Board of Supervisors

Suzi Clarridge

Bill Conklin

Jay Rausch

Steve Robinson

Matt Staley

SWCD Personnel

Terri Gravatt

Brent Nickel

Kaylee Port

Bob Scheiderer

Mark Watkins

NRCS Personnel

Robin Sweeney

Pheasants Forever

Brian Ortman

Union SWCD

18000 St. Rt. 4 North

Suite B

Marysville, OH 43040

tel: 937-642-5871 x 3

fax: 937-642-2825

www.co.union. oh.us/SWCD

Volume 18, No. 3 Summer2013

Mark Your Calendar!

Union Soil and Water is hosting its 68th Annual Meeting on August 14, 2013. The meeting will be held at the Union County Service Center on London Avenue in Marysville. Board Supervisor elections will begin at 5:45 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. Following elections, guests will enjoy a catered meal featuring Dale Romp from the Smiling Daisy Café of Milford Center. Menu items include smoked brisket, Jamaican jerk chicken, roasted root vegetables, rice, and salad. For dessert, strawberry cheesecake and brownies will be available. Speaking at this year’s meeting is Bob Anderson who will be discussing the Adventures of Lewis and Clark. Special Awards and door prizes will be awarded throughout the evening’s festivities. Tickets are being offered at $15 each, and may be obtained from the SWCD Office in the Union County Ag Center, or from any of the Union SWCD supervisors. We hope to see you there!

Wild About WildlifeWild About Wildlife

Brent Nickel, Union SWCD Wildlife Specialist. brent.nickel@oh.nacdnet.net

Wild About WildlifeWild About Wildlife Brent Nickel, Union SWCD Wildlife Specialist.

brent.nickel@oh.nacdnet.net

Wildlife Conflict Management ...Forget Control!

Experiencing wildlife conflicts? Try the solutions associated with this wildlife conflict resolution website!

The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management: http://www.icwdm.org/

Injured—or what appears to be Helpless Wildlife? Call or contact the Ohio Wildlife Center – 614-793-WILD (9453) – then follow their every instruction!

http://www.ohiowildlifecenter.org/index.cfm “Humans are often wildlife’s last hope for survival – not necessarily their best hope.”

Recommendations to PONDer!

Except for fishless ponds and those pond owners capable of executing precision applications, the window of oppor-tunity to treat aquatic vegetation with prescribed herbi-cides has closed for another year! It becomes just too risky to treat warm pond water which is supporting robust plant growth. Summer applications may result in fish kills.

On-line, see: http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0008.html

If you are still looking to control algae and floating weeds, it’s time to get your rake out and manually remove the

offending aquatic culprits.

Tallgrass Truths—Revealed! Native Warm Season Grasses in Summer...

Right now, Native Warm Season Grasses are thriving and maximizing their growth. One can almost hear them growing. For USDA grassland practice contracts, the an-nual Ground Nesting & Brood-rearing Season began on March 1st and runs through July 15th. All mowing is prohibited during this period of nesting, egg-laying, brood-ing, nestling development, and fledging of grassland birds. August is a great time to mow any Cool Season Grass Fire Breaks that may be associated with the Tallgrass contracts. These borders need to be mowed annually—even if a prescribed burn is not planned. It is the uninten-tional wild fire that annual border mowing will help deter.

Don’t Forget Your Best Friend Designated dog training areas are located on portions of the

Berlin, Caesar Creek, Delaware, Fallsville, Indian Creek, Killdeer Plains, Lake La Su An, Oxbow, Resthaven, Rush Run, Spencer,

Tri-Valley and East Fork wildlife areas.

Dogs may not be trained or exercised on state public hunting areas from May 1 through August 31, except on these

designated dog training areas.

Ticks In Ohio

Tick season is here and you should take the time to learn about Ohio’s tick species and how to protect yourself. American Dog Ticks, Blacklegged

ticks and Lone star Ticks can all pose a threat to outdoorsmen and women.

Read More About Ohio’s Ticks Here: Ticks In Ohio

Share Your Love for the Outdoors - Take A Kid Hunting

Hunting season is just around the corner and there’s no time like the present to get a kid involved in the outdoor

sports. Now’s the time to start thinking about getting into that Hunter’s Education Class. The Division of Wildlife offers three types of certification courses; instructor-led training, home study courses, and proficiency testing for

those 18 and older. Best of all; It’s FREE! For more information about when and where these

classes are available, see the web page below:

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/Huntingand%

20trappingSubhomepage/Hunter_trapper_Certification_tool/

HunterEducationand%20Certification/tabid/18566/Default.aspx

What’s In-Season Always Refer to the Current Year’s Regulations.

