers.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">piezometers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to check water level and pressure for at least a year-long cycle to know what to expect. Water levels are checked manually with a simple electric <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">water level sensor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. One project required over forty wells to get a sense of the hydrology in an old farm field of about four acres. We have used some electronic monitoring of stream conditions where the aquifer is strongly recharged by a wetland constructed for that purpose near a county well field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, Amon\u2019s focus is not chemical parameters, however. \u00a0Monitoring at Beaver Creek Wetlands today primarily involves using biological indicators of wetland health. \u201cAfter all, that is the endpoint we have to deal with,\u201d says Amon. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One biological focus is removal of non-native species, such as purple loosestrife. \u201cPurple loosestrife is a big problem,\u201d Amon explains. \u201cIt is very invasive and it is one of the reasons some of our wetland areas have gone from diverse habitats with about 500 plant species to fewer than 12.\u201d Reed canary grass is another highly invasive species that Amon and other volunteers work to eliminate from Beaver Creek.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To directly address the observed phosphorus levels at the Koogler site, Amon and others have been in the process of removing invasive shallow rooted honeysuckle and planting deep-rooted prairie plants in the apparent path of the groundwater. \u201cIt is our hope that this bioremediation will soon be mature enough to intercept the phosphorus we\u2019ve seen,\u201d Amon adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Techniques for curbing non-native species often involve the introduction of a species that is competitive with the non-native one to prevent recurrence of the invader or using a grass or broadleaf specific herbicide when possible, to avoid collateral damage to \u201cgood\u201d plants. Non-native species are sometimes removed using a broad spectrum herbicide like glyphosate (Roundup, etc.) if the non-natives are covering a large area.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29666\" style=\"width: 542px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29666\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img3edit.jpg\" alt=\"Beaver Creek\u2019s Baltimore Checkerspots\" width=\"532\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img3edit.jpg 532w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/beaver_creek_img3edit-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 532px) 100vw, 532px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29666\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Wells used for water studies at Beaver Creek Wetlands (Credit: Jim Amon)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to all the work volunteers do in terms of environmental monitoring and care of Beaver Creek Wetlands, the BCWA is also involved in public education and communicates to people in regulatory agencies that can make a difference in support of the wetlands. BCWA works with people from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.co.greene.oh.us\/329\/Soil-Water-Conservation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greene Soil and Water Conservation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and consider agricultural activities as well. \u201cSome Minnesota and Wisconsin communities have started significant efforts to build <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/soakuptherain\/soak-rain-rain-gardens\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rain gardens<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Those help with stormwater mitigation and they help protect streams and wetlands. It would be great to start efforts like that in Ohio, too,\u201d adds Amon. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are hoping area researchers will get grants to continue doing work that will contribute to Beaver Creek Wetlands, and possibly continue doing chemical monitoring of the wetlands as we have done in the past. Most grants fund more basic research looking for new information that will help us explore new ideas. Monitoring alone does not do this. Our monitoring reveals problems that need action to protect what we have saved. Monitoring should be considered to be part of a larger scale project asking important questions about big ideas that could be funded. We are also hoping to get more student engagement, for example from University of Dayton and Wright State University, and get more university support for our efforts,\u201d Amon emphasizes. \u201cThe Beaver Creek Wetlands deserve more research.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Top image: Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (Credit: Mike Mushala)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beaver Creek Wetlands are a unique wetland system primarily made of fens. Environmental monitoring consists primarily of biotic monitoring but has also included chemical monitoring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":29667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,5,6,510],"tags":[764,766,60,767,765,500,109,277,64],"class_list":["post-29662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estuaries-wetlands","category-featured-articles","category-monitoring_tech-htm","category-water-quality","tag-beaver-creek-wetlands","tag-biological-indicators","tag-featured","tag-greene-soil-and-water-conservation","tag-jim-amon","tag-monitoring","tag-news-ticker","tag-phosphorus","tag-sonde"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Baltimore Checkerspots, Monarchs and Chats: There\u2019s Much to Monitor at Beaver Creek Wetlands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beaver Creek Wetlands are a unique wetland system primarily made of fens. 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