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REGIONAL DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND
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| Oak Openings Preserve Metropark | 3600 acres |
| Secor Metropark | 600 acres |
| Wildwood Metropark | 460 acres |
Recently, the Metroparks have acquired inholdings around and within the Oak Openings Preserve and Wildwood Metroparks. Within the Oak Openings Region, no large expansions or additions are known to be currently planned. The land is managed for a variety of purposes including passive and active recreation and rare species preservation. Most management activity occurs within the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark where 250 acres is under management at this time. Increasing management capacity, land acquisition efforts, education programs and cooperatively developing a native seed nursery are all high priority objectives for the Conservancy with this partner.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
| Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve | 207 acres |
| Lou Campbell State Nature Preserve | 170 acres |
Natural Areas and Preserves has plans to approximately double the size of each of these preserves, however, little if any money is available. Recently, wetland mitigation funds have been used to add small amounts of acreage to both existing preserves. The Division may also consider establishing another preserve within the region. The Division's land is actively managed to promote rare species. Additional land acquisition around existing sites and new sites within the northern portion of the region are priority objectives for the Conservancy's work with this partner. Cooperative educational and management opportunities need to also be explored.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Forestry
| Maumee State Forest | 3,100 acres |
Additional acquisitions are not currently planned. The land is managed for multiple uses with an emphasis on forestry, hunting and all-terrain vehicle use and horseback riding. The management of the land for biological diveristy is gaining support. Recent non-binding agreements with the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves to manage several non-forested wet prairie sites are being implemented. The forest is also participation in the Karner Blue Butterfly Ohio Recovery Plan. Currently approximately 100 acres of the forest is being managed for Oak Openings habitat. The Conservancy’s work with this partner will focus on encouraging the management of parts of the forest for oak savanna and wet prairie habitats.
Lucas County Port Authority
| Toledo Express Airport | 1,900+ acres |
Recent major expansion of this airport has added significant land holdings to this site. Selected areas of habitat are being managed cooperatively by the ODNR - Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. One estimate of high quality habitat on the airport is of approximately 100 acres. This is likely a very conservative estimate with potential habitat being considerably larger. Port Authority officials have made efforts to protect some areas that harbor rare species, however, the protection is not permanent. Future expansion plans will undoubtedly impact significant habitat. Land surrounding the airport, recently purchased through a FAA sound mitigation program, is scheduled to be developed into additional runways, cargo hubs and commercial warehousing. The potential exists to incorporate conservation activities into this expanded network of facilities as the airport expands. The Port Authority has considered the potential for a regional zoning overlay outside the immediate airport property. The impact that this could have on oak openings habitat remains unclear at this time.
Lucas County
Westwinds Center for Business 350+ acres Lucas county developed this office park in the 1960’s in order to instigate development in an economically depressed portion of the county. Over half of the land is still undeveloped and significant portions of this land support high quality habitat. The County Commissioners have verbally agreed (1996) to work with the Conservancy at this site. The Conservancy's objectives here would include integrating habitat protection into future and past development of the property.
Selected additional partners include Lucas County, Springfield Township, Spencer Township, Sylvania School District, Natural Areas Stewardship, Inc. (NASI), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG), Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), ANR Pipeline Company, Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails (NORTA), Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Wildlife (ODNR-DOW) and the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District.
Four broad ecological goals have been identified for the region:
The Oak Openings region supports five communities of global significance, Great Lakes Twig-rush Wet Meadow (Wet Prairie) (G1Q), Great Lakes Swamp White Oak - Pin Oak Flatwoods (G2), Mesic Sand Prairie (G2), Midwest Sand Barrens (G2/G3), and Black Oak / Lupine Barrens (Oak Savanna) (G3). Although the Conservancy's focus in the region is at the community level, selected highly ranked species are of a particular interest.
The Karner blue butterfly (G2), a federally endangered species, was extirpated from the region, and Ohio, in the late 1980s. Reintroduction plans are presently being formulated by the Ohio Karner Blue Recovery Team (OKBRT). OKBRT is a partnership that includes the Conservancy, The Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, ODNR - Division of Wildlife, ODNR - Division of Forestry, ODNR - Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Toledo Express Airport/Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, The Toledo Zoo and the USFWS.
Skinner's false foxglove (Agalinis skinneriana) (G2) is the most highly ranked plant species within the region. Within the region, only one secure location is currently known. Even at this site, population numbers fluctuate widely. According to Gleason and Cronquist (1991), A. skinneriana prefers dry prairies, open woods, and barrens, especially in sandy soil. Within the Oak Openings, a preference for somewhat mesic sites has been noted. More research is needed to determine the best approach to protect this species.
According to ODNR - DNAP Heritage Data Base, 177 rare species occur within the region, more than any area of a similar size in Ohio. For a complete list of these species see figure 6.
Seven primary stresses have been identified for the Oak Openings Region. In order of significance they are loss of habitat, fragmentation of habitat, woody plant succession, groundwater lowering, exotic plant species and elimination of native species. An analysis of each of these primary stresses follows.
This is unquestionably the most imminent and permanent stress on the Oak Openings system. Historically, the source of this stress was from the conversion of the land to agriculture during the 1800’s and early 1900's. Through an analysis of maps generated from land survey records, the Oak Openings Region may have originally covered over 300 square miles. The largest remaining relatively contiguous area today is a 130 square mile region known as "Moseley's boundary". Although habitat remains in the region outside of Moseley's boundary, much of it is believed to be significantly fragmented and isolated. Even today within this 130 square mile, nearly 50% (Frost, 1994) of the area is currently in agriculture. Factoring all this in, approximately 200 square miles of the Oak Openings Region has been converted to agriculture.
Today, the most significant source of habitat loss in the Oak Openings Region is development. Residential, commercial and industrial development all occur within the area as suburban sprawl spreads west from the City of Toledo and its environs. Residential development, both individual home sites and subdivisions, is the most serious problem with activity occurring throughout most of the region. Although the entire region is experiencing development pressures, the southwestern 1/3 remains mostly rural, although most impacted by agriculture.
The infrastructure necessary to support the development (such as roads, pipelines and utilities) is an additional source of stress. The region is dissected by a network of roads around each square mile survey section. Within the more urbanized areas, residential roads cover much of the land. Both I-475 and I-80/90 cross the region and have eliminated significant areas of habitat. When seeded into non-native species, pipeline and utility corridors have also eliminated habitat.
The construction of ponds and sand mines has two detrimental effects on the Oak Openings ecosystem; modification of groundwater levels, which will be discussed later, and destruction of habitat. For the purposes of this discussion, ponds are small bodies of water (1-5 acres) that are generally excavated for the use of the individual home owner. Sand mines are larger (5 - 200 acres) and are initially excavated for obtaining sand for construction projects. Once completed, these "lakes" often serve as attractive sites for new housing projects.
Often the scenario for pond construction is to excavate in the lowest area of the property, and then utilize the excavated sand to fill adjacent areas for a house site. In this process, much of the native vegetation is eliminated. With sand mines, habitat is destroyed in the same manner with one exception. Typically the sand is used off-site for basement back filling, septic systems or as fill dirt.
Two additional sources of habitat loss include conversion of oak savannas to non-native conifer plantations and logging of older growth savanna trees. Both of these are considered to be relatively minor sources. Most of the conversion to conifer plantations occurred in the 1930's and 1940's within the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, Maumee State Forest and surrounding area. These trees are today reaching maturity and little new planting seems to be occurring. Changes within the wood product market could theoretically alter this trend. Logging of remnant savannas occurs periodically in the region and the removal of these larger trees is perceived to be detrimental. However, very little is known about how this may affect the long term health of the savanna community.
As described above, various types of human activities (i.e. conversion to agriculture, development etc.) have resulted in a significant loss of habitat within the Oak Openings Region. These same activities have also extensively fragmented the habitat that remains. Since European settlement, much of the area has become a growing patchwork of houses, roads and buildings interspersed among areas of natural habitat. Fragmentation within the Oak Openings Region should be considered in a relative manner. Even the largest conservation area within the region (Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, 3600 acres) is significantly fragmented when compared to its historical condition. An acceptance of a certain degree of fragmentation is necessary when analyzing the quality of habitat that remains.
