Riddle State Nature Preserve
Encyclopedia
Athens County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
, outside the city of Athens, Ohio
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
. It comprises 106 acres (about 43 hectares) "within the Low Hills Belt section of the Allegheny Plateau
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
". Of these 106 acres, about 85 acres (34 hectares) are in the area cited as old-growth forest. Adjacent to Strouds Run State Park
Strouds Run State Park
Strouds Run State Park is an Ohio state park located primarily in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio, with a small part in Ames Township. It comprises , and includes Dow Lake, a artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow...
, the woods now comprise a state nature preserve named the Dale & Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve.
The preserve is owned and managed by the City of Athens. This Ohio public land was dedicated as a state nature preserve, in part because the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves donated $50,000 to the purchase price. The property was purchased for $550,000. The preserve is part of the city's east-side Strouds Ridge Preserve
Strouds Ridge Preserve
The Strouds Ridge Preserve is a project of Athens, Ohio, to create a greenbelt buffer and trail system on the outskirts of the city. This effort began in 2002, and has so far involved the acquisition of three parcels of land, for a total of , in two discontinuous tracts. All these properties,...
project, which to date includes about 325 acres (about 132 hectares) total.
As with many other areas in southeast Ohio, the preserve suffers from white-tail deer overpopulation. A deer exclosure was built to demonstrate the effects of grazing pressure from the deer.
The preserve is known to harbor the relatively rare gametophytic fern species, Trichomanes intricatum
Trichomanes intricatum
Trichomanes intricatum is known as the weft fern. This is an unusual filmy fern that grows in rock shelters and crevices in the eastern United States, being known only from its gametophyte generation...
.