LOCAL

LOCAL

Hunter education course

BROOKFIELD — The Brookfield Tri-District Conservation Club will sponsor a Hunter Education Course at its club on Sharon-Hogue Road in Brookfield Township from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The student must attend all three sessions. The course is free and is conducted by volunteer instructors certified by the state of Ohio. The Ohio Division of Wildlife provides the training material. The certification is accepted in all 50 states.

Call (330) 448-8855.

state

Fall foliage peaking in some Ohio parks

COLUMBUS — Fall color is fading across the majority of the state with some parks still reporting peak color conditions, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“With the freezes at night and wind over the next week, the leaves should continue to drop off the trees and finish up the fall color season,” said Casey Munchel, fall color specialist for the ODNR Division of Forestry.

Most leaves are turning brown or falling to the forest floor across the state. However, late turners such as oaks and hickories are just beginning to change to yellow and have good color. Hocking Hills State Park is full of these trees and is still reporting near peak color conditions.

Seasonal events are slated for Hocking Hills State Park in Hocking County, Mount Gilead State Park in Morrow County, Hueston Woods State Park in Preble County, Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County and Van Buren State Park in Hancock County.

To help Ohioans and out-of-state visitors make the most of this popular outdoor season, weekly updates are available from the best Fall Color viewing locations across the state by calling 1-800-BUCKEYE. Users can also find Fall Color information on the Internet at ohiodnr.com and at www.discoverohio.com/autumnadventures.

Ohio’s 74 state parks, 20 state forests and 131 state nature preserves provide excellent locations to sample the fall foliage.

Watershed efforts

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded $1,026,602 to support efforts to protect 11 critical Ohio watersheds.

ODNR divisions of Soil & Water Conservation, Mineral Resources Management and Wildlife, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Surface Water provided state and federal funds that are matched by local organizations and agencies that seek to hire watershed coordinators. The specialists work with local watershed stakeholders to inventory land use and water resource conditions in the watershed and identify and quantify water resource issues. They develop and implement a detailed strategy for correcting problems through coordinated action of a diverse partnership.