USACE Announces Lake Erie Wetland Restoration

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced plans to restore wetlands along Lake Erie’s shoreline in Port Clinton, Ohio. To be completed over the next five years, the project will restore 12 miles of coastal wetlands and add an additional 1.4 miles.

Construction will begin within the next year and will help restore Port Clinton as a sub-habitat flyways for Mississippi and Atlantic migratory flyways, as well as improve storm water runoff quality. The restoration includes initial construction, invasive species treatment, native species revegetation, adaptive management and monitoring, as reported by the Port Clinton News Herald. The Ohio EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, city of Port Clinton and USACE collaborated to secure the $1.3 million from the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration and the OEPA Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program.

“This is a great project and we are very excited about finally seeing the project come to fruition,” said Port Clinton Mayor Hugh Wheeler Jr. “There are very few working wetlands left and we are proud to be part of one. [USACE], the Ohio EPA and the Northeast Ohio Sewer District have been very instrumental in getting this accomplished.”

Once the wetlands are restored, more than half of the migratory species in North America will be able to use the area as a stopover habitat. Additionally, the wetland rehabilitation will contribute to treating storm water runoff and improving water quality in Lake Erie, which has struggled with contamination and algae blooms recently due to nutrient-laden storm water runoff.