We continued our clean-up days to get rid of trash in the Oxbow. We still get a lot of trash each year from floods and unfortunately a lot that is directly dumped in the Oxbow by individuals that we wish were better educated about protecting the environment. The good news is that we are getting less and less trash each year and finding fewer tires. If the area has never been picked up (and there are a few of the more remote areas that have not been) we still find years of trash accumulation. But if we have cleaned an area, it now stays pretty clean. We are getting to the point where we only have to clear away the most recent accumulation of trash. In addition to the trash removal we have added removal of invasive plants from key areas of the Oxbow. This effort will continue to grow as the problem of invasive plants is growing throughout the Midwest . You will see more opportunities to help in this effort as we schedule days for removal and announce them in Wetland Matters and on our website.

In the Spring we received a legacy gift from the estate of Jinny (Wiseman) Witte that the Board decided to dedicate as an endowment for Oxbow, Inc. The income from the endowment will be put back into the endowment to build it for future use. Since the gift was in form of stocks and bonds it has taken a hit from the current financial situa­tion. However the gift does not completely come under our control for 10 years from the time of Jinny's passing - there Should be plenty of time for recovery and growth. Jinny also left a smaller legacy gift from a charitable trust she had established. The Board decided to honor Jinny and her first husband, Art Wiseman. both founders of Oxbow, Inc., by establishing a fund for nature education. The first grant from this Fund, covered in part by an additional education grant from Kathryn and Vishnoo Shahani, supported the first Cincinnati Birding Festival, sponsored through the auspices of the College of Mount St. Joseph. The grant provided binoculars, bird books, and reusable instructional materials for the young people attending the festival's scheduled bird walks and for participating community school teachers to teach classes related to the birding festival.

The spring brought the return of our major yearly fund raiser, the Cincinnati Area Birdathon. This year was spectacular with an outstanding 197 species being identified within the Birdathon Area during a single 24 hour period. An astonishing 17 teams participated with two teams splitting their donations between Oxbow and the team sponsor­ing organization (Audubon Society and the Cincinnati Nature Center). Over $5,500 was raised for habitat and access improvement projects within the Oxbow.

The work of several years of collecting observations of bird life in the Oxbow bore fruit this summer. The efforts of Dave Styer and Jay Stenger in collecting and submitting those observations to the Ohio Audubon Society resulted in the Oxbow Area being named part of an Important Bird Area (Lower Great Miami Valley) by the Ohio Audubon Society. This honor is shared with the Hamilton County Park District parks that line the lower Great Miami Valley. Look for Important Bird Area signs at our entrances. This designation recognizes the preservation of crucial habitat in the lower Great Miami Valley by Oxbow, Inc. and the Hamilton County Park District. In the case of the Oxbow area we have records for 283 species of birds using the Oxbow. It is not only the variety but the rarity and numbers of the birds using the area. Migrating ducks and Summering herons and egrets use the area in large concentrations. More recently the number and variety of raptor sightings in the area has increased markedly, adding an exclamation point to the value of the habitat.

Habitat improvement remains one of our primary goals. Here we have had some setbacks as well as some successes. We had two setbacks on our plans to make some major habitat improvements. The first setback was finding out that our application for a waiver from needing a state permit to impound about 14 acres of water during the winter in a flooded farm field, was rejected by the Indiana DNR. This is only a temporary setback and we will be pursuing getting the necessary permits to allow us to complete the Seasonal Flooding Project. Unfortunately the permit process is more costly than doing it without the need for a permit. However the Board feels that the value to wildlife of the impoundment during the winter is well worth the expenditure of the money needed to obtain the permit. The other setback involved our agreement with the Indiana DOT for a mitigation project along the southwest border of Oxbow Lake. This agreement was made several years ago and we expected the project to be completed a long time ago. As time dragged on without the INDOT starting the project, our inquiries uncovered the fact that the State had failed to consider the need to do archaeological work in the area prior to starting the shoreline restoration. This was going to add an appreciable extra cost to the project and the State was getting cold feet on whether they wanted to do this or seek another property that was cheaper. We offered the State a way around their problem but we could not agree on the details and the deal was cancelled. The good news is that we had let the area go fallow for 4 years and bank restoration had started on its own due to natural succession of plants mov­ing into the former agricultural field. Also on the positive side we have continued our association with the Friends of the Great Miami who have run projects planting trees in  the former INDOT site to enhance the bank restoration. They also have started a project on the shore of the Great Miami River to plant about 2/3 of an acre in trees in a 1400 foot strip along the Great Miami River

