Cash/Hertrick Preserve

Harpersfield Township, Ashtabula County
East Trumbull Quad
46.6 acres

The Cash/Hertrick Preserve protects a .4-mile-long stretch of the Grand River along the south side of the river just upstream from County Line Road. The property encompasses both the river valley wall and floodplain terrace. Four ravines are located along the valley wall. Two of the ravines have scenic waterfalls and several salamanders, including northern dusky, mountain dusky, two-lined and red-backed have been found at the preserve. Noteworthy birds nesting in the ravines include black-throated green warbler, hooded warbler and Acadian flycatcher. High-quality open Emory sedge meadows are present both within and along the river. The sedge islands support a great variety of plant and insect species. The river bottom along the property has a great diversity of substrates including rocky, sandy and silty bottoms. This section of the Grand River supports several species of mussel, many of which are different species than those found in the mussel beds of the Grand River Terraces. Mudpuppies are present in the river, as well as a rare mussel, the salamander mussel, that requires mudpuppies for part of its life cycle.

The ravines along the valley support high-quality old growth forest dominated by hemlock, sugar maple and yellow birch. A great diversity of trees occur on the floodplain terraces and lower valley wall slopes, including silver maple, red maple, black walnut, sycamore, bitternut hickory, tuliptree, basswood, white ash, sugar maple, beech, black cherry and cucumber magnolia. The open floodplain meadows support a great diversity of plants, including the rare turk’s-cap lily, ostrich fern, joe-pye-weed, ironweed, ox-eye, wingstem, perfoliate boneset and great blue lobelia.