Save the Date: Saturday, September 25 , 2010 from 7:30 am to 2:00 pm for the Fall Open House tour of the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (formerly the Dike 14 Nature Preserve).

It was cool and rainy (again) on September 26, 2009 and the event was called at 11:00 am due to rain. But, over 200 visitors attended. Species list coming soon.

Download a list of birds from the 'Nature in the Neighborhood' May 16, 2009 open house at the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve. Over 70 species of birds were identified. Photos below are from May 16: It was a cool and rainy day but over 200 visitors took advantage of guided hikes and self guided tours of the site. Volunteers pulled and disposed of lots of garlic mustard.

Experience the city of Cleveland’s only nature preserve along the shore of Lake Erie. You will have a chance to look for native Ohio plants, trees and animals. Stunning, unique views of the Cleveland skyline as well as a most unusual opportunity to access the lakefront, which is closed to the public at other times, will be yours.

Jim Bissell, Curator of Botany at the Cleveland Museum of Natureal History recently confirmed a new plant species to Cuyahoga County, growing in an unlikely habitat near the Clveland Lakefront Nature Preserve. In June 2001, Jim visited Dike 14. When he left he cut across the lake bluff on State Park land and collected a few sedges from a seep on the Lake Bluff. The sedge, new to Cuyahoga County, keys to Carex brevior, a State Threatened species known from only two locations in Northeastern Ohio, NASA Plumbrook and the Museum’s North Kingsville Sand Barrens. The Museum’s Herbarium also has a historical specimen from Cedar Point in Erie County. Jim plans to relocate the population and do a count in June 2009.

Image courtesy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hurd, E.G., N.L. Shaw, J. Mastrogiuseppe, L.C. Smithman, and S. Goodrich. 1998. Field guide to Intermountain sedges. General Technical Report RMS-GTR-10. USDA Forest Service, RMRS, Ogden.

The soil testing and risk assessment for the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve found that the site is safe for environmental education usage. To view the reports please visit the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District's web site.

The Environmental Education Collaborative installed an informational kiosk at Cleveland Lakefront State Park near the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve gate. Visit the kiosk to learn more about the history and plans for the site.

Take a look at the 2008 Butterfly Count on the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve. Long Term Monitoring of Butterflies Transect – Fourth Year, April 1, 2008 –November 10, 2008. Thanks to Susan Gallagher and the Ohio Lepidopterists for this amazing research project.

Exit #177 from I-90. Parking is available at Gordon State Park. Entrances from North Marginal at E. 72nd Street, from North Marginal between E. 72nd and MLK, and park office entrance from Lakeshore Boulevard east of MLK. Additional space at E. 55th State Park (Exit SR 2).

For the safety and enjoyment of all visitors and the protection of the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, please use care when visiting:

• Stay on the established trail
• Do not remove or disturb plants
• Do not feed, remove or disturb wildlife
• No smoking or pets