Good News for the Newly Rehabbed West Marsh Dike

West Marsh Photo Location #14A, facing northwest
(Click to enlarge and then click quickly through the series to gain a panoramic view)

West Marsh Photo Location #14B, facing northeast

West Marsh Photo Location #14C, facing east

West Marsh Photo Location #14D, facing southeast

West Marsh Photo Location #14E, facing southwest

West Marsh Photo Location #14F, facing northwest

The six images above represent a single photo location recently established on the West Marsh. This specific site is positioned on the center of the dike that was rehabilitated last summer. The best way to gain perspective is to click on the top image and then "scroll" through all six from left to right. If physically (or electronically) interwoven this provides a 360-degree view from the established vantage point.

I chose to post these particular images for a couple reasons. First, it offers an example of what I've been working on over several recent days in the marsh. Twenty-four similar photo locations have been established on the East Marsh, each marked with a hardwood stake driven into the ground. This way, we can return to the exact same locations at regular (e.g. monthly) intervals and capture photos of the exact same perspectives over time. Not all photo locations have a full 360-degree vista (in fact, very few do), so I think we have something like 60 discrete images captured as reference on the East Marsh. I am only about half way through the West Marsh, and the way it's looking we could have something more like forty photo locations and 100+ individual photo perspectives.

It's a lot of work, but I'm confident that gathering these "baseline" photos will be very valuable as the months and years pass. Whenever possible, I've established formal photo locations in spots where I've already been capturing photos over the last 2.5 field seasons. In many cases, the changes are profound even over a series of months. It's already amazing to compare 2015 to 2016 to 2017. That fun will continue into the future. It's very gratifying to see the positive physical changes through time.

The other reason that I chose to include the series above is that it is tied to some good news that we received yesterday. For the second year in a row, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife's Private Lands program has selected Standing Rush as the recipient of their largest restoration grant. We found out definitively yesterday that they are doubling down on the earthwork that they helped fund last year (the dike restoration in the images above) and are going to provide additional money so that we can armor and protect the investment. Their contribution will cover more than 50% of the total project cost.

Essentially, we will be placing "D-rock" (softball to melon-sized limestone) along as much as 3,500-linear feet of the new dike to protect against wind and wave erosion. Most of the work will take place along the ~3,000' south bank (the one that has standing water on it in the photos), but we may also choose to rip rap a small (400-500') segment of the north-facing slope (depending on how the work goes compared to the budget).

The south slope is the most critical because it will have standing water against it much more regularly as compared to the north slope, which should support vegetation right up from the toe (base) of the dike. This is a critical management step not only because it will protect the dike that allows for crucial water level manipulation. It will also allow us to hold more water in the main South Unit -- thus reducing the impact and prevalence of Phragmites and other invasive species.

We are very appreciative of Private Lands continued support and look forward to getting the project underway. If all goes well, we'll be protected by the end of next month!

When It Rains, It Pours

This screen grab was taken from historical radar data from last Friday evening -- June 30, 2017. This and a tremendous amount of other unique weather-related information is accessible through a really neat tool called the Interactive Map Viewer, an online tool made available by NOAA. While it is difficult to make out with all the rain, this is a view of NW Ohio, from the Indiana line (left) to Sandusky (right).

I signed off just before the holiday weekend with a lot of "ifs." If the pumps continued to run without a major mechanical malfunction . . . and if the surrounding dikes continued to hold . . . and if the major storms didn't form (or at least didn't form over the marsh) . . . then we could finally shut off our auxiliary diesel pump (which is costing us hundreds of dollars/day to run) and finally fly in the final 50 acres of millet we originally planned to sow on the East Marsh.

Well, most of the stars aligned, but we missed on one of the critical "ifs" . . . As the image above makes pretty clear, we didn't escape the rain last Friday evening. The darkest red (under the word "States" overlaying Lake Erie) was the first blast of extremely heavy rain sitting over the marsh. The bad news got worse though when the heavy rain continued to intensify, back-fill from the west (all the way to Illinois), and march methodically due-east.

When all was said and done, much -- maybe most -- of the red on the map above found its way to Bay View. And somewhere between 3.5" and 4" of water fell in less than 12 hours . . . probably in less than 6 hours, actually. It ended up being the second largest rainfall we've endured since we took possession of the property. Talk about bad timing.

Dinky Track staff gauge as of late
this afternoon

But as is so often the case, it could have been way worse. At least the seed wasn't already sown -- and now flooded or adrift. Plus, we were relatively dry prior to the rains (the farmers needed the water; just not all at once). And there was nothing severe except for the intensity of the rain (no major wind, no tornadoes, not even that much lightning). And the dikes did continue to hold. And the pumps did continue to run (thanks to the vigilance of our intern, Nate, and our neighbor, Joe).

And through it all, the pumps did continue to bring the water down. Water levels on the staff gauge to the right read 2'2" on 6/20/17, and 1'2" one week later. As of this afternoon, we're reading more like 6". This means we were able to manage another ~8" of drawdown on an area the size of about 200 football fields (200 acres) during the last eight days, despite a 3.5"+ rain. That's a lot of water passing through a couple pipes!

And so we adjust. The new goal is to pump tomorrow and through this coming weekend. We'd ultimately like the water down to the bottom of the gauge, or below. I hesitate to even use the word, but . . . if we can accomplish all that and avoid another "frog-strangler," then we have the pilot penciled in for early next week. It's becoming a mantra, but time will tell.

P.S. Today, much of my energy was focused on starting the formal photo-documentation of our West Marsh. It was hot -- a lot hotter
than I expected -- but I got some good photos. More on that to come, but in the meantime I couldn't help taking (and sharing)
this simple image of cattail and soft-stemmed bulrush (the inspiration for the name Standing Rush). These two are crucial perennials;
it has gratifying to see their footprint continuing to grow within the marsh over the last few seasons.