I have come this far without hardly mentioning any animals but they have been spectacular as usual. One of the highlights of the year was the great good fortune of photographer Ken Geiger who stumbled on a family of River Otters and who had the patience and the skill to turn his good fortune into over 400 photos of an otter family at rest and at play. Prior to this the photographs of otters using the Oxbow were just distant heads in the water. We were thrilled to have this intimate portrait of wild otters at home in the Oxbow. Thousands of ducks and geese took advantage of our new improved wildlife crop policies with our tenant farmers. Winter counts from the Oxbow showed heavy use of the flooded crop areas. During the Great Outdoor Weekend while the regular tour group was watching a Peregrine Falcon strafe shorebirds in the Oxbow, Jay Stenger and Paul Wharton were leading an Audubon class in the Oxbow across the valley under the shadow of the hill at Shawnee Lookout and spotted a record 8 Bald Eagles. A new species sighted in the Oxbow was 3 Lesser Blackbacked Gulls that showed up for Jay and Paula Stenger this spring and at least it  stayed for Paul Wharton to check it out the next morning. In June, Jon Seymour and Lonnie Parker found a Black Scoter and a Cattle Egret. A couple of intriguing sightings of summertime Sandhill Cranes in August and September rounded out the most unusual reports. The number of Bald Eagle sightings continues to climb in both numbers and frequency of reports.

Every trip to the Oxbow yields something new and I want to invite members and friends who have not been to the Oxbow or maybe have not been for a long time to come back and renew your acquaintance with the Oxbow area. In this day of local vacations, local foods, and local entertain­ment, the Oxbow is your local fix on nature as it is meant to be experienced. Come and enjoy and when you leave spread the word about (dating myself — as Jackie Gleason would say) "How Great It IS!

A grant from Mainstreet Lawrenceburg allowed the K of C to remodel the storefront with new carpet and to repaint the interior. They also constructed a new wall at our request that separates the front half of the store from the back half. We will use the back half of the store front as the office for Oxbow, Inc. while the front will be used for meetings and for public education.

Already we are collecting the various materials stored in the closets and basements of Oxbow members. We are soliciting donations of office furniture and mate­rials (see list below if you have material to donate). Some donations have been offered and we will be busy over the next few months putting this all together. Cur­rently we hope to have a grand opening sometime in Sep­tember 2008 and be able to begin educational activities using the office as the base.

Gift from the Estate of Jinny (Wiseman) Witte Goes to Support Nature Education

The Board of Directors of Oxbow, Inc. was excited to receive a grant of $116,563 from the estate of the late Jinny (Wiseman) Witte. Before marrying Russ Witte later in her life, Jinny was married to Art Wiseman. Art and Jinny Wiseman were among the founders of Oxbow, Inc. and our first meetings were held in the basement of the Wiseman’s Pharmacy. The Wiseman’s lived above the Pharmacy and both Art and Jinny were pharmacists. It was home, business and nature academy rolled into one small neighborhood store. Many of the current champions of nature in the Cincinnati area were schooled in the Wiseman’s homestyle academy. Many were infected by the enthusiasm and attention to detail, and delight in even the seemingly mundane areas of nature study.

In accepting this legacy from Jinny’s estate the Board of Directors of Oxbow, Inc. felt that the memory of Art and Jinney Wiseman would best be served by focusing the gift on nature education. The Board voted to establish the Art and Jinny (Witte) Wiseman Nature Education Fund. The Fund would be established by the grant and other funds could be donated to it from other sources. 80% of the yearly proceeds of the fund would be available to fund nature education projects while 20% of the proceeds would be reinvested in the fund to insure growth of the principle.

The fund and its proceeds will be managed by the Board of Directors and their designees. The Board envisions using the Fund to recognize and encourage educational excellence and promote educational opportunities particularly for the preK-12 and college level students. Another function of the fund would be to encourage nature education across the tri-state in conjunction with other like minded conservation groups in the area. The establishment of this fund represents a new direction for Oxbow, Inc. and formalizes our 501(c) 3 requirement for education of the public. Added to our adult community educational lectures held in two states and to our extensive hands on guided nature walk schedule for families of all ages, we feel we have a strong framework for educating the public in appreciation of nature and helping ensure that future generations continue to appreciate and actively support the work of organizations such as Oxbow, Inc.

Oxbow Area Recognized as Part of Audubon Important Bird Area

Audubon Ohio announced the recognition of the Lower Great Miami River as an Important Bird Area. In a ceremony held at Miami-Whitewater County Park, John Ritzenthaler, Director of Habitat Conservation, Audubon Ohio, presented plaques to Jon Seymour, President, Oxbow, Inc. and Jack Sutton, Director of the Hamilton County Park District (and Dearborn County resident). The plaques commemorate the important role that Hamilton County Parks located in the Lower Great Miami River valley and the land protected and preserved by Oxbow, Inc. played in achieving this distinct honor.

Important Bird Areas (IBA) are selected through analysis of data provided to Audubon regarding the importance of the nominated area to the welfare of birds. The Lower Great Maimi River was named an IBA based on observations of rare or unusual birds in the area such as the wintering population of Bald Eagles and Black Vultures, migrating Ospreys, unusually large summer concentrations of wading birds such as Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, and the use of the area as a major migratory path for ducks. Many different species of birds use the area. The Oxbow area, adjacent to Lawrenceburg and Greendale, alone lists 283 species of birds using the area. This number is more than many National Wildlife Refuges.

