Pip Ridge
a 60-acre preserve in Hocking County
Total Project Cost: $331,500
Pip Ridge is an approximately 60-acre forest reserve located west of South Bloomingville, OH near Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve and Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park. It boasts a high-quality, closed-canopy hardwood forest, 3,050 linear feet of a primary headwater intermittent stream that drains into Queer Creek, and several rock formations that are iconic of Hocking Hills. It provides suitable habitat for nesting woodland birds, such as wood thrush, hermit thrush, ovenbird, hooded warbler, cerulean warbler, red-eyed vireo, and black-and-white warbler, which are found in the region, as well as protects critical habitat for several bat species, including tricolored bats, which are endangered in Ohio and are likely soon to be listed as federally endangered. Pip Ridge will be added to the mosaic of conservation lands in Hocking Hills, a region that has faced increasing development and fragmentation pressure in recent years.
This project was funded with the help of a grant from Clean Ohio. Additional fundraising is needed for the site’s long-term stewardship.
A new forest reserve in Hocking County. Pip Ridge protects approximately 58 acres of closed-canopy deciduous hardwood forest and 3,050 linear feet of an intermittent primary headwater stream which drains into Queer Creek. Dominant tree species include American beech, red maple, yellow-poplar, black oak, scarlet oak, northern red oak, chestnut oak, pignut hickory, shagbark hickory, mockernut hickory, and sourwood. The largest trees on the property are American beech and scarlet oak.
Important breeding ground for neotropical birds. Pip Ridge is located near Hocking Hills State Forest and Crane Hollow State Nature Preserve, in an area surrounded by lands protected by conservation easements and other protective covenants that provide ideal habitat for nesting woodland birds, such as hermit thrush, ovenbird, hooded warbler, cerulean warbler, red-eyed vireo, black-and-white warbler, and as previously mentioned, wood thrush. Purchasing and turning Pip Ridge into a nature reserve will help add to the existing network of protected lands that benefit ecosystems, wildlife, and plants that live there. The purchase will also help slow down widespread development occurring in this area and will create a block of intact forest that supports many neotropical birds during their nesting season.