Pittsfield Township
440-458-5121


  
 


Directions | Current Conditions

 

  


Remains of a silo at the entrance
to Caley Reservation

 

  

Welcome to the Caley Reservation page. Caley is a semi-developed park reserved for wildlife and nature study. Its 507 acres include wetlands, forest and field habitats including two large ponds and Wellington Creek which runs roughly through the middle of the reservation. Two popular activities include wildflower hikes and fishing, but visitors are welcome just to come and enjoy the quiet and natural beauty of this unique park.



Caley’s diverse natural habitat can be divided into four types: wetland, forest, field and successional. Each has its own characteristic plant and animal species.

Forest: Because Caley Reservation lies in an agricultural area and was once farmland itself before becoming a wildlife preserve, most of the forest habitat is restricted to the borders of Wellington Creek. Mature stands of cottonwood, box elder, sycamore, walnut, elm, willow, and maple can be found in the bottomlands.

Fields & Wetland:. Caley has extensive field areas, due as well to its agricultural past. Fields can appear similar to wetlands but lack the wetland characteristics of standing water or regular flooding. Fields can be distinguished by herbaceous plants and field specific nesting birds including Henslow’s sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, savannah sparrow, bobolink, Eastern meadowlark and vesper sparrow. Wetlands at Caley are also extensive, and share a similar bird population with Sandy Ridge Reservation.

Successional: Successional or Scrub habitats are often in transition from field to forest. They are characterized as partially open with closely spaced shrubs and young trees, often mixing into areas of open grass. They differ from old fields in that young forest trees are dominant. (True old fields contain sparse or no woody growth in the form of shrubs or low trees.) Birds typically found in successional habitats include Carolina wren, woodcock, yellow-billed cuckoo, and white-eyed viro.


  


Wellington Creek

 


Old field bordering a successional area
 



 

Caley Reservation was reclaimed
from agricultural land

   John Caley was born in Sheffield Township in 1880, married Christine Ackerman in 1911, and purchased his farm in Pittsfield Township in 1917. He acquired his parents' adjoining farm after the death of his father, Daniel Caley, in 1923. As early as 1926, John acted upon his keenly felt conservation concerns by leasing portions of his farm to the State of Ohio (through the Ohio Department of Agriculture) in an effort to replenish the region's diminished wildlife populations.

John E. Caley's will, dated 1960, promised 320.89 acres of farm and woodland to the National Wildlife Federation Endowment, Inc. The will stipulated that the land be managed "for the purpose that said Corp. was founded and particularly for the benefit of wildlife in the United States and the study of the habits of wild birds and animals...shall not be sold by the Endowment Fund, nor shall the timber be taken off said farm." Mr. Caley died in 1967 and later that same year his property transferred to the National Wildlife Federation.

The Federation assumed active control of the site in 1969 and initially yielded stewardship responsibilities to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Division of Wildlife). A "Long Range Wildlife Management Plan" dated August 1970 (Simmerer) reflects the ODNR's plans for the site.
The National Wildlife Federation then entered into agreement with the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District (LCMPD) to enhance local stewardship opportunities.

 

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