See what is currently “In-Season” at this website: http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/seasons.aspx

Fishing Regulations: http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing.aspx

Hunting Regulations:

http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/hunting.aspx New regulations for 2013-2014 will be out soon.

Be sure to read up on the new changes associated with the Deer Hunting Seasons.

Major changes have taken place this year.

“Hunting With Permission” forms and

Hunting Regulations and Fishing Regulations are available at our office.

National Hunting and Fishing Day

Come join us for a morning of FREE Kids outdoor activities on Saturday Sept. 28 from 9 am.– 12 noon at the Heart of Ohio Fishing Club. Usual activities include an archery range, trap shooting, “Passport to Fishing” instruction, BB gun range, trapping displays, and REFRESHMENTS will be provided.

Share the Great Outdoors with a young person and reap the benefits for years to come.

Summer Wildlife and Habitat Interests Summer Wildlife and Habitat Interests

Adult Female Magnified

Female 3/16” Male 1/8”

Egg Mass

Tick, Tock…Tick Talk It is Time for some Straight Talk

From experiences, rest assured that one is much more likely to get “sick” from another person, place, or thing – than they are from the Dog Tick! Although seasonally abundant, the American Dog Tick is not considered to be a serious human health threat. Specifically, they do not transmit Lyme disease.

American Dog Tick – Dermacentor variabilis

Phylum: Anthropoda

Class: Arachnida

Family Ixodidae – “Hard Ticks”

Hosts: A Three-Host Tick. Each engorgement (blood-feeding) requires a different host

(smaller to larger mammals). Adults seek larger mammals.

Attraction Cues: Scents (karimones) of wild mammals and pets along trails and in yards. Plus, there are

carbon dioxide cues that ticks react-to.

Four-Stage Life Cycle: The life cycle is completed in three months to one year (longer in northern United States).

Egg Mass consists of 4,000 – 6,500 Eggs

Six-legged larvae, aka: “seed ticks”, will over-winter, then engorge upon smaller mammals.

Activity begins in late-March with over-wintering survivors and wanes in mid-July.

Eight-legged nymphs also over-winter. They then engorge upon larger mammals – not humans.

Activity begins in late-March with over-wintering survivors and wanes by mid-July

Adults seek larger mammals and humans to engorge upon.

Become active in mid-April, peaking in May & June, and will decline by September.

Four Stage Life Cycle

Life Cycle Description

Three-Hosts Current Stage’s—Fulfillment

Typical Time Period for

Current Life Stage

Minimum Time Period for

Current Life Stage

Maximum Time Period for

Current Life Stage

Extreme Life Cycle

Survival Period

Stage 1 Egg Stage – 4,000 to 6,000 Eggs 5½ Weeks 3 Weeks 8 Weeks

Stage 2 Larvae – Six legged “Seed Ticks”

1st Host: Small Mammals Engorging

Larvae – Drop-off and Molting

4 Days

1½ Weeks

3 Days

1 Week

2 Weeks

8+ Months

Stage 3 Nymph – Eight legged

2nd Host: Large Mammals Engorging

Nymph – Drop-off and Molting

6 Days

3½ Weeks

3 Days

3½ Weeks

1 Week

1 Month

Stage 4 (The Human

Conflict Stage)

Adult – Eight legged Adult Female – Eight legged: 3/16”

3rd Host: Large Mammals Engorging

Adult Female – Drop-off and Egg-

Laying

1½ Weeks

Variable

5 Days

3 Days

1 Month

2 Weeks

All Stages: 1 to 4

Rate of Development is Weather Dependent

(Temperature)

3½ Months 3 Months 1 ½ Years Up to 6 Years

If unfed…or no hosts are engorged upon: 1½ Years

If unfed…or no hosts are engorged upon: 1½ Years

If unfed…or no hosts are engorged upon: Nearly 3 1/2 Years

Up the Crick... Using resources today, conserving for tomorrow.