“The Lower Great Miami River is a perfect example of the important role Ohio’s landscape plays in survival of birds,” said John Ritzenthaler. “Located near major migration routes, birds pass through as they travel to their winter and summer destinations. They rely on our land to survive their journeys. Through the Audubon’s Important Bird Areas program, we are working to ensure places such as this rich corridor continue to be managed for the benefit of these birds, as well as the enjoyment of local communities.”

Board members Dave Styer and Jay Stenger were instrumental in obtaining and submitting the data on bird observation in the Lower Miami Valley and the Oxbow area imparticular that led to the selection of the Lower Great Miami Valley as an IBA.

“We are honored to be a key part of this Important Bird Area,” said Jon Seymour. “Oxbow, Inc. is dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the floodplain that supports the diverse bird population that brought the area this honor.”

Caption: Jon Seymour, President of Oxbow, Inc. (left), Jack Sutton, 
Director Hamilton County Park District, (center) accept memorial plaques 
representing the Lower Great Miami River being named by the Audubon Society 
an Important Bird Area from John Ritzenthaler, Audubon Ohio (right).

It Was a Long Hot Summer

by Jon Seymour

 I had more than one call this summer.  They all started about the same way.  “Have you seen the level of the lake and all the dead fish?”  The answer, of course, was yes.  Then I would try to explain why these things are normal and not to worry about the Oxbow. 

 We need to go back a few years to 1847 when Oxbow Lake was the river bed of the Great Miami River .  A bustling little town of Hardinsburg nestled on a high bluff at the edge of the river.  City fathers had high hopes of the town becoming a more important city than Lawrenceburg which was down stream from Hardinsburg and more susceptible to flooding.  Dreams of becoming an important river port were dashed in 1847 when a raging flood on the Great Miami River changed the course of the river to its present river bed 1 and ½ miles away in a different state.  Hardinsburg was high and dry.  The town gradually disappeared and became the combination of cement operations, trailer park, and auto salvage yard that constitute the current north entrance to the Oxbow area.

The long curving lake formed when a river cuts a new channel is called an oxbow from the similarity in shape between the lake and the harness placed on an ox.  Over the years multiple floods gradually silted in the old river bed and probably each year the lake would form in the winter and spring and dry up during the dry summer.  Why would the lake dry each year?  The water table under the flood plain is connected to the Ohio River by an underground layer of gravel.  As the water level drops in the Ohio the level of Oxbow Lake also drops.  Prior to 1938 the Ohio River would drop to a pool level of 12-14 feet Cincinnati in the summer and in some very dry years would nearly dry up too.  This was unacceptable to barge traffic and was also a function of poor dam structure that could not control large floods in the Ohio Valley .  Arial photos from 1937 show the entire Oxbow Lake as a corn field except for the southwest edge (the high bank) which contained a narrow strip of trees.

To control floods and assure year round barge traffic a series of dams was built along the Ohio River .  These dams raised the pool level of the Ohio to 26 feet at Cincinnati . With the construction of I-275 the natural outlet of Oxbow Lake was “adjusted” to flow under the new Highway.  Oxbow Lake surface is probably about 30 feet Cincinnati and in normal summers the amount of rain in the floodplain just about balances the flow of water out the bottom of the lake through the gravel beds.  This year there was no where near enough rain and the water table kept dropping toward the 26 feet of the Ohio River . 

Morris Mercer always told me that the Oxbow began to flood at 30 feet Cincinnati . I know he was right.  The fact that the lake can dry up was known.  I had many folks tell me that this same thing happened about 20 years ago.  The lake will recover.  The first flood will recharge the water levels and bring in new fish to populate the lake.  Given the number of dead carp that may not be such a bad thing!  Juno Pond will connect again with Oxbow Lake and all the fish waiting in Juno Pond will be free to roam.  For that matter Mercer Pond connects to cement plant pond which will connect to Juno Pond as the water rises.  The heron, egrets, and even a stray pelican have benefited as the low levels concentrating the fish in Oxbow Lake and making for easy feeding.  The Vultures were ecstatic.  Part of the beauty of the Oxbow is the variety of habitats available.  Cormorants and herons moved over to Osprey Lake and Mercer Pond.  Egrets congregated in the ponds of the Conservancy District.  If one place was not to their liking they just looked around and found another.  In all cases the Great Miami River and the Ohio River were only short flights from the oxbow.  The beauty of nature is that it is a powerful force that can take care of itself if we human beings do not get in the way.

Morris Mercer Receives Environmental Educator Award
at
 Earth Day Celebrations at Sawyer Point

April 17, 2004

This award was presented by the Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition in the category of Community Leader.  It is presented to individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding dedication to environmental stewardship.  The application submitted on Morris's behalf is as follows: