The Waterloo Wildlife Research Station is a

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

state wildlife area located in western Waterloo Township,

Athens County, Ohio Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio ...

. Purchase for the area was begun in 1944. The area was greatly expanded in 2005 when 945 acres were added. It was originally named the Waterloo Wildlife Experiment Station. Research was done there over a period of years, until recently. The area is surrounded on three sides by the

Zaleski State Forest Zaleski State Forest is a state forest in the U.S. state of Ohio, located primarily in Vinton County, with areas in Athens County as well. The 28,000 acre (110 km²) forest surrounds Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County, and borders ...

, and Ohio State Route 356, and

Ohio State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR 56) is an east–west state highway in central Ohio. Its western terminus is at SR 29 near Mutual and its eastern terminus is at SR 682 in Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and t ...

forms the border for the fourth (east) side. The entrance to the wildlife area is off Route 356 immediately south of its junction with Route 56. The wildlife area is drained by Hewett Fork, a principal tributary to Raccoon Creek. A turkey management area of more than 5,000 acres is located partly in this wildlife area, and partly in the adjacent state forest. This facility has an extensive system of short hiking trails, largely based on old fire roads. However, these are no longer actively maintained.

Waterloo Aquatic Education Center

The principal building of the site is now the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center, operated by the Raccoon Creek Water-Trail Association.

References

External links

Waterloo Aquatic Education Center

U.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved November 9, 2022. Ohio state wildlife areas Protected areas of Athens County, Ohio Education in Athens County, Ohio {{AthensCountyOH-geo-stub