Kaylee Port, Bokes/Mill Technician kaylee.port@oh.nacdnet.net

Storm water Pollution Prevention Storm water is water that comes from a rain event or melting snow. The rain or snow that falls on impermeable, hard surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, roads and parking lots, is not absorbed and runs off into storm drains that discharge into local streams and ponds. There are many materials that can be carried to our streams by storm water, including; oil, grease, pesticides, fertilizers, road salt, solvents, raw sewage, and silt. Water pollution is caused by the presence of enough harmful material to damage the water’s quality. An excess amount of materials transported by storm water runoff can negatively impact local streams and ponds. Storm water pollution can lead to contaminated drinking water sources, impaired recreational areas, excess silt loads, and destruction of habitat and aesthetic appeal. The key to storm water pollution prevention is proper use, not over using or miss-using certain materials.

Here are 7 easy things you can do to stop pollution of our local streams:

1. Cover or seed all bare soil; sediment is the #1 stream pollutant by volume

2. Recycle your used motor oil. Never dump oil or other potentially toxic materials down the storm

drain. Storm water that enters these drains generally goes untreated and flows into local streams

and ponds.

3. Avoid overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Test your soils to determine the amount needed.

4. Maintain your septic system and repair/replace malfunctioning systems.

5. Properly dispose of leaves and grass clippings. Never use streams or gutters to dispose of yard

waste.

6. Pick up pet waste and dispose of it in the toilet or trash.

7. Take old paint, batteries, pesticides, and auto fluids to a hazardous waste handling facility, or

contact your local administration to find out when waste disposal days are held in your area.

Straw Blower For Rent

The Union Soil and Water Conservation

District has purchased a Model 20 Tailgate

Mulcher on a 6’ x 12’ trailer to rent to the

public. The Tailgate Mulcher is electric start,

will blow straw about 40 ft. and can spread an

average of 120 straw bales per hour. It will rent

for $75/ day and $100 for a weekend. This type

of blower is typically used for new lawns, new

seeding establishment and for waterway and

pond bank grass establishment. Please contact

Union SWCD at 937-642-5871 ext. 106 to get

more information or to schedule.

No-Till Drill For Rent

Straw Blower for Rent

The Union Soil and Water Conservation District

has a Model 20 Tailgate Mulcher on a 6’x12’ trailer to rent to the public.

The Tailgate Mulcher is electric start, will blow straw about 40 ft.

and can spread up to 100 bales per hour.

It will rent for $75 per day and $100 for a weekend.

This type of blower is typically used for new seeding establishment,

and for waterway and pond bank grass establishment.

Please contact Union SWCD at 937-642-5871 x104 for more

information or to schedule.

The Union SWCD has a John Deere 1590 no-till drill

for rent. The drill is 15 foot with 7.5 inch row spacing

and is equipped with markers and a grass seed box.

A 100 horse-power tractor with 2 hydraulic outlets is

needed to pull the drill. The drill rents for $10.00 per acre

and there is a $75 minimum charge.

If you are interested in using the drill,

call 937-642-5871 x 104 or stop in our office to sign-up.

Ditch Maintenance The ditch maintenance department is currently preparing for its normal maintenance routine which includes mowing the southern ditches (beginning in July) and spraying the northern ditches. Our spraying schedule has been pushed ahead due to the problematic weed poison hemlock (see pictures). In recent years poison hemlock has proliferated along the right of way areas, along ditches, and many other public and private locations. We are making changes in the timing of our spray applications in an effort to control this problematic weed. Poison hemlock is a biennial which means that it is spread by seed, which germinates in late summer. This weed grows vegetatitively the first year and overwinters as a rosette. The following spring, it will shoot up quickly in a tall spike then flower in late May or June. Poison Hemlock will set seed and die off by midsummer. This cycle had been missed by our normal spray application timing, therefore we are pushing application earlier in an attempt to disrupt this cycle.

NRCS Update

CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DUE BY JUNE 14

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2013 – The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Stewardship

Program will provide about $175 million in funding nationally for up to 12.6 million additional acres enroll-

ment this year.

Although applications are accepted all year, farmers, ranchers and forestland owners interested in CSP

should submit applications by June 14 to their local NRCS office to ensure they are considered for this

year’s funding. The deadline was extended from May 31.

The voluntary program allows producers to go the extra mile in conserving natural resources while also

maintaining or increasing the productivity of their operations.

