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October 4, 2006
AREA RESIDENTS ASKED TO COLLECT AND DONATE BLACK WALNUT SEEDS
Seeds can be dropped off at Marietta State Nursery or Chillicothe Forestry Office
COLUMBUS, OH - Homeowners in the Marietta and Chillicothe areas are being asked by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry to donate black walnut seeds found on their property to help in the state’s reforestation efforts involving this important species.
“The collection program helps landowners reduce yard waste while providing valuable seed for the Marietta State Tree Nursery,” said John Dorka, chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “In the previous 10 years, more than 100,000 pounds of black walnuts have been collected through the program, saving the state an estimated $150,000.”
Marietta State Nursery is located 3.5 miles north of Interstate 77 at 27515 State Route 7; phone 740-373-6574. The Division of Forestry Office in Chillicothe is located at 345 Allen Ave.; phone 740-774-1596.
Seed collection containers will be available at these two sites throughout October. The Division of Forestry’s Chillicothe office also has a limited number of hand tools for nut collecting, which can be loaned to homeowners who schedule a date in advance. These hand tools enable a person to pick up walnuts without bending over.
Walnuts may be planted on well-drained, loamy soils as a future timber crop. For information about planting walnuts on a large scale, contact the ODNR Division of Forestry toll free at 877-247-8733.
More than 2,000,000 Ohio Conservation Seedlings of various tree species are sold each year by ODNR for use in reforestation, wildlife habitat development, erosion control, windbreaks and other conservation projects across the state.
A variety of Ohio Conservation Seedlings is currently available for sale to the public for delivery in the spring of 2007. Over the past 80 years, the ODNR Division of Forestry has planted more than a half-billion trees in Ohio, helping the state increase its forested land from 2,500,000 acres in the early 1900s, to more than 8,000,000 acres today.
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