TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A multi-organization conservation effort has restored more than 1,700 acres of the Oak Openings region, a sandy, globally rare ecosystem stretching from Bowling Green, Ohio, to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Over the last century, development, roads and invasive plants have reduced the region’s natural habitat. To counter that, The Nature Conservancy, Metroparks Toledo, and other partner organizations formed the Green Ribbon Initiative, a collaborative effort to protect and restore the area.
Funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation supported the effort over the last four years. Workers used prescribed burns, mowing, brush cutting and targeted herbicide to remove invasive plants…