Brush Creek Wildlife Area

Brush Creek Wildlife Area

Hammondsville, Ohio 43930

Official Website
Brush Creek Wildlife Area map

Tips for Birding

Brush Creek Wildlife Area is a large area of healthy forest, which is surrounded by more great habitat that can be accessed from the same roads that run through the Wildlife Area. Most of the area is forest, but there is a stream that runs through it and along the road in parts, and also some brushy areas and fields. The roads are not paved but in pretty good condition overall.

About this Location

This rugged, 4,131-acre wildlife area lies six miles southeast of Salineville in northern Jefferson County. Access to the area is provided from County Road 55, which is reached from State Route 164 at Monroeville. Several township roads provide direct access to the area from County Road 55.

The deeply dissected terrain is composed of broad ridges with steep slopes which descend to the narrow valley floor of Brush Creek. Elevations vary from 760 to 1,360 feet above mean sea level. Second growth hardwoods occupy 80 percent of the area. Oak and hickory dominate the ridgetops and upper slopes. Maple, beech, elm, ash, and tulip poplar are found in the coves and lower slopes. Open fields and shrubby coverts are confined primarily to the flatter ridgetops and the valley floor.

Purchase of land for this wildlife area began in 1944 and additional land was added as funds became available. Management work has included the planting of thousands of conifers, protection and improvement of the woodlands, selection of areas which will be allowed to return to woodland through natural succession, clear-cuts on small blocks of older timber, and management of existing openfields — all to maintain habitat diversity. Crop rotations and contour strip cropping patterns have been developed to improve food and cover conditions for wildlife. Most management activities are directed toward forest game species.

Two tracts of land totaling 783 acres were purchased in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation to provide Ohio’s sportsmen and women with quality habitat for additional turkey hunting opportunities.

Bluegills, suckers, bullheads, and a few bass are found in the lower portions of Brush Creek. Small ponds contain largemouth bass and bluegills.

Cottontail rabbit, ruffed grouse, gray squirrel, and fox squirrel are the principal game species. White-tailed deer, groundhog, and all furbearers common to the region, including beaver, are found on the area. Live-trapped wild turkeys from southern Ohio were released on this area in 1970.

The rugged, scenic beauty of the area attracts many sightseers. Visitors find a wide variety of plant communities and in association with them a diversity of songbirds and other wildlife. Hemlock grows along the steep slopes and in deep ravines and coves bordering Brush Creek. In contrast, native pines and huckleberries occupy the dry ridges.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Official Website and Cory Chiappone