OHIO Wildlife preserves offer place of respite for animals and humans alike

The preserves sustain wildlife and offer humans relief from noise and stress.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALINEVILLE -- A hawk glided low over a ridge-top meadow that offered a stunning view of forested hills stretching into the distance beneath a blue autumn sky.
Remove the few trappings of modern life visible from this nearly 1,300-foot-high overlook and a sense of Ohio's bygone wilderness emerges.
That such unmolested land exists at all when sprawling housing developments and giant retailers are devouring woods and fields is thanks partly to the presence of the state's wildlife areas.
The hawk was hunting in a rugged 4,131-acre patch of publicly owned hardwoods, streams and grasslands known as Brush Creek Wildlife Area, just south of Salineville in Columbiana County.
This preserve is just one of dozens of such areas operated throughout the state by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife.
Unlike their state-park cousins, wildlife areas typically are less developed; you won't find playgrounds and picnic tables here.
Outdoor activities
The preserves are intended not just for hunting, trapping and fishing but for other pursuits as well. Hiking, ginseng collecting, bird-watching, berry picking and wild-mushroom-seeking are also encouraged, noted Jeff Janosik, who has what many outdoors enthusiasts would consider a dream job.
Janosik, a Warren native, is supervisor of several wildlife areas in the region, including Brush Creek.
Asked if he loves his work, Janosik smiled.
"It goes beyond that," he said as he piloted a four-wheel-drive pickup along a narrow dirt road carved into the shoulder of a steep hill in Brush Creek.
"It's unbelievable," he said of the joy in gently aiding nature.
He and his crew of two technicians accomplish that through a variety of practices.
They establish prarie-grass meadows, build wetlands, survey wildlife, cut some types of trees and plant others, and create food plots of corn, sunflowers and other plants to help sustain the many creatures that live on the land.
Their goal
The aim is to "get the right habitat for all wildlife, not just for game species," Janosik said.
In some cases, what is now the domain of deer, wild turkey and songbirds was once a mine or an abandoned farm.
Janosik noted the attachment he and his crew feel toward the land that's in their care.
That sentiment is underscored later when he stops to collect litter and tosses it into his truck.
These public lands are invaluable "whether you're a hunter or somebody who just likes to walk through the woods and enjoy nature," Janosik said.
"People look for areas like this just to get away," yet many Ohioans are unaware they even exist.
"People just don't realize what they have," Janosik said.