Hawk Woods

Large red oak (Quercus rubra) in Riddle State Nature Preserve.

Mossy decaying logs in the preserve.

Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, United States, outside the city of Athens. It comprises 106 acres (43 ha) 106 acres (about 43 hectares) of foothills in the Allegheny Plateau region.^[1] Of these 106 acres, about 85 acres (34 hectares) are in the area cited as old-growth forest. Adjacent to Strouds Run State Park, the woods now comprise a state nature preserve named the Dale & Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve.^[2]

The preserve is owned and managed by the City of Athens. This Ohio public land was dedicated as a state nature preserve, in part because the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves donated $50,000 to the purchase price. The property was purchased for $550,000.^[3] The preserve is part of the city's east-side Strouds Ridge Preserve project, which to date includes about 325 acres (about 132 hectares) total.

As with many other areas in southeast Ohio, the preserve suffers from white-tail deer overpopulation. A deer exclosure was built to demonstrate the effects of grazing pressure from the deer.

The preserve is known to harbor the relatively rare gametophytic fern species, Trichomanes intricatum.

References

Coordinates: 39°20′37″N 82°04′28″W / 39.343633°N 82.074483°W / 39.343633; -82.074483