Mike Johnson, Chief of Conservation
Listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the northern monkshood is found in only four states — Iowa, Wisconsin, New York and Ohio. Within the Buckeye State, Summit Metro Parks is home to one of those very limited populations. Northern monkshood prefers a specific habitat of moist, mossy cliff ledges or cool, streamside sites, and is struggling because of habitat loss and degradation. In our area, contamination from urban runoff is the primary threat to its survival.
Northern monkshood belongs to a particularly interesting genus known as Aconitum, whose members all contain the powerful toxin aconitine. In ancient times, aconitine was used to poison spears and arrows for hunting and battle. For this reason, in addition to its threatened status, monkshood should always be avoided if seen in the wild.
Protecting the Summit Metro Parks monkshood population is one of the park district’s longest-running conservation projects, dating back to the early 1980s. Initiated and originally funded by the Akron Garden Club and the late Christine Freitag, this effort now includes a host of partner organizations including Holden Arboretum, the Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), the University of Akron, Kent University and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
While the local northern monkshood population was once as low as a dozen plants, aggressive conservation practices have helped increase that number into the hundreds. Protecting the monkshood requires annual surveying to monitor population stability, construction of runoff diversion projects and relentless efforts to keep both animals and invasive plant species out of its habitat. Summit Metro Parks is also working with Holden, CREW and the Center for Plant Conservation in cutting-edge research activities to save the monkshood, including cryogenic storage of seeds and tissue, and efforts to successfully clone, raise and replant this rare and precious species.
So, why do we care so much about a plant that many people would consider obscure and perhaps even unimportant?
Every living species on earth is a chemical factory that is the result of millions of years of experimentation and biological perfection. Almost all of our medicines are derived from chemicals and compounds that were first produced by plants and animals. We do not invent new medicines and products as much as we discover what nature has already accomplished. Thus, it is in our self interest to preserve all living species on earth. Conservation of species is like building a good stock portfolio — you never know when that “penny stock” will take off.
But there is another side to the conservation of species, a view that is more altruistic. I often liken conservation of species to art in a museum. Every species is a masterpiece. It has value because we, as humans, have decided they have value. We collect and curate and spend millions of dollars to preserve these species because they have intrinsic value that transcends their monetary worth.
Together with our partners, we are working every day to preserve this and other threatened and endangered species for future generations.
Note: This post is the first in a series highlighting the fascinating and important work of the biologists in the Conservation Department at Summit Metro Parks.