Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.38
Liaison Jeremy King
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Denison University
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Jeremy King
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance?:
No

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
Denison owns and maintains a 350 acre biological reserve.

Has the institution conducted an assessment or assessments to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on institution-owned or –managed land?:
Yes

Has the institution conducted an assessment or assessments to identify environmentally sensitive areas on institution-owned or –managed land?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or environmentally sensitive areas (including most recent year assessed) and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:
The biological department has conducted numerous surveys and assessments of endangered and vulnerable species in its reserve and along other sensitive areas of campus outside of the reserve. This assessment is ongoing. In 2014 and again in 2017, an assessment was done on a section of the reserve in advance of a solar pv project. This assessment did not indicate any rare or endangered species in that particular location of the reserve, but did indicate the presence of possible Indiana Bat habitat.

A brief description of identified species, habitats and/or environmentally sensitive areas:
Much of the reserve is indiana bat habitat. In additional there are some rare aquatic invertebrates and insects that inhabit certain locations within the reserve.

A brief description of plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats and/or environmentally sensitive areas:
Denison has a 350 acre biological reserve that is maintained to enhance the education of students in Biology and the Environmental Sciences through their courses, independent research and casual visitation to the Reserve. This is accomplished by providing opportunities for field studies of native Ohio flora and fauna as well as discrete biological communities that are maintained in as intact a condition as is possible given the land use history of the Reserve and the resources of DU. Consequently, one of the general goals of the Reserve is to maximize the number of representative habitats and species that the area can support. Recreational use of the area is restricted to limit the environmental impact.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Denison maintains an internal password protected website where most of this information resides. Public access web pages have limited information on this topic.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.