More Really Exciting News

Priority One on the West Marsh

Over the last two weeks we have been engaged in some really intriguing conversations relating to major restoration priorities on the West Marsh. This past spring, we were asked to submit project proposals that could augment the newly established Sandusky Bay Initiative -- a multi-agency collaboration intended to focus resources on improved water quality on Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie.

We have now received confirmation that we have been selected as a project site to receive funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to informally kick-start these planning efforts with on-the-ground improvement projects. This work is being spearheaded by the ODNR's Office of Coastal Management Program, but other key players include the Division of Wildlife, and the Erie County Conservation District.

Recent meetings have confirmed that our primary focus will be the replacement of our aging sluiceway -- the 65' concrete structure that serves as the direct conduit between our West Marsh and Sandusky Bay. At more than 50 years old, the existing infrastructure has served the site well. But as you can see from the photo at left, time hasn't been gentle on this important site of water connectivity.

Final designs for the new structure will be completed over this fall/winter. The way it is sounding, we may be able to more than double the width (to 6') and increase the free exchange of water by 400%+. This will have far-reaching positive impact not only on water movement between the marsh and bay, but also on the contents of the water -- maybe most notably the nutrients and fish.

We are excited to share the designs as they unfold. Likely features include sheet-pile side walls (to replace cracked and bowing concrete), aluminum stop logs (to replace custom-cut treated lumber), multiple screw gates (to vastly improve management capabilities), and fabricated "carp grates" (built to allow desirable fish through while preventing too many breeding carp from entering the system).

We are extremely grateful for our local partners

While we hope to have the new sluiceway completed by this time next year, we are very much encouraged by our partners' collective interest in discussing and exploring subsequent projects that could serve as future improvement efforts under the project umbrella. This is a huge opportunity for improvement -- not only for the site, but for the surrounding landscape. We are thrilled to be involved!

Big Day for Standing Rush

The WRE easement would protect just over 200 acres of our East Marsh; the image above shows most of the easement area
-- the 100-acre "Dinky Track" in the foreground, the ~75-acre "Tower Marsh" in the center of the image,
and the estuary that connects both units to Sandusky Bay (in the far background)

Yesterday marked another milestone for this restoration and conservation project -- and it's arguably the most significant to date. For the last twenty-one months, we have been actively pursuing enrollment into what is formally called the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program. It is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), specifically through the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and more specifically through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

A new collaborative partner in conservation
and preservation of the marsh

Wow . . . that's a lot of acronyms! But what does it mean? Essentially, the WRE program is a federal means by which private landowners can work cooperatively with the federal government to formally (legally) protect high quality and/or highly restorable wetland habitat for a predetermined duration (30 years) or, as is the case with our pursuit, forever (protection "in perpetuity").

In our situation, Standing Rush was invited to vie for funds within Ohio's competitive program to enroll a finite number of acres into a perpetual conservation easement. This is essentially a legally binding agreement whereby a landowner is incentivized -- often through compensation on a per acre basis -- in exchange for forfeiting or significantly restricting the ability to develop the land (or water) in conventional ways. The ultimate goal is to protect conservation values. Ownership of the land itself does not change (i.e., the land is not sold); but the residential and/or commercial development rights on the land are relinquished.

While we have carefully considered multiple programs that can achieve similar outcomes, we decided to apply for an easement on ~205 acres of our East Marsh through WRE. We feel that this program's motives can be consistent with our long-term vision for the habitat. We can continue to manage the property as we have, and can continue to utilize the property recreationally. Even the hunting heritage on the site can be preserved. As the timeline (21 months and counting!) makes clear, this is a painstaking process. But yesterday, we cleared several major hurdles: (1) we were formally accepted into the program, (2) we received a formal offer for the easement, and (3) we signed and received signatures formally approving the offer.

These are very big steps toward the permanent protection of more than a third of our marsh, but we still have a ways to go. Now that we are legally under contract with the USDA, the funds have been set aside, but we still have to provide a clear title, complete a survey and related due diligence (largely the USDA's effort), and close on the easement. These steps could take as little as 6-12 months or as much as two more years. This is much like any other real estate transaction -- it can get complicated, and the path can often be full of twists and turns. But this is a step in a very positive direction, and we are excited about all that lies ahead!

This overview shows the area west of the highway (above) that would be under easement to protect the connection between