Your Suggested Location for
DSA Annual Meeting Field Trips
We need your support to make this summer’s DSA event a success.
Hey OOS members, the Dragonfly Society of the Americas 2024 meeting, hosted in Marietta by the Ohio Odonata Society, is fast approaching (June 28-30).
We’re trying something that the DSA has never done, and we counting on you to pull it off. DSA has a tradition of pre-meeting and post-meeting field trips, usually as one group travelling together. This year, we are changing it up with smaller groups on multiple field trips statewide (similar to what is done for Mothapalooza, Vernalpoolooza, and the annual OOS meetings). Attendees may be driving to Marietta from another state or one of several airports in the region. On their drive in and out, they will join up with geographically-convenient field trips. The two field trip dates are June 27 & July 1.
Multiple field trips require multiple guides. Are you available to show off one of your favorite hotspots before or after this summer’s DSA meeting?
You don’t need to be an Odonate expert, because many of the folks coming to your site are (there are some incredible naturalists in the group). You don’t, necessarily, need to come to the DSA meeting either; the meeting will come to you! If you can’t be there at all, that’s OK too; just set up the field trip with all the details they will need for a first visit.,
Plan for success; select site(s) for species variety. Rarity is also a consideration, but remember that out-of-state and out-of-country folks might be thrilled to see a Blue Dasher. Ideally, your hotspot would have restrooms or Porta-Jons and parking for at least ten cars, but that isn’t necessary; just make note of facility details.
If you would like to propose hosting a site, please fill out this form as completely as possible and press the Submit button at the bottom. Please contact us if you have any questions, before or after your pro. Thank you!
Example Site Descriptions:
A series of fish ponds below the Senacaville Dam. Surprisingly rich fauna of lentic odes with the occasional lentic species near the lake outlet flowing along/through the site. Easy walking on gravel driveways. Facilities available at state park sites across the road on the lake.
Brown’s Lake Bog is a small bog in Wayne County, Ohio. A Nature Conservancy site, Brown's Lake Bog Preserve/The Nature Conservancy (no collecting), it is open to the public and has a boardwalk path from the small parking area on Brown Road (Highway 316). The boardwalk ends with an overview of the central pond and allows close inspection of the bog flora and fauna including Sundews and Pitcher plants. Notable odes include Aurora Damsel (Chromagrion conditum) and Sphagnum Sprite (Nehalennia racilis). The site is adjacent to The Shreve Lake Wildlife Area with common species, the larger Kilbuck Marsh Wildlife Area and not far from the Mohican River and Mohican State Park. There are no restrooms at this site.
Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve has great Odonata habitat. 59 species have been observed, and the relatively rare state-listed Elfin Skimmer and Seepage Dancer are the most frequently observed. Accessible via 1 mile boardwalk, access to sedge-meadow fens, hardwood forest swamp, two clear-water streams. The property also has a man-made pond, vernal pools, and Massasauga habitat that are not open to the public. Located in the Mad River valley, it is Ohio's oldest dedicated State Nature Preserve and a National Natural Landmark. It ranks the highest of any site in the state for its great diversity of plants. There is adequate parking, and restrooms are located in the Nature Center. Cedar Bog is open during limited hours and has an admission fee.
Creating iNaturalist Location URLs
See Using iNaturalist to Share Observation Locations for guidance on creating an iNaturalist location URL.