Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve

State Nature Preserve in Portage County, Ohio

41°07′46″N 81°21′13″W / 41.129444°N 81.353611°W / 41.129444; -81.353611Area45 acres (18 ha)ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/cooperrider-kent-bog-state-nature-preserve

The Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve is state nature preserve located mainly in Kent, Ohio. The preserve surrounds the Kent Bog, a remnant of the Wisconsin Glaciation. It is a true bog with acidic waters, and unique environmental conditions have enabled it to survive. The bog contains the largest stand of tamarack trees in the state of Ohio.

Location

The Kent Bog is located at 1028 Meloy Road and covers an area of 45.1 acres (18.3 ha). The original 41.7 acres (16.9 ha) of the preserve, acquired by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) in 1985, is located in Kent. In October 2008, ODNR acquired an additional 3.4 acres (1.4 ha) in neighboring Brimfield Township.^[1] Adjacent to the south of the preserve is a 215-acre (87 ha) park being developed by the Portage Park District on land it acquired in 2017.^[2] There is parking at the beginning of the half-mile boardwalk. The boardwalk trail loops around the bog, ending back at the parking lot. Along the trail there are educational signs explaining the local flora, and fauna as well as the geological founding of the bog.

The preserve was dedicated in 1987 and is named after Tom S. Cooperrider, a botanist, author, and emeritus professor of biological sciences at Kent State University who has made numerous contributions to the study of the bog and the state's flora.^[3] His 2010 book, Botanical Essays from Kent, discusses natural history of the area and focuses mainly on the Kent Bog.^[4]

Geology and geography

The bog was formed during the retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier. A chunk of glacial ice broke off and was buried in sediment and glacial till from the glacial outwash. A ridge of sediment formed around the chunk of ice. This caused the formation of a deep kettle hole lake. The total original size of the kettle-hole lake was about 50 acres (20 ha).

As the climate continued to warm, plant life spread over the lake. Although it is not exclusive, it is heavily dominated in sphagnum moss. This began the process by which the lake began to fill with peat becoming a bog. There are only a few areas that standing water is visible from the boardwalk.

Flora and fauna

It is a coniferous, boreal forest with many spruce, fir, and tamarack trees. The tamarack is a tree common to the upper parts of Canada and Alaska. It is able to withstand very cold temperatures. Unlike other conifers, it is deciduous losing its needles in the winter. This transforms the look of the Kent Bog during the seasons. The stand of tamaracks in the Kent Bog is the largest group in the state of Ohio.^[5]

References

^ "Portage County Auditor". Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "'Kent Bog Expansion' property information" (PDF). Portage Park District. 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ McCormac, Jim (November 2, 2014). "Kent Bog is botanical marvel". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "Botanical Essays from Kent". Kent State University Press. 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ "Cooperrider-Kent Bog (Tom S.) State Nature Preserve". Ohio Department of Natural Resources. 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.

External links

Official website

Protected areas of Ohio

Federal

National parks	Cuyahoga Valley
National historical parks and sites	Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP First Ladies NHS Hopewell Culture NHP James A. Garfield NHS William Howard Taft NHS
National monuments	Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers
National memorials	David Berger Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial
National trails	North Country Trail
National forests	Wayne
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Big Darby Creek Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River
National Wildlife Refuges	Cedar Point Ottawa West Sister Island
National estuarine research reserve	Old Woman Creek
National Natural Landmarks	Brown's Lake Bog Cedar Bog Dysart Woods Fort Hill State Memorial Glen Helen Nature Preserve Mantua Bog State Nature Preserve Tinker's Creek Gorge