Today, the major source of habitat fragmentation in the Oak Openings is development and its associated infrastructure. Although fragmentation occurs anytime habitat is destroyed, it is most severe in the case of individual large lot (two or more acres) residential development. Although this type of development appears more environmentally friendly on paper because the density of buildings is less, this type of housing can significantly fragment the landscape under certain scenarios. The placement of a house and its associated infrastructure in the middle or near high quality habitat can effect the neighboring vegetation, hydrology and fauna by creating edge effects, modifying groundwater, introducing exotic species and creating management problems. Large lot development is a problem throughout the region with the southern portion of the area under the greatest stress.
The most significant biological threat to the Oak Openings Region is the succession of historically "open" oak savannas and wet prairies into oak woods and pin oak/aspen thickets. It has been through this process that many individual species have become rare and the region's original plant and animal communities have been drastically modified.
Fire suppression, beginning with European settlement and continuing to this day, has virtually eliminated a critical process by which the growth, distribution and density of woody vegetation was balanced with that of the grasses and forbs. Without fire to deter growth, trees and shrubs have established a canopy whose shade subsequently inhibits the growth of sun loving grasses and forbs. While fire negatively impacts many woody plants, it is advantageous to most savanna grasses and forbs. Nutrient recycling, litter reduction and seed scarification are but a few of the positive factors which fire contributes to these plants. As a result of fire suppression, most of the oak savanna in the region has succeeded into various types of woodlands.
In the wet prairies, the loss of fire has also likely had a negative effect, although it is the lowering of the groundwater table that has been most detrimental. Areas that were historically deep enough on which to canoe and ice skate are today much drier. Although some wet prairie areas still maintain standing water in the winter and spring, many have been completely eliminated by groundwater lowering. Those that have survived are extensively affected by succession of woody plants.
The reintroduction of fire into these human modified landscapes through the use of prescribed burning can in itself be a potential source of stress. If fire is not used in a judicious manner, it can become a stress on the system by destroying vulnerable populations of insects.
The loss of large ungulates is a perceived potential source of stress that has presumably facilitated the succession of woody plants. The extent of the impact on the vegetation by grazing and browsing by elk and bison will probably never be known. These animals were extirpated from the region before any data or even significant observations could be made.
As described above, groundwater lowering is a source of the stress for woody plant succession. It can also be considered a stress itself, such as when the lowering effects vegetation that requires certain soil saturation levels to survive. Wet prairies that have been completely drained essentially "dry up" and will no longer support selected species, even if woody plant encroachment is not a problem.
The construction of ditches began in the mid 1800’s and has been the primary force for groundwater lowering in the region. Major ditches like Wiregrass, Prairie and Drennan, located in the northern section of the region, were installed to help drain the extensive (4500 acre) Irwin Prairie. Roadside ditches that form almost a grid-like pattern over the region have probably had the most significant impact on the region's hydrology (Forsyth, personal communication).
Sand mines also have an impact on groundwater levels. This effect is most pronounced when pumping is utilized to lower the water to facilitate efficient extraction of the sand. When the pumping is stopped groundwater levels will eventually rise to near pre-mining levels. The surface of the water in the remaining lake will then closely reflect the level of the surrounding groundwater. However a cone of depression that surrounds the remaining lake will persist forever (Braun, personal communication). In certain instances, after the mining process is completed, the water level of the lake is maintained at an artificially low level. This in turn promotes artificially low groundwater levels in the adjacent area.
The effect that these sand mines have on nearby areas is inconclusive. A general premise is that the larger the sand mine the greater the impact it has upon the groundwater within the region.
Non-native plants, or exotics, serve as a source of stress in the Oak Openings system in primarily two ways. They can be intentionally planted, such as in the case of turf lawns or landscaping plantings, or they can result from a natural dissemination process (bird droppings, wind, etc.) that permits colonization of natural areas from the surrounding planted or previously infested areas.
The most serious problem is the intentional replacement of native plants with non-native turf grasses. In both residential and commercial construction projects, the existing vegetation is usually severely modified. A percentage of native trees are normally maintained while the grass, forbs and shrubs are eliminated. These plants are replaced with turf grasses and non-native forbs and shrubs.
