LOTTERY TO BE HELD FOR THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL CRANBERRY BOG: OH

COLUMBUS, OH - Nature enthusiasts throughout Ohio are encouraged to
enter a lottery to tour Ohio's only floating island - Cranberry Bog State
Nature Preserve in Buckeye Lake - during the bog's annual open house from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 21.
Attendance at this popular open house has been limited to 480 people
this year in an effort to curtail potential damage to the bog's delicate
sphagnum moss surface, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
(ODNR). The names of the 480 visitors will be determined by a lottery
scheduled for early June.
People interested in touring the bog on June 21 should send a
postcard during the month of May to the ODNR Division of Natural Areas &
Preserves at 1889 Fountain Square Court, F-1, Columbus, Ohio 43224.
Postcards must contain the following information: contact name, address with
zip code, daytime phone number and total number of people in the party (not
to exceed four). Only one postcard will be accepted per family.
Lottery winners will be notified by mail in early June. In case of
cancellations, walk-ins may be accepted on the day of the open house. Boat
transportation to and from the island will be provided by the Greater
Buckeye Lake Historical Society for a donation of $5 per person.
Cranberry Bog is one of Ohio's most unique natural areas. The
11-acre island, located approximately 100 yards off the north shore of
Buckeye Lake, was registered as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. Its
unique composition gives the island a spongy surface, requiring that
visitors remain on the boardwalk.
The island dates from 1830 when Buckeye Lake was created as a feeder
reservoir for the Ohio-Erie Canal. A 50-acre portion of the lake's bed, once
a thriving sphagnum bog, broke loose and rose with the waters. Cranberry Bog
is what remains of that portion after 173 years!
Rare orchids and an abundance of cranberry and pitcher plants grow
wild on the island, as does tawny cottongrass, scheuchzeria, mud sedge and
round-leafed sundew. The island's grass-pink and rose pogonia orchids are
traditionally at their peak blooms by the open house date.
Aside from the annual open house, visitation to Cranberry Bog State
Nature Preserve is by permit only.

Source: ODNR