State

State parks	Adams Lake Alum Creek A. W. Marion Barkcamp Beaver Creek Blue Rock Buck Creek Buckeye Lake Burr Oak Caesar Creek Catawba Island Cleveland Lakefront Cowan Lake Deer Creek Delaware Dillon East Fork East Harbor Findley Forked Run Geneva Grand Lake St. Marys Great Council Great Seal Guilford Lake Harrison Lake Headlands Beach Hocking Hills Hueston Woods Independence Dam Indian Lake Jackson Lake Jefferson Lake John Bryan Kelleys Island Kiser Lake Lake Alma Lake Hope Lake Logan Lake Loramie Lake Milton Lake White Little Miami Madison Lake Malabar Farm Marblehead Lighthouse Mary Jane Thurston Middle Bass Island Maumee Bay Mohican Mosquito Lake Mount Gilead Muskingum River Nelson Kennedy Ledges Paint Creek Pike Lake Portage Lakes Punderson Pymatuning Quail Hollow Rocky Fork Salt Fork Scioto Trail Shawnee South Bass Island Stonelick Strouds Run Sycamore Tar Hollow Tinkers Creek Van Buren West Branch Wingfoot Lake Wolf Run
State forests	Beaver Creek Blue Rock Brush Creek Dean Fernwood Gifford Harrison Hocking Maumee Mohican-Memorial Perry Pike Richland Furnace Scioto Trail Shade River Shawnee Sunfish Creek Tar Hollow Yellow Creek Zaleski
State nature preserves	Acadia Cliffs Adams Lake Prairie Audubon Islands Augusta-Anne Olsen Aurora Sanctuary Baker Woods Betsch Fen Bigelow Cemetery Blackhand Gorge Bonnet Pond Boord Brown's Lake Bog Burton Wetlands Caesar Creek Gorge Carmean Woods Cedar Bog Chaparral Prairie Christmas Rocks Clear Creek Clear Fork Gorge Clifton Gorge Compass Plant Prairie Conkle's Hollow Cooperrider-Kent Bog Crabill Fen Cranberry Bog Crane Hollow Crooked Run Culberson Woods Davey Woods Davis Memorial Drew Woods Dupont Marsh Eagle Creek Edward Thomas Emerald Hills Erie Sand Barrens Etawah Woods Evans Beck Memorial Flatiron Lake Bog Fowler Woods Frame Lake Fen Gahanna Woods Gallagher/Springfield Fen Goll Woods Goode Prairie Gott Fen Greenbelt Greenville Falls Gross Memorial Woods Hatch-Otis Halls Creek Headlands Dunes Howard Collier Hueston Woods Hutchins (Highland) Irwin Prairie Jackson Bog Johnson Ridge Johnson Woods Karlo Fen Kendrick Woods Kessler Swamp Kiser Lake Wetlands Kitty Todd Knox Woods Kyle Woods Ladd Natural Bridge Lake Katharine Lakeside Daisy Lawrence Woods Little Rocky Hollow Lou Campbell Mantua Bog Marie J. Desonier Marsh Wetlands McCracken Fen Mentor Marsh Milford Center Railroad Prairie Miller Morris Woods Mud Lake Bog Myersville Newberry North Pond North Shore Alvar Novak Sanctuary Old Woman Creek Owens/Liberty Fen Pallister Pickerington Ponds Portage Lakes Wetland Prairie Road Fen Raven Rock Rhododendeon Cove Riddle Rockbridge Rome Rothenbuhler Woods Saltpetre Cave Sears Woods Seymour Woods Shallenberger Sharon Woods Gorge Sheepskin Hollow Sheick Hollow Sheldon Marsh Shoemaker Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker Smith Cemetery Spring Beauty Dell Spring Brook Sanctuary Springville Marsh Stage's Pond Strait Creek Prairie Stratford Woods Swamp Cottonwood Tinker's Creek Travertine Fen Triangle Lake Bog Trillium Trails Tummonds Walter Tucker Warder-Perkins Whipple White Pine Bog Forest William C. McCoy Zimmerman Prairie
State scenic rivers	Big Darby Creek Chagrin River Conneaut Creek Cuyahoga River Grand River Greenville Creek Kokosing River Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River Maumee River Mohican River Olentangy River Sandusky River Stillwater River

Regional

Metro Parks	Ashtabula County Metroparks Cleveland Metroparks Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks Erie MetroParks Five Rivers MetroParks Geauga Park District Great Parks of Hamilton County Johnny Appleseed Metro Parks Lake Metroparks Lorain County Metro Parks Metroparks of Butler County Metroparks Toledo Mill Creek MetroParks Summit Metro Parks Trumbull County MetroParks