“CSP is different than our other financial assistance programs,” said NRCS Acting Chief Jason Weller. “It

offers payments to producers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and agree to adopt

higher levels of stewardship. It’s about conservation activities on the entire operation, focusing on multiple

resource concerns.”

Playing a significant part in conserving and improving our nation’s resources, producers enrolled an addi-

tional 12.1 million acres in CSP last year, bringing the total number of acres to more than 50 million.

Many of the CSP enhancements improve soil quality, which helps land become more resilient to extreme

weather.

Several other improvements are available for producers, including intensive rotational grazing, intercropping

and wildlife friendly fencing.

Because of the extreme weather in 2012, more interest and participation in the cover crop enhancements is

expected this year, according to NRCS experts.

A CSP self-screening checklist is available to help producers determine if the program is suitable for their

operation. The checklist highlights basic information about CSP eligibility requirements, stewardship thresh-

old requirements and payment types.

For the checklist and additional information, visit the CSP website

(http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/csp/) or visit your local USDA

NRCS office.

Brian was raised on a dairy farm in northwest Perry County, Ohio. After graduating

from high school he moved to Kentucky where he managed a thoroughbred

broodmare farm for several years. In 1997 he moved to Alabama where he started

a retriever training business. Brian trained retrievers professionally for over 15

years and competed in field trials, hunt tests, and the Super Retriever Series.

In 2006, Brian returned to Auburn University and completed his B.S. degree in

Wildlife Sciences graduating in 2009. He also received his M.S. degree in avian

ecology from Auburn University in 2012. Brian’s main interests involve managing

pheasants, quail, and other game birds. He also has experience managing white-

tailed deer, whooping cranes, lesser prairie-chickens, waterfowl, several

endangered species of bats, and many species of threatened and endangered

Neotropical migrant songbirds.

Brian covers Union, Logan, Champaign, Madison, and Clark counties. Brian is

certified as an Associate Wildlife Biologist® and is a member of the Wildlife Society

and the Professional Retriever Trainers Association (PRTA). He is an avid hunter

and also enjoys fishing and birding. Brian and his fiancée moved back to Ohio in

March and currently live in Perry County. They plan to move to Union or Logan

Counties in the near future. Brian can be reached at 334-524-7334.

Please Welcome… Brian Ortman!

Pheasants Forever staff at the Union County office

The Union Soil and Water Conservation District and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibit discrimination in their programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs

and marital or familial status.

Upcoming Events July 4, 2013 - Independence Day Holiday - Office Closed July 11, 2013 - Union SWCD Board Meeting - 7:00 PM Ag Center - Conservation Mtg. Room July 21 - July 27, 2013 - Union County Fair August 1 - August 4, 2013 - 54th Annual National Trapper Association Convention Allen Co. Fairgrounds - Lima, Ohio August 8, 2013 - Union SWCD Board Meeting - 7:00PM Ag Center - Conservation Mtg. Room August 14, 2013 - Union SWCD Annual Meeting - 5:45 PM Union County Service Center, London Ave. August 28 - September 2, 2013 - Richwood Independent Fair September 2, 2013 - Labor Day Holiday - Office Closed September 12, 2013 - Union SWCD Board Meeting - 7:00 PM Ag Center - Conservation Mtg. Room September 28, 2013 - “Passport to Fishing Activity Stations” National Hunting and Fishing Day - 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon Heart of Ohio Fishing Club - Marysville, Ohio

Would you like to receive Conservation News by email on a quarterly basis? Email kaylee.port@oh.nacdnet.net to be included on our list.

Union SWCD Seeks 2013 Affiliate Members

The Union SWCD is presently seeking Affiliate Members for 2013. Affiliate members are businesses or individuals that assist and support the SWCD by making contributions which go towards soil and water conservation/natural resource education efforts. Such efforts include displays, pond clinics, tours, camp scholarships, and school presentations.

All affiliate members will be listed in the Union SWCD Annual Report, Annual Meeting Program, Quarterly Newsletters and on the SWCD website.

This year the following affiliate memberships are available:

Diamond Membership -$500 or more; Platinum Membership – $250-$499;

Gold Membership - $100-$249; Silver Membership – $50-$99.

For more information, please contact the Union SWCD at 937/642-5871 x113, or by visiting the office located at 18000 SR 4, Suite B, Marysville, Ohio.