Ducks unlimited (DU), ohio department of natural resources division of wildlife (odow), and U.S. Fish and wildlife service (FWS) will use $200,000 of midwest coastal program (MCP) funding to restore…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) awarded $200,000 under the Coastal Program (CFDA 15.630) to Ducks Unlimited, Inc. to restore and enhance 135 acres of Lake Erie coastal wetlands at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area in Vickery, Ohio. The award, effective November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2027, supports a comprehensive wetland management infrastructure renovation project in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife (ODOW). Ducks Unlimited will deliver topographic surveying, engineering design, bidding and contracting services, and construction management to restore hydrology to a degraded 98-acre hemi-marsh and enhance an adjacent 37-acre forested wetland through improved water level management capabilities.

The project is designed to deliver multiple conservation outcomes, including enhanced habitat for federal trust species and five Midwest Coastal Program focal species (blue-winged teal, common tern, black tern, Canada warbler, and northern long-eared bat), improved public recreation opportunities, sustainably productive coastal wetland habitat, and enhanced water quality in Sandusky Bay and western Lake Erie. ODOW is leveraging the federal award with up to $713,026 in state funding, demonstrating significant local commitment to this coastal habitat restoration initiative under the voluntary, community-based Coastal Program model.

Ducks unlimited (DU), ohio department of natural resources division of wildlife (odow), and U.S. Fish and wildlife service (FWS) will use $200,000 of midwest coastal program (MCP) funding to restore and enhance 135 acres of lake erie coastal wetlands at pickerel creek wildlife area on the south shore of sandusky BAY. This project involves a complete renovation of the wetland management infrastructure that will restore hydrology to a degraded 98-acre hemi-marsh and enhance an adjacent 37-acre forested wetland by improving water level management capability. DU will provide the topographic survey, engineering design, bidding contracting, and construction management services for this project that will 1) improve habitat for federal trust species, five MCP focal species (blue-winged teal, common tern, black tern, canada warbler, and northern long-eared BAT), and several species of greatest conservation need as identified in the ohio state wildlife action plan, 2) enhance public recreation opportunity by improving wildlife habitat, 3) provide 135 acres of sustainably productive coastal wetland habitat, and 4) improve the quality of water flowing into sandusky BAY and ultimately western lake erie. Odow will provide up to $713,026 of funding to leverage the MCP grant.