Sand+Fork+Wetland

Also, see Wayne National Forest, Wayne National Forest-Ironton Important Bird Area, and Gallia County Birding Drive
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Gallia County
=Wayne National Forest= =Sand Fork Wetland= Patriot, Ohio 45658 Wayne National Forest Wetlands webpage Wetlands on the Wayne National Forest brochure Sand Fork Wetland map

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Wayne National Forest--Sand Fork Wetland
Coordinates: 38.7039552, -82.3836261 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding Sand Fork Wetland
Access to the Sand Fork Wetland is via a dirt and gravel road that ends at an old house site. The national forest ownership starts at the beginning of the wetland. The agriculture fields at the entrance are privately owned. Visitors should be cautious to stay on the road when parking, as the ground is extremely soft and it is very easy to get stuck while turning your vehicle around. The wetlands are constructed. There is a series of wetlands that continue upstream from the main wetland. These other wetlands are much more shallow. A very large diversity of birds have been seen here and it is a wonderful place to bird. From Zachary Allen who works in the National Forest

About Wayne National Forest--Sand Fork Wetland
The primary type of wetland that occurs on the Wayne National Forest is known as a floodplain wetland. These wetlands were seasonally inundated as a result of stream flooding. Water stored on the floodplain would slowly soak back into the ground, but small depressions on the floodplain led to areas that held water for longer periods of time. Mosaics of wetland soils resulted from years and years of seasonal flooding.

Because of their gentle topography, floodplains were valued by southeastern Ohio settlers for raising agricultural crops. Many floodplain wetlands were ditched or drained with tiles to enhance production of crops. Over the years, the Wayne National Forest has acquired lands that were tiled or ditched and has restored or enhanced wetland habitat along streams like Sand Fork, Pine Creek, and the Little Muskingum River. From Wayne National Forest Wetlands webpage

About Wayne National Forest
The Wayne National Forest is located in the hills of southeastern Ohio. This small national forest, in the heart of the heavily populated Midwest, covers almost a quarter million acres of Appalachian foothills. The Wayne is divided into three blocks administered by two Ranger Districts at Athens and Ironton. A field office is also located east of Marietta.

Visitors to national forest lands are welcome to camp, hike, hunt and fish. The Forest boundaries surround a checkerboard pattern of ownership, with public and private ownership interspersed. There are over 300 miles of trails on the Forest for hiking, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding, mountain biking, or horseback riding. From Wayne National Forest Division of Forestry website

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|| L3486477 US US-OH US-OH-053 38.7039552 -82.3836261 Wayne National Forest--Sand Fork Wetland