Powelson+Wildlife+Area

Also, see Muskingum County Birding Drive
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Muskingum County
=Powelson Wildlife Area= Zanesville, Ohio 43701 Powelson Wildlife Area webpage Powelson Wildlife Area map

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Powelson Wildlife Area
Coordinates: 40.057939, -82.01977 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Powelson Wildlife Area
This 2,779-acre wildlife area lies between OH-60 and the Muskingum River, four miles north of Zanesville. County Road 49, which runs east from OH-60, provides the best access to the heart of the area.

The topography includes gently rolling, reverting old fields and woodland. Seventy-six percent of the land is covered by woodland; of the total, 40 percent is in sawlog-size stands and 60 percent in pole-size stands. Brushland comprises 22 percent of the area. Less than one percent is open land.

Approximately one-fifth of the area has been affected by earlier strip mining, leaving the terrain in a rough condition. In the 1940s some of the spoil banks were planted with black locust and conifers which are now pole size.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s this area was strip-mined for coal. Although some restoration work was privately undertaken, the land was largely in an abandoned condition prior to purchase by the Division of Wildlife in 1958.

Management work has included the improvement of existing woodlands, selective release cutting of brushlands, planting of conifers, the addition of squirrel and wood duck nesting structures, and maintenance of existing open fields based on land capability.

The principal game species include deer, grouse, and gray squirrel, with lesser numbers of fox squirrel and cottontail rabbit. All furbearers common to the region occur in the area. Various species of waterfowl use the water in the strip pits as resting areas during migration. Wood ducks are year-round residents. Conditions for squirrel and grouse will improve as more of the area returns to woodland and planned management is completed.

The two main ponds in the area have been stocked with largemouth bass, channel catfish, and bluegills. A variety of songbirds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects also occur on the area in association with the diverse mixture of habitat types.

Several small parking lots are available and good access is provided throughout the area by secondary roads. From Powelson Wildlife Area webpage || media type="custom" key="26720842"

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media type="custom" key="25793076" || L1915116 US US-OH US-OH-119 40.057939 -82.01977 Powelson Wildlife Area