A major wetlands restoration project along Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline was recently completed thanks to a unique collaboration between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Port Clinton.
The $1.9 million coastal restoration project — dubbed the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program Port Clinton Coastal Restoration Project — turned 4.6 acres of struggling wetlands into 6 acres of diverse, thriving wetlands over five years.
Through the project, workers helped remove invasive plant species, introducing over 40,000 plugs of native plant life to support local wildlife.
Officials plan to continuously monitor the restored wetlands to evaluate the overall quality. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, early results have already shown the return of native wildlife species to the rehabilitated habitat.
"Preservation of wetlands along the shores of Lake Erie is vital to a healthy ecosystem," USACE Buffalo District commander Lt. Col. Robert Burnham said in a statement. "With our expertise as the nation's environmental engineers and the tremendous support of our partners at the local, state, and federal level, we've redesigned a critical piece of the Great Lakes landscape, rid it of an invasive plant, and installed a diverse plant community that will have a lasting impact."
Ohio's wetlands aren't only vital to the state's ecosystem but the entire country's wildlife. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that "close to half of all bird species in the United States use coastal wetlands in this part of Ohio for some portion of the year." The wetlands sit along two major bird migration flyways — the Atlantic and Mississippi.
Wetland environments are vital to mitigating the impacts of climate change. According to the Global Center on Adaptation, wetlands store more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth — even rainforests.
The ecosystems are also highly biodiverse, providing shelter, breeding habitats, and nesting grounds for many species of birds and aquatic life. Wetlands also act as a buffer between land and sea during major storms, help prevent flooding and soil erosion, and much more.
Though the importance of wetlands can't be overstated, the National Park Service reports wetlands are severely threatened by land development, pollution, invasive species, and our warming climate.
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In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that more than half of native wetlands in the continental U.S. have been destroyed, with many active wetland areas — including in the Great Lakes region — continuing to decline.
"Wetlands are essential to the health of our Great Lakes," Ohio congresswoman Marcy Kaptur said in a statement. "With 95 percent of our original coastal wetlands in the Western Basin lost, a whole-of-government approach is required to restore the wetlands we have left."
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