In 1979, fifty miles of the Little Miami Scenic Trail was established as Ohio's only trail-corridor State Park. As one of the nation's first Rails-to-Trails projects, much of the trail follows the Little Miami River, a state and national scenic river, making it one of the most beautiful and shaded multi-purpose trails in the country. And with over 1.3 million visits each year, it has become one of the most popular! Celebrate this remarkable state park with us on its 40th birthday enjoying the activities below.

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Actors in a theater wish each other good luck in a rather strange way by saying “break a leg.” Cyclists wish one another well by urging others to “stay on two wheels.” This time of year, whether you are retrieving your mail, walking your dog or hiking the Little Miami Trail, you run the risk of slipping. My daughter recently slipped on ice and sustained a concussion. Fortunately, she recovered quickly, but her experience led her to research safe winter walking. Here’s the advice my daughter has for you:

1. Focus on the task at hand and avoid distractions, especially those involving your cell phone. Don’t text and walk on ice!

2. Rather than walk like a human, waddle like a penguin. Take short steps and keep your center of gravity over one leg.

3. Utilize a walking stick, trekking poles or a cane. These devices aid your balance and allow you to maintain contact with the ground.

4. Wear spiked overshoes. For about $10, you can purchase a pair of rubberized overshoes with metallic spikes that easily slip on and off and provide sure footing on ice.

Deep bruising? Broken hip? Serious concussion? Here’s your chance to rewind the movie and to stay on two feet while walking on ice. Spring will be here soon, but meanwhile, stay safe in the waning winter weeks.

by Erick Wikum
March 2019

During this time of year, our trail use often occurs during low light hours in the early morning or late afternoon. A walk, run or ride that begins in full light can easily end in dusk, darkness or heavy cloud cover that comes on surprisingly quickly. Being safe in low light conditions calls for SEEING what’s in your path and BEING SEEN by others including motorists and fellow trail users. Fortunately, today’s marketplace offers a variety of helpful safety products, including the following:

1. Bike lights: Head and tail lights allow you both to see and be seen. Using these lights even in daylight conditions is advisable to attract the attention of other trail users, since much of the trail is tree covered and dimly lit. Special rules established by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the Little Miami State Park specify that “night cyclists must have front white light and rear red light.”

2. Headlamp – A headlamp will illuminate your path, allowing you to avoid trip hazards including uneven surfaces and debris. Lightweight, adjustable headlamps often feature bright LED lights and rechargeable batteries.

3. Reflective clothing – Reflective material allows you to be seen, especially by motorists as you traverse or cross roads. Most running shoes feature at least a minimal amount of reflective material. Reflective clothing including jackets or vests double as layers to keep you warm. 

4. LED reflecting band – Bands for arms or ankles feature both reflective material and embedded LED lights with multiple “on” modes (glowing or flashing).

Perhaps with cold temperatures, wintery weather and shortened days, I ought to advise you to wait until spring to use the Little Miami Scenic Trail again. Upon further reflection and enlightened thought, though, I can see you, adorned in low light safety gear, enjoying the trail now. My oh my, can I see you!

by Erick Wikum
January 2019
Vest photo by Top Fitness Magazine

by Sarah Stankavich

For eight years, the Ohio Division of Wildlife has been conducting mobile bat acoustic surveys across the state with the help of volunteers. These surveys began as a way to help monitor bat populations after white-nose syndrome, a disease associated with large-scale bat mortality, was found in Ohio. A survey route through Little Miami State Park was added in 2018, making it the 44th route in the program. During July, volunteers attach a microphone to the top of their car that is connected to an Anabat. As the volunteer drives, the Anabat records the echolocation calls of bats passing overhead. These data, like that on the graph at left, can later be imported into computer programs that help identify which species of bats are present along a route. Using these acoustic surveys, we can gain insight into bat population trends across the state each year.

Data from the Little Miami route in 2018 shows that big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) are likely the most abundant species in the area. The recorders also picked up possible calls from tri-colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus), silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and Myotis species (like that in the photo above), although in low numbers. Because it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish species from one another using acoustic data, adding additional data from upcoming years will help paint a clearer picture of the species composition in this area.
The graph below shows the number of bat detections each survey night. The bats are grouped into categories based on the minimum frequency of their echolocation call. The low frequency group includes big brown, silver haired, and hoary bats. The mid-frequency group includes evening bats, tri-colored bats, and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). The Myotis group includes all bats in the genus Myotis.

Sarah Stankavich holds a B.S. in biology from The University of Akron and a M.S. in biology from Eastern Washington University. She has studied bats in Ohio, Washington, Arizona, and Puerto Rico. Sarah currently works at the ODNR Division of Wildlife, where she coordinates several bat and pollinator projects.

April 2019