Metroparks exhibits celebrate land acquisitions

Art Weber's photographs are on display at the Secor Metropark's center for nature photography may be viewed on Saturday and Sunday afternoons through April 1. THE BLADE/LISA DUTTON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The work of Art Weber is much in evidence at Secor Metropark, where three new photography exhibits commemorate the 10th anniversary of the system's tax for land acquisition.

Mr. Weber is the Toledo Area Metroparks' director of photography, and most of the 60 or so photos on display are his, taken in the last year or two.

Subjects of his photos, taken mostly in the Metroparks, range from haunting, mist-filled woods to wetlands and flora. The show runs through April 1 at Secor's center for nature photography, which is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

"I get distracted by things that are colorful, different, interesting," Mr. Weber said. "People may not realize the amazing diversity of life and habitats we have in the Metroparks."

The exhibits are "New Lands, New Discoveries," a look at the Metroparks' recently acquired property, "Travelogue: North Shore Minnesota," photos by Mr. Weber of Minnesota's Lake Superior coast, and "Winning Photos from the 2011 Outdoor Writers Association of America," a traveling display featuring work by the winners of the association's Excellence in Craft contest.

Lucas County voters adopted the 10-year, 0.3-mill levy for land acquisitions in November, 2002.

The levy, the only such tax in Ohio, generates $2.3 million annually. The park has used it along with grants and donations to purchase 3,422 acres for future parkland, according to Scott Carpenter, Metroparks spokesman.

The Oak Openings Region, a sandy region of rare plants and animals in western Lucas County, contains more than 1,800 of those acres. The Metroparks' goal is to connect Secor Metropark on Central Avenue with Oak Openings Preserve Metropark near Toledo Express Airport to protect important natural areas in the corridor, Mr. Carpenter said.

One of the photos in the exhibit is a shot of an oak leaf among grass blades. Enlarge

"We're more than 85 percent complete in establishing the corridor," Mr. Carpenter said. "Now we have 11,000 acres."

Another important purchase, of almost 1,000 acres, was in Jerusalem Township near the Lake Erie shore. The parcel, known as Howard Farms, will be returned to coastal wetland habitat.

The Metroparks has spent $42 million on land since 2002, with about $23 million of that coming from grants and donations, particularly the Clean Ohio Fund, Mr. Carpenter explained.

"We have leveraged tax dollars to more than double our money and returned millions of dollars to Lucas County -- dollars that were earmarked for park projects that would have gone to other parts of the state," he continued.

The land acquisition levy expires at the end of this year, and no decision has been made on whether to seek its renewal. The Metroparks board is looking for a new director to replace Don Rettig, who left last year to take a job with Owens Corning.

Mr. Weber described the exhibits of his photos as "evolving" and said many of them would remain on display after April 1. A 10-photo version of the show can be viewed at the main Toledo-Lucas County Library in downtown Toledo.

For Mr. Weber, being a good nature photographer means knowing habitats.

"Certain habitats yield certain things," he explained. "When you know that certain things can happen, you play on those possibilities. Just being a great photographer is not enough to be a nature photographer. Each habitat is different. You have to understand the cycles."

Habitat ignorance can cause harm, he noted. Mr. Weber said he once saw photographers at Oak Openings Metropark damaging a sand dune habitat in a futile search for karner blue butterflies.

"They were in the wrong place looking for the wrong thing. They didn't know what they were doing," he said.