Quantcast
Channel: Ohio.com Most Read Stories
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7876

Big bass from Kendall Lake in 24-hour BioBlitz spotlight in Cuyahoga Valley park

$
0
0

BOSTON TWP.: It was a big fish for Kendall Lake.

The largemouth bass hauled from the 12-acre lake in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park measured 21¼ inches in length and weighed 5¼ pounds.

The oversized fish was one of the biggest natural stars in the federal park’s 24-hour BioBlitz that started on Friday and continues on Saturday.

The local BioBlitz is among more than 100 being staged across the country by the National Park Service to count plants and animals while celebrating the park system’s 100th anniversary. The Cuyahoga Valley event is the biggest in the Midwest.

There might be one other fish as large as the one discovered Friday in Kendall Lake, but no more, said Jamie Krejsa, president chief operating officer of Stow-based EnviroScience Inc., which volunteered to conduct the fish count.

Krejsa and his team caught the bass by applying an electric current to the lake water from a 16-foot boat to temporarily — and harmlessly — shock the fish. It floated to the surface where Jeff Niehaus used a net and put the fish in a freshwater tank aboard the boat. The bass was then transferred to a tank on shore where a group of volunteers looked on. It was measured, weighed, examined and photographed before being released back into the lake.

What made the size of the bass unusual is that the lake had been drained about six years ago for dam repairs and the fish population was lost, said Krejsa, who suffered a minor bite wound from the fish.

The electro-shocking produced the expected fish: crappies, pumpkinseed sunfish, bluegills and yellow bullheads, but there was evidence of perch or other species in Kendall Lake, he said.

Volunteer Cindy Kessler, 64, of Copley Township was on hand to assist Krejsa and get a closer look at Kendall Lake’s fish.

She said she had conducted fish shocking in college. “I like it,” she said.

She said she saw park advertisements for volunteers. “Why not me?” she said.

Across the park, staffer Ryan Trimbath was examining songbirds caught in six mist nets at the Oak Hill Trailhead off Oak Hill Road in Boston Township.

He had a cardinal, a blue jay, a hooded warbler and a white-eyed vireo that he held up to about 40 students from Newbury High School in Geauga County.

The birds were measured and examined by Trimbath. The students were told about the birds they were seeing and their habits.

The vireo, for example, had lost many of its breast feathers. That creates what’s called a brood patch that enables the female to transfer heat from her body where the feathers are missing to her eggs or chicks to keep them warm.

The male hooded warbler is colorful with eye-popping yellow, white and black while the female is a dull green so she can blend with her surroundings to keep eggs and chicks safe.

Birds are important because they demonstrate the health of the environment within the 33,000-acre federal park between Akron and Cleveland, said Lisa Petit, chief of resource management.

The park, she said, has about 240 species of birds, very similar to Point Pelee, Ontario, a prime Lake Erie birding area.

The students were very impressed by the birds they were seeing.

“It’s actually very informative and it’s cool to be hands-on with birds like this,” said sophomore Johnny Chambers, 16.

“It’s really awesome,” said 16-year-old Jacy Drabek, also a sophomore. “It’s neat that the park is bringing nature to us. … I’ve learned a lot, seeing the birds up close like this.”

The Newbury students were among 500 students that participated in Friday morning’s events. Also involved were students from Woodridge High School, Old Trail School, National Inventors Hall of Fame and Seiberling Elementary School.

More than 70 scientists and experts on nature were involved in BioBlitz, along with more than 1,000 volunteers. A BioBlitz Festival for the public opened on Friday and continues on Saturday.

BioBlitz is one of the biggest events hosted by the Cuyahoga Valley park in the last 25 years.

Preliminary findings will be released July 31 after being certified. The final results are scheduled to be released Aug. 25 as part of the park service’s Founders Day.

The BioBlitz is a way for the Cuyahoga Valley park to remind people in Northeast Ohio of its wonderful natural resources, said Paul Stoehr, the park’s deputy superintendent. Too often people think of the Cuyahoga Valley as a recreational spot to pedal, walk or hike and forget about the park’s flora and fauna, he said.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7876

Trending Articles