Pleasant+Valley+Wildlife+Area


 * =Birding in Ohio=

Ross County
=Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area= Egypt Pike Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area webpage Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area map

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Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area
Coordinates: 39.387254, -83.05202 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area
This 1,465-acre wildlife area lies between US-35 and OH-104, 3 miles northwest of Chillicothe. US-35 lies adjacent to a portion of the area on the west side and is connected to the area by Union Lane at Pleasant Valley. The main access road is County Road 127 (Egypt Pike) off OH-104.

The topography is characterized by expansive flat-topped ridges with steep wooded slopes on both sides. Fifty-one percent of the land is covered by woodland; three-fifths of that being in pole-sized stands, and the remaining two-fifths in sawlog-size stands. Brushland comprises 19 percent of the area, and the remaining 30 percent of the area is in cropland.

The area originally was a mixed-oak forest. The broad, level bottoms where a beech-maple forest predominated were cleared early for the rapidly advancing farming industry of Ross County.

Between 1959 and 1960, the Division of Wildlife obtained the area at no cost from the U.S. General Services Administration. It had previously been managed in part by the adjacent Chillicothe Correctional Institution. Management practices were primarily for short-term rotations of corn, small grains, and meadows.

Since the transfer to the Division, management work has included the improvement of existing woodlands, selective release cutting of brushlands, controlled burning, addition of squirrel nesting structures, the establishment of grassland nesting cover, and the cropping of open land through cooperative management agreements with local farmers.

Six small ponds have been developed and were originally stocked with largemouth bass, bluegills, and channel catfish. The principal game species include gray and fox squirrels and cottontail rabbits. Deer and raccoon are also important game species. Common furbearers occur in the area. Wood ducks are year-round residents. Conditions for pheasants, squirrels, grouse, and deer will improve as the planned management is completed. A variety of songbirds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians also occur in association with the mixture of diverse habitat types. Mourning doves are common in the cropland areas.

Several small parking areas are available and good access is provided throughout the area by secondary roads. From Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area webpage

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media type="custom" key="25808990" || L1915076 US US-OH US-OH-141 39.387254 -83.05202 Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area