A slower and less obvious threat is the spread of exotics into high quality natural areas. Shrubs such as European buckthorn,(Rhamnus frangula), common buckthorn,(Rhamnus cathartica) and autumn olive, (Eleagnus angustifolia) are a problem. Exotic herbaceous plants, such as garlic mustard, (Allaria petiolata) and bouncing bet, (Saponaria officinalis) are also troublesome within some parts of the region. Each of these plants can rapidly colonize existing natural communities and displace the native vegetation. This colonization is usually facilitated by alterations of the regions natural processes (i.e. groundwater lowering, fire suppression).
Several species are currently not an enormous problem, although they have the potential to be in the future. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and phragmites (Phragmites australis) occur within the region but have yet to reach the extent where they are a widespread problem. However, the presence of these plants is troublesome because of their proven potential to rapidly colonize new areas.
The infestation of exotic species is spotty within the region. Selected areas are heavily infested, while in others they may be practically non-existent. In general, the region has fewer exotic species problems than many other areas of Ohio.
In our analysis, this stress applies to insects and most directly to Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths). The two primary sources of this stress are insecticide spraying and fire.
Insecticides are commonly sprayed throughout the region to control adult mosquito populations. These insecticides can have a detrimental effect on both adult and larval stages of butterflies and moths, several species of which are known to be components of the oak savanna community. The Karner blue butterfly, the most notable because of its status as a federally endangered species, was extirpated from the region in the late 1980's. The reason for its extirpation is not clear and no direct link with insecticides is inferred here. It is clear, however, that insecticides kill insects and heavy use in an area where butterflies and moths persist is presumed to be detrimental.
Although fire is a critical force in maintaining habitat for savanna butterflies and moths, in certain instances it can also prove to be detrimental. Most species are not directly fire tolerant, but thrive in fire maintained communities by re-colonizing recently burned areas from adjacent unburned habitat. When the habitat has been decreased to the point that the populations are isolated and small, the lepidoptera can be eliminated if they are entirely consumed by the fire.
Thirteen primary sources of stress have been identified. They vary as to their significance which may depend upon which stress they apply to. Some sources were more active historically, such as conversion to agriculture. Others are currently very active sources, such as residential development. In general, the following list is in order of most significant to least significant.
The primary overriding strategy is to focus development away from, and minimize the development of, the highest quality areas of the region. To accomplish this, we will focus our efforts on the areas identified in the Conservation Strategies map, while following the specific strategies listed below. These strategies target the sources of the stresses to the Oak Openings system.
Conduct prescribed burns
Use mowing and cutting with herbicide application to remove and control excessive woody species.
Increase the Conservancy’s capacity for management at Kitty Todd through the addition of paid interns and increased use of volunteers.
Educate the community about the need and importance of these activities.
Consider the development of a program to provide private landowners with the resources needed to perform management at a more efficient level.. (i.e.bushhog rental, etc.)
Encourage partners to see the need to perform or expand the implementation of these activities.
A better understanding of the hydrology is one of the most significant needs for the region. As explained earlier, significant modifications have been made to groundwater levels throughout the region. However, high quality wet prairie habitat remains. How has the lowering affected these remnants? What will additional modifications to existing ditches do to these surviving patches? What effect do sand mines have on the surrounding vegetation? Can ditches be filled or rerouted to improve groundwater conditions without affecting neighboring landowners?
Although the ODNR-DNAP maintains a database of element occurrences within the region, most of these records occur from areas within existing parks and preserves. Additional inventory work to identify high quality areas should be performed. The Conservancy's efforts to preserve habitat can be maximized if we are able to focus on the best areas. Our non-traditional partners (i.e. township officials, planners, etc.) will be more empowered if we can supply them with information that identifies the most significant areas. With this information, they may then work to conserve habitat through zoning and conservation development incentives.
New parcels that are added to the preserve need to be surveyed for rare species. Although the quality of the vegetation is evaluated before purchase, this does not qualify as an overall vegetative survey. Basic survey work should be ongoing as the purchase of land dictates. The collection of baseline pre and post-management data must also occur on an ongoing as needed basis.
A significant amount of work has been performed on rare plants of the Oak Openings. However, far less attention has been focused on rare insects. Although some research has been conducted on the Lepidoptera, there is still much that we do not understand concerning specific requirements that these animals need to survive. The fact that there are more rare butterflies and moths in the region than any other location in Ohio indicates how important the region is for these animals.
Several other insects have been identified as being unusual or of special concern. Two examples are the grizzled ground cricket (Allonemobius griseus) and the sand locust (Psinidia fenestralis) which have been identified in the region but little else is known about them.
The Conservancy should continue to support research that focuses on rare insects of the region.
Little formal research has been performed on the birds of the Kitty Todd Preserve. The lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) is a state endangered (G5, S1) grassland bird known to nest on the preserve. Although some nesting research has been performed on this bird, numerous other grassland and "savanna" birds utilize the preserve and the region. More research is needed to update breeding and migratory bird populations on the Kitty Todd Preserve.
Recent confirmed sightings (1994) of badgers in the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark indicate that this mammal is breeding within the region. Typically described as a prairie animal, the role that badgers might play within the Oak Openings ecosystem is unknown. Further study of the extent of the population within the region is warranted.
If we successfully implement this plan, conservation within the Oak Openings Region will improve in numerous significant ways. We will have established the finest, most diverse protected site within the region, the Kitty Todd Preserve. This will be the only protected site within the region that harbors a full spectrum of high quality Oak Openings communities ranging from the driest oak savanna to some of the wettest wet prairie.
Our partners will have fully protected other areas of significant habitat. Having achieved this, we will have protected the majority of what remains of the highest quality habitat in the region. We will also have established a core of protected areas that extends from Maumee State Forest to Secor Metropark.
Commercial and residential development projects will be designed to permit the surrounding natural vegetation to persist in fairly contiguous patches. These projects will likely result from a few initial demonstrations, but will then develop on their own because of their financial viability. Development projects that occur on properties without existing quality vegetation will utilize native seed and plants obtained from a locally established native plant nursery.
The Oak Openings region, and its biological significance, will have become well known and understood by citizens of the area. Local citizens group will have formed to promote the conservation of the area. Those who own land within the region will work to protect and promote what oak savanna and wet prairie they may have on their own property. Instead of large areas of turf lawn, the norm will be small areas of yard surrounded by a natural setting of oak savanna or prairie. Citizens of the area will encourage their governments to save habitat, not just because it is biologically significant, but because of its recognized economic value (i.e. increased property values, etc.).
Public and quasi-public institutions that are not normally associated with conservation activities (schools, railroads, pipelines, recreational parks, road rights-of-way) will be participating in a regional effort to conserve habitat by protecting any significant areas that occur on their respective properties.
Each preserve or park that is part of the protected core area of the region will be well equipped and motivated to manage their properties for the full range of species that comprise the globally rare communities of the region.
The overriding management need for the Kitty Todd Preserve, and the Oak Openings Region as a whole, is the removal of excessive woody vegetation. The objective is to reestablish a balance between the distribution and density of trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs. As a result of fire suppression and groundwater lowering, this balance has been tipped in the favor of woody plants.
Two different historical land use patterns have created two distinctive vegetative conditions on the preserve. The first consists of former agricultural areas and constitutes about 1/3 of the preserve's 400 acres. Most of these areas have succeeded into secondary prairies or savannas. Large trees, especially oaks, are lacking. Depending on the site, succession by smaller aspen, red maple, green ash, black cherry and sassafras is prevalent. Even though selected herbaceous species can be conspicuously absent, these sites generally have healthy populations of grasses, sedges and forbs. The only areas on the preserve with open blowing sand are found in these old agricultural areas, presumably because of past human disturbances to the soil. These sandy areas can be important areas of habitat for several species of plants and animals.
General management needs for secondary savannas and prairies in order of priority:
Prescribed burning to enhance native prairie species, control non-natives and control woody succession.
Selective mowing to enhance native prairie species, control non-natives and control woody succession.
Control of exotic species by hand removal and herbicide application.
Reintroduction of various grasses and forbs through re-seeding and transplanting.
Selective cutting of trees and shrubs with herbicide applications to control woody plants where needed.
Re-establishment of oaks to achieve a canopy structure for the site.
Maintain open sandy areas by controlling succession.
Most of the remaining portions of the preserve consist of land that has experienced little human modification other than changes in the natural process of fire and water fluctuations. These areas are primary prairie and savanna communities that have become overgrown with trees and shrubs. Some areas are heavily forested with large trees (greater than 6 inch dbh). If a continuous canopy has not yet formed, prairie/savanna grasses and forbs will usually persist in a depauperate state. A dense canopy over extended periods of time will eliminate many understory savanna/prairie species. Exotic species are generally not a problem, although the wet prairie sites are an exception to this. Approximately 2/3 of the preserve is currently in this condition.
General management needs for primary savanna and prairies in order of priority:
Prescribed burning to discourage woody plant growth, remove accumulated leaf litter and duff, and encourage spread of prairie grasses and forbs.
Selective cutting of trees and shrubs with herbicide application to reestablish a "natural" savanna canopy.
Selective mowing to control smaller woody plant growth, remove leaf litter, and stimulate prairie/savanna understory.
Cut and paint native and non-native shrubs within wet prairie habitats.
Re-seed selected heavily shaded sites when excessive canopy removal has been accomplished.
Brewer, Lawrence G., John L. Vankat and John L. Walser, The Vegetation of the Oak Openings of Northwest Ohio at the Time of Euro-American Settlement, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 3D/Environmental Services, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio 1993.
Campbell, Lou, Birds of the Toledo Area, The Toledo Blade Company, Toledo, Ohio 1968.
Forsyth, Jane, Kitty Todd: Topography, Geology, Hydrology, and Soils, 1993.
Frost, Pamela Ann, Evaluating the Potential for Preservation of the Oak Openings in Northwestern Ohio Using Geographic Information Systems, Master’s Thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1994.
Gordon, Robert B., The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1969.
He, Jian, Don Larrick and Edward Simmons, Ohio County Indicators, Ohio Department of Development, Office of Strategic Research, Columbus, Ohio, 1994.
Mayfield, Harold, "The Changes in the Natural History of the Toledo Region Since the Coming of the White Man," published with the author’s permission by the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, September, 1976, reprinted from The Jack Pine Warbler, Vol. 40 No. 2 and The Northwest Ohio Quarterly, Vol. 34.
Moseley, Edwin L., Flora of the Oak Openings, The Ohio Academy of Science, Volume VIII, Part 3, Special Paper, No. 20, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1928.
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Previous to European settlement, the Oak Openings was a pocket of prairie and oak
savanna nearly surrounded by the forests of the Great Black Swamp. This swamp, an area
half the size of the Everglades, has been largely converted to agriculture. The Oak
Openings, however, has persisted as one of the few landscape scale oak savanna/prairie
complexes left in the midwest. The Oak Openings is the largest oak savanna/wet prairie
complex in Ohio and it sustains more state listed species than any other region of a
similar size in the state. Significant restorable examples of savannas, prairies, barrens
and flatwoods exist on both public and private land throughout much of the region. 
The following vegetation descriptions are based on a combination of both Brewer and
Moseley's work. Upland beach ridges and dunes historically supported approximately 60,000
acres (This figure combines Brewer's oak savanna and oak barrens communities) of oak
savanna with a density of 2 to 17 trees per acre and an average of 6 trees per acre.
Approximately 27,000 acres of oak woodland also occurred in these upland areas with a
density of 17 or more trees per acre and an average of 36 trees per acre (Brewer, 1993).
According to Moseley, dominant trees within these habitats were white oak (Quercus alba),
black oak (Quercus velutina), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and wild black cherry (Prunus
serotina). Common shrubs included blueberries (Vaccinium sp.), huckleberry (Gaylussacia
baccata), sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), and
prairie willow, (Salix humilis). 
The majority of the oak savanna and oak woodland communities that were not destroyed
have become heavily shaded oak woods or maple/oak woods. These areas possess little of the
herbaceous prairie understory they once had. Leaf litter and duff accumulation have
increased significantly which provides conditions suitable for more mesic, fire
intolerant, species. What has survived of the wet prairie persists in relatively small
pockets surrounded and fragmented by aspen/shrub thickets or dense stands of pin oak.