American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry have partnered in a cooperative effort to reforest approximately 25 acres within the Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio.

“This project represents another step along the path toward a sustainable economy,” said ODNR Director Sean Logan. “Development and conservation can be done cooperatively, and in ways that benefit both. We thank AMP and look forward to working with them in the future.”

The growth and survival of 17,500 seedlings planted in designated plots within Shawnee State Forest will be tracked and verified in order for AMP to obtain carbon offsets for the project. This is the first activity in what is being described by officials as an ongoing joint effort to develop similar carbon offset projects.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to move forward on this ‘win-win’ opportunity for both AMP and the ODNR Division of Forestry,” said Marc. S. Gerken, president and CEO of AMP. “The development of cost-effective carbon offset projects such as this will be essential to keeping down the costs of mitigating the possible effects of climate change regulation.”

Carbon offsets are tradable commodities, which can be created when entities undertake actions that reduce or “offset” carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions. AMP will use scientifically based protocols, such as those established by the Chicago Climate Exchange, of which AMP is a member, to track, measure and verify the project’s performance.

“Working in partnership with AMP provides the necessary support to return those 25 acres of field back to forest,” said David Lytle, state forester and chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “Without their support we would not be able to do this project. This also makes for a great learning experience for members of the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps who will assist in planting these trees.”

Under the agreement, AMP will purchase the seedlings and work with Division of Forestry staff to prepare the site for planting. The trees will be planted in fields located along Forest Road 1 near Pond Lick Lake and Forest Road 14 near Odell Creek.

Details: 700 trees per acre @ 25 acres = 17,500 seedlings

Number &
Name of Seedlings

Tree Facts

Tree and Leaf Photos

6,125 Red Oaks

The red oak is one of the largest and most important timber trees. One of the fastest growing of the oaks, it attains a height to 80 feet and a diameter of two to three feet. Bristle-tipped leaves turn red in the fall. The leaves have 7 to 11 waxy lobes. Contain tannin, a substance that makes the leaves leathery and hinders decomposition. The fruit is a large, broad, rounded acorn with a very shallow disk-like or saucer-shaped cup or cap. Grows as much as two feet a year for 10 years. Grows to 60′ to 75′, 45′ spread.

4,375 Black Oaks

The black oak is a common, medium-sized to large oak tree, 60 to 80 feet tall and one to two feet in diameter, with a wide and irregularly shaped crown. It is sometimes called yellow oak, quercitron, yellowbark oak, or smoothbark oak. The inner bark is bright yellow and bitter to the taste, because of the tannic acid it contains. The leaves are single, 5 to 7 lobed, bristle-tipped, 5 to 10 inches long and 3 to 6 inches wide. The lobes are sometimes shallow and sometimes deeply lobed, the shape varying greatly. They are dark green and shiny above and pale beneath, with rusty brown hairs in the forks of the leaf veins.

3,500 White Oaks

The white oak is one of the most important, largest, longest-lived and most valuable timber trees. It grows to 100 feet in to 4 feet in diameter. In the timber it forms a tall, straight tree, but in the open it is wide and spreading. The single leaves are 4 to 7 inches long and about half as broad, deeply divided into seven to nine rounded, fingerlike lobes. The young leaves are a soft, silvery gray or yellow to red when unfolding, later becoming bright green above and much paler be low. The leaves contain tannin and turn orange-red, crimson, and red-purple, then fade to brown in the fall and may remain on the tree into winter.

1,750 Hard Maples

The hard maple (sugar maple, rock maple) is one of the largest and finest forest trees, growing to a height of 60 to 80 feet with a diameter of 2 or more feet and a longevity of 200-300 years. The tree produces a dense, round, compact crown when grown in the open and is used quite extensively as a shade or ornamental tree. In the fall the yellow, red and crimson colors of the leaves form a very showy and beautiful part of the landscape. It is the best of the maples for production of maple syrup and sugar. The leaves are three to five lobed, but usually five lobed. The lobes are deeply cut with rounded divisions between the lobes, dark green above and pale green with a silvery cast below. Similar to other maples, the fruit is a pair of winged seeds about 1 inch long. The seeds ripen in the autumn.

1,750 Sycamores

The sycamore is a hardy deciduous tree. It grows from 70 to 100 feet tall with a spread between 60 and 80 feet. They are typically broad and round and make great shade trees. The sycamore tree has 6-inch-long, 5-lobed, coarsely toothed leaves, dark green, and yellowish-green flowers in hanging clusters. Also known as sycamore maple or mock plane. Living sycamore trees can reach ages of five hundred to six hundred years. The deciduous sycamore is fast growing and sun-loving, “growing seventy feet in seventeen years” on a good site. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Native Americans used sycamore for medicinal purposes, including cough and cold relief.