Cemex+Reserve


 * =Birding in Ohio=

Greene County
=Cemex Reserve= Fairborn, Ohio 45324 Cemex Reserve webpage Cemex Reserve (Beaver Creek Wetlands Association) webpage Cemex Reserve brochure and map Cemex Reserve (Beaver Creek Wetlands Association) map

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Cemex Reserve
Coordinates: 39.8114371, -84.0053272 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Cemex Reserve
Wetlands are some of the most important, but most threatened habitats in Ohio. More than 90 percent of all wildlife spend all or part of their lives in a wetland. This 164-acre reserve was donated by Cemex Corporation and responsibly restored back to its original wetland wildlife habitat through a grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife with the help of Beavercreek Wetlands Association and Wright State University after the land was mined for cement manufacturing components. The reserve contains a marsh, a wet prairie, wet meadow and a shrub habitat.

From Garland Avenue near I-675 in Fairborn, turn onto Sanctuary Drive to enter the reserve's access road and parking area. Wildlife abounds in Cemex Reserve. Visitors can hike a loop trail around the marsh where they may see egrets, herons, painted turtles, green frogs, warblers, orioles and much more. Cemex Reserve is an excellent place for hiking, nature study, art, and photography. From Cemex Reserve webpage

In 1800 this site was likely a prairie wetland with shallow standing water. Farmers drained it and later the land was mined as a source of soils needed for the production of Portland cement.

Through a federal grant to Wright State University and the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association, this wetland and prairie were restored in the mid-1990s. Water was diverted back onto the land and original drainage patterns were restored. Plantings have restored native wildflowers, grasses, and sedges.

What to see: Marsh, wet forest, wet prairie, and small fens. The rare wet prairie naturally floods in late winter and spring then dries in summer to support Indian Grass, Big Bluestem, and Little Bluestem grasses. Look also for coneflowers, Monkey Flowers, Ohio Goldenrod, Prairie Dock, Butterfly Weed and other colorful flowers in late summer. In late winter, waterfowl like wood duck and bufflehead may be seen in open water. At other times look for reptiles, amphibians, painted and map turtles, bluebirds, deer, and fox. From Cemex Reserve (Beaver Creek Wetlands Association) webpage

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media type="custom" key="28420203" || L2417422 US US-OH US-OH-057 39.8114371 -84.0053272 Cemex Reserve