Ask Chip

Even though Ohio Cooperative Living print magazine has circulation of 300,000 subscribers, I’m still often surprised at the publication’s “reach.” For instance, recently, after my May 2024 Woods, Waters, & Wildlife monthly outdoors column was published, I heard from Sarah Paul, who lives in Virginia. Her parents, Gordon and Jo McDonald, live in Radnor, Ohio, and receive the co-op magazine. They had read my story titled “Snakes on a Plain,” about the Buckeye State’s three species of venomous snakes, so when they received a photo from Sarah of a copperhead, they suggested she send

Donna Risner, Logan County Electric Cooperative

Jennifer Wilkes, The Frontier Power Company

Q. Hello, Chip: I read, with interest, your article (“A Glimpse of the Past”) in the October 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine, and thought you’d be interested to learn that we now have our own Native American Center in Ohio. It is called NAICCO, which stands for Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio, and here is their website:  https://www.naicco.com/. 

My story about attracting pileated woodpeckers to backyard birdfeeders (Attracting Big Bird) in the January 2022 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine brought a flurry of responses from co-op members. Some people had questions, while others just wanted to share their own experiences with the giant woodpeckers and send me their photos. Unfortunately, there is not enough room here for all the responses, but below are three of the more interesting and informative ones.    

Gary Gross, South Central Power

Lu Matthes, Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative

An attitude is subtly changing in Ohio concerning a certain species of large, charismatic wildlife. In 1969, the Buckeye State had just four pairs of nesting bald eagles remaining, a struggling population on the verge of extirpation due to the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. But once that chemical was banned, the birds made a steady, startling comeback, and nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state now number near 1,000. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even in the case of our national symbol, the bald eagle? The following two “Ask Chip” questions this month show

Larry and Connie Post, Consolidated Cooperative

Gordon McDonald (Consolidated Cooperative)