On a snow-covered morning last February, wildlife biologists released several pairs of snowshoe hares into the swamp forests along the Grand River in Lake County, including the Nature Conservancy's 1,000-acre Morgan Swamp Preserve. The release, made by Ohio's Division of Wildlife, was part of an ongoing project to restore this symbol of northern forests to part of its original snow-belt range in Ohio. Although little natural Ohio habitat remains for the hare, the snowy, forested areas in the northeast corner of the state harbored numbers of them before settlers wiped them out, along with beaver and river otter, when they cleared the forests and drained the swamps. But today, thanks to habitat restoration efforts by numerous public agencies and private organizations, the Grand River valley boasts a number of areas where the snowshoe hare can once again thrive.

   The latest species to be restored to Ohio's landscape, the hare plants its large, powerful hind feet squarely in the footsteps of other animals that have been successfully reintroduced to Ohio; bald eagle, wild turkey and river otter are among the best known. The fact that these creatures now thrive in Ohio is a testament to wildlife biologists who have honed their skills in reintroduction since bringing back the wild turkey several decades ago.

   The resurgence of these critters also reflects more than a century of conservation and restoration of habitat. Without healthy, diverse places to call home, Ohio's wildlife could not survive. Nowhere is this fact more obvious than in the Buckeye State, which was a wildlife paradise until European settlers crossed the Ohio River in 1788 to create their first permanent settlement in Marietta. Today, it is difficult to imagine an untouched Ohio with forests both ancient and seemingly endless – massive oaks and towering American chestnuts swarmed with passenger pigeons and migratory songbirds. Pristine rivers shaded by burly sycamores teamed with fish and fresh-water mussels, and the lands west of the Ohio River boasted a full complement of wild animals, including wolves, elk and bison. Although most of the land was forested, the lands between Lake Erie and the Ohio River were pockets of prairie awash in wildflowers and vast marshes, home to millions of water fowl.

      Our industrious pioneer ancestors made short work of this bounty. In 1899, just a little more than a century after Marietta was settled, the Ohio State Forestry Bureau, a fledgling agency, reported that nearly 19.5 million acres – more than three-fourths of its original woods – had been cleared. The expansive marshes and timbered wetlands of the Great Black Swamp in northwest Ohio, whose bounty had sustained Native American people for centuries, had been painstakingly drained for farming, eventually reducing the original 300,000 acres to 15,000. By 1900, the nearly 1 million acres of grasslands scattered throughout western Ohio were nearly all plowed under. Most of the free-flowing Ohio rivers were dammed to power mills or to provide reservoirs for community-water supplies or irrigation.

Wildlife biologists release snowshoe hares into the swamp forests along the Grand River in Lake County as part of an ongoing project to restore this symbol of northern forests to part of their original snow-belt range in Ohio.

   Within that first 100 years, Ohio lost dozens of high-profile species including white-tailed deer, black bear, elk, wolves, beaver and river otters. The last known wild-passenger pigeon was shot in Pike County in 1900. Wild Ohio was well on its way to being lost forever.

   In recent decades, however, Ohioans have made an effort to restore some of this lost paradise. Many of us, even those who rarely leave the urban strongholds of the state, are familiar with the resurgence of certain species. White-tailed deer, extirpated in the early 1900s, are so abundant now that they have become pests in many suburban areas. Bald eagles, driven nearly to extinction by chemical pesticides and indiscriminate hunting, are back now in record numbers. The Division of Wildlife's osprey reintroduction met its goals seven years ahead of schedule. River otters, which were first released in the Grand River valley nearly 20 years ago, have become so abundant that the state opened a limited trapping season on them this year.

   Some species are returning without assistance. Wildlife biologists have reported an increase in confirmed sightings of the elusive bobcat, seemingly exterminated by 1850 but now prowling the forested southeastern regions. Black bears, more often discouraged than encouraged despite official state protection, are believed to have established a breeding population in the eastern part of the state, especially in the counties that border Pennsylvania.

   These animals have been aided by the natural resiliency of Ohio's temperate climate and by economic changes that have moved the bulk of the population out of the country and into the cities. Regulations that ban some pesticides and mandate water-quality improvements have helped, too. And, of course, controlled hunting allows wildlife managers to protect and enhance the populations of game species. But Ohio wildlife officials agree that most of the modern wildlife revitalization success stories can be attributed to the restoration of lost habitat.

   Today, Ohio is more than 30 percent forested, up from a low of less than 10 percent in the early 1900s. The return of the beaver has brought wetlands back to some areas, especially those that, like Morgan Swamp, have been protected. Some communities have begun to remove old, non-essential dams on rivers, allowing better fish migration. In an odd twist of natural history, reclaimed strip mines are now providing grassland habitat to replace the prairies that are still being used to grow corn and soybeans in western Ohio.

   While the snowshoe hare and many marquee species have been restored through great effort and expense, biologists continue to worry about the long-term viability of Ohio's wildlife. Undeveloped land is still being paved over for urban and suburban development at a rapid rate, eliminating terrestrial habitat and causing harm to rivers. For example, fresh-water mussel species appear to be on the decline in the Big Darby Creek, a national scenic river in central Ohio threatened by urban sprawl from Columbus and its suburbs. Only about five percent of Ohio's forest is protected, and the few remaining large industrial forests are being carved up and sold for development. Wetlands continue to be filled in with subdivisions and strip malls, and the mandated man-made wetlands built in their place do not provide the same sort of habitat.

   As we celebrate the successes in Ohio – the recovery of some habitat and the return of several important species – we should remember that worldwide, as well as in Ohio, the diversity of plant and animal life continues to be threatened. E.O. Wilson, Harvard professor emeritus, predicts that at the current rate of extinction we will lose half of Earth's plant and animal species by the end of the 21st century.

   Ohioans should redouble efforts to protect the lands and waters upon which the plants and animals depend. Together, we have pulled the state back from the brink. Together, we can provide a sustainable future for generations to come.

Randall Edwards is the Director of Communications for the Nature Conservancy's Ohio Chapter. As part of the nation's largest private conservation organization, the Nature Conservancy's Ohio Chapter maintains 26 preserves that protect some of the best forests, waters, grasslands and wetlands in the state. In partnership with individuals, communities and private and public organizations, the Nature Conservancy has protected more than 35,000 acres of these great natural treasures. In addition, the Ohio chapter has worked with conservation partners in other countries to protect land and provide technical assistance in places as diverse as Belize and Canada. For more information about the Conservancy's work in Ohio, see www.nature.org/ohio.