Pip Ridge
a 60-acre preserve in Hocking County
Total Project Cost: $381,557
Balance to Raise: $24,962
Stewardship Funds are critically needed.
See all of the Arc’s preservation work to date in Hocking Hills
Click on the Hocking Hills Forever campaign
Pip Ridge protects a 60-acre forest located west of South Bloomingville, OH - near Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve and Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills. It shelters a mature hardwood forest of exceptional qualityand protects 3,050 linear feet of a headwater stream that drains into Queer Creek. The preserve also boasts several rock formations that are iconic of Hocking Hills’ dramatic landscapes.
Pip Ridge is so named because the preserve provides refuge for several bat species, including tricolored bats, which are endangered in Ohio and hopefully federally listed soon. This species was previously referred to as “pipistrelles.” During our staff’s initial tour of the property, we found a little “pip” in the honeycombed rocks, hence the name, Pip Ridge. Pip Ridge’s towering trees provide habitat for deep-woodland birds such as wood thrush, hermit thrush, ovenbird, hooded warbler, cerulean warbler, red-eyed vireo, and the black-and-white warbler.
Pip Ridge will be added to the Arc’s mosaic of preservation lands in Hocking Hills, a region that is facing intense pressure from development. This project’s acquisition was funded with a Clean Ohio Grant, and its high timber value provided the required 25% match. Additional fundraising is critically needed for the site’s long-term stewardship, as supported by staffing and equipment at the Arc’s Hocking Hills Regional Stewardship Center. For more information, scroll below the photo gallery.
A new forest reserve in Hocking County. 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.
Ensuring Hocking Hills’ compelling landscapes are FOREVER!! Pip Ridge is located in a region of Hocking Hills that boasts an unusual density of conservation easement lands and private and public nature preserves. These protected forests provide secure habitat for many deep-woods birds, including hermit thrush, ovenbird, hooded warbler, cerulean warbler, red-eyed vireo, black-and-white warbler, and wood thrush. Transitioning Pip Ridge into a protected nature preserve will add to this existing network of conservation lands in Hocking Hills, benefiting in perpetuity the natural communities that have flourished in the region for millions of years, while limiting the unsustainable development that - without some boundaries - will continue to explode. The goal of the Arc of Appalachia’’s Hocking Hill Forever campaign to sustain the stunning landscapes of Hocking Hills into the far flung future, ensuring that the region doesn’t lose the stunning beauty that attract millions of visitors each year.