WESTERVILLE, OHIO (October 14, 2017)—EnviroScience, Inc. is proud to report that the Black Swamp Conservancy (the “Conservancy”) was awarded the Ohio Wetland Association’s (OWA) “Leader in Wetland Restoration” award for a design-build stream and wetland restoration project that was led by EnviroScience in partnership with RiverReach Construction. The award was presented to the Conservancy at the annual OWA “Wetlands Science Summit.”
The restoration project is located at the Conservancy’s 393-acre Forrest Woods Nature Preserve (the “Preserve”) in Paulding County, Ohio. The site is located within the Upper Maumee River Watershed, which has received extensive attention the past few years due to its contribution to Western Lake Erie Basin nutrient pollution. The project involved the restoration of 40 acres of wetland and 3,500 linear feet of stream on the Conservancy property within the Preserve. Historic clearing, ditching, and agricultural field tile installation had heavily altered the site. To maximize the water quality benefits of the project, EnviroScience incorporated nutrient reduction features into the restoration design, such as denitrification riffles, which are designed to increase nitrate reduction within the stream.
The approximately $800,000 restoration project was funded by the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Sustain Our Great Lakes program, and Ohio EPA’s Surface Water Improvement Fund. The restoration project will help to buffer and expand the Preserve’s rare ecosystem and it will improve water quality entering the Upper Maumee River. As part of the project, EnviroScience also partnered with a team of researchers from Kent State University who are conducting pre- and post-construction water quality monitoring to help determine the project’s level of nutrient removal success and to inform future restoration designs. After only a single growing season, it is too early to draw any water quality conclusions from the project; however, the preliminary water quality results are encouraging.
The Conservancy is a land trust dedicated to protecting agricultural land and natural areas, now and for future generations. The Conservancy has protected more than 16,000 acres of land across northwest Ohio, including the 346-acre Forrest Woods Nature Preserve in Paulding County, which is Ohio’s largest and best example of historic Great Black Swamp old growth forest. More information regarding the Conservancy can be found at www.blackswamp.org.
Pictured below: The Black Swamp Restoration Forrest Woods Preserve project, before and during construction.
