Edge of Appalachia Preserve is a series of ten adjacent nature preserves located along the Appalachian Escarpment in Adams County,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Four of the ten preserves,

Lynx Prairie Lynx Prairie is a nature preserve located in Adams County, Ohio, United States, near the community of Lynx. The preserve features a group of cedar glades which harbor rare prairie species, surrounded by forests on all sides. The prairie speci ...

, Buzzardroost Rock, Red Rock and

The Wilderness The Wilderness may refer to wilderness, a natural environment. The Wilderness may also refer to: Film and television * Badland Hunters, ''The Wilderness'' (2024 film), a South Korean Netflix film Places *The Wilderness (Virginia), a dense fores ...

, are

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

s. The Preserve is owned and operated by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

and

Cincinnati Museum Center The Cincinnati Museum Center is a museum complex operating out of the Cincinnati Union Terminal in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It houses museums, theater, a library, and a symphonic pipe organ, as well as special traveling ex ...

. It is the largest privately owned nature preserve in Ohio. The area encompassing the Edge of Appalachia Preserve was first studied by ecologist

Emma Lucy Braun E. Lucy Braun (April 19, 1889 – March 5, 1971) was a prominent botanist, ecologist, and expert on the forests of the eastern United States who was a professor of the University of Cincinnati. She was the first woman to be elected President ...

in the 1920s. However, it was not until 1959 when the Nature Conservancy purchased 42 acres (170,000 m²) near Lynx, Ohio that the Edge of Appalachia Preserve was created and established as a protected preserve. The Edge of Appalachia Preserve is among the most biologically assorted areas in the Midwestern United States. The preserve is predominantly wooded with over 13,000 acres (53 km²) of forestland. Over 100 rare species of animals and plants are found within the preserve.Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve
Cincinnati Museum Center. Archived 7 September 2004. The Edge of Appalachia Preserve contains 30 ecological communities, eight of which are classified as rare throughout the world. Among its rare plants are the

Canby’s mountain lover ''Paxistima canbyi'' is a species of small broadleaf evergreen shrub or groundcover that is usually about high, but can grow up to almost high. It is in the family Celastraceae, and is known by the common names of Canby's mountain-lover, rat- ...

and the northern

white cedar White cedar may refer to several different trees: * Bignoniaceae ** '' Tabebuia heterophylla'' - native to Caribbean islands and also cultivated as an ornamental tree * Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with w ...

. The Edge of Appalachia Preserve is also home to the rare

green salamander The green salamander (''Aneides aeneus'') is a species of lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It and the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander (''A. caryaensis'') are the only currently-described members of the genus ''Aneides'' that i ...

and

Allegheny woodrat The Allegheny woodrat (''Neotoma magister''), is a species of "pack rat" in the genus ''Neotoma''. Once believed to be a subspecies of the eastern woodrat (''Neotoma floridana''), extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species. D ...

References

External links

Edge of Appalachia Preserve
at Nature Conservancy
Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve
at Cincinnati Museum Center

at Hiking Ohio Parks
Edge of Appalachia Preserve
at American Byways Nature reserves in Ohio Protected areas of Adams County, Ohio Nature Conservancy preserves {{AdamsCountyOH-geo-stub