Harmful algal blooms cause by high nutrient loadings from contributing agricultural watersheds plague one of ohios most important resources, lake erie

This U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cooperative agreement award of $400,000, under the National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancements program (CFDA 15.654), aims to improve water quality in the Portage River watershed and restore wetland habitat in northern Ohio. The key activities funded include:

Restoring at least 7 acres of wetland on a former 9-hole golf course and a 51-acre agricultural property owned by The Nature Conservancy. Restoration work will involve decommissioning drainage tile, maximizing onsite water retention, creating turtle nesting mounds, planting native vegetation, and managing invasive species. These wetland restoration efforts are expected to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to the Portage River, a tributary of Lake Erie. Secondary benefits include increased wetland habitat for wildlife, reconnecting the Portage River to its historic floodplain, and expanding public natural areas by 51 acres.

One of these contributing watersheds, the portage river watershed, drains 585 square miles (374,400 acres), of which the predominant land use is row crop agriculture (77 ). Without water quality improvements to these watersheds, harmful algal blooms will continue to be an issue which will have a hugely negative effect on all facets of life such as the environment, wildlife, recreation, tourism, drinking water, and overall way of life in northern ohio. This project aims to improve water quality by treating agricultural and stormwater runoff prior to entering portage river, a tributary of lake erie, by restoring at least 7 acres of wetland on a former 9-hole public golf course (now know as the marinewood unity of ottawa national wildlife refuge) and a 51-acre agricultural property to functional wetland habitat. The 51-acre property is currently owned by the nature conservancy. This award will fund restoration activities such as decommissioning drainage tile, maximizing onsite water retention through recontouring, creation of turtle nesting mounds, planting native vegetation to maximize nutrient sorption, and invasive plant species management. Careful engineering will ensure that adjacent properties are not negatively impacted by flooding because of restoration. Native plantings will follow elevation gradients from higher flooded-forest reforestation, to establishing scrub-shrub and emergent wetland in lower, more permanently inundated areas. The primary benefit of this project is nutrient and sediment reduction from water entering the portage river. Secondary benefits include increase of wetland habitat for wetland dependent species, nesting habitat for the blandings turtle, reconnecting the portage river to its historic floodplain, and increasing public natural areas by 51 acres.