If you've been wondering what Ohio looked like, well, before it was a state, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has just the map for you. Or it will, once the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves finishes reconstructing the maps and transcribing surveyor notes.
"Ohio was the first state to do a map of the vegetation at (the) time of European settlement," says Chief Botanist Richard Gardner. "In 1966, Robert Gordon, using data that was collected over decades, created the map."
Gordon's map was based on work by a surveyor named Thomas Hutchins. He was commissioned in the 1780s by a young U.S. federal government to survey land in the Ohio Country, then considered the western frontier. The land needed to be sold in order pay off Revolutionary War and other debts. In order to sell the land to prospectors and the like, the government needed to know what was there.
That map was pretty handy, but over the decades folks like Gardner came to realize Gordon was missing a lot of information — whole grasslands or wetlands that were known to exist weren't on the map.
"You've probably heard that 95% of Ohio was forested. Well, that's based on Gordon's map. How that percentage was developed, and the amount of acres of wetlands and stuff like that are mostly based on that map. So, we're like, 'we need to revisit this.' "
The team has a grant from the America 250 - Ohio Commission to update Gordon's map of Ohio's 18th century vegetation cover, and create an interactive digital version.
ODNR says the team has completed or nearly completed transcribing surveyor notes for 47 of Ohio's 88 counties. GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping is complete for 12 counties, with a few other counties close to being complete.
Conservation
Gardner says the map provides a baseline snapshot of what Ohio looked like at a particular period in time, which helps guide conservation efforts.
"The reason why it's important is that it gives us history, background, of what Ohio was like and and promotes interest in preserving (and) protecting Ohio's natural heritage," Gardner explains.
The maps also may be used for regional planning and by scientists who are studying Ohio's landscape. The data, too, further informs modeling used in studying climate change and the efforts of non-native and invasive plants.
He says the response from Ohioans and others has been good, with lots of people showing interest in the project.
Education
From the America 250 perspective, the vegetation mapping is ripe for educating people about state history. The grant from the commission aims to increase awareness about Ohio's early history, including land surveys and the people who were already present in Ohio before European settlement.
The information is being collected into a 4th grade curriculum for teachers to use. Fourth grade is when Ohio students typically learn state history.
Other parts of the project include:
- a website on the early history of Ohio’s 18th century surveyors
- a scenic driving tour of the Ohio Company and Old Seven Ranges regions of Eastern Ohio
- a series of videos on pre-settlement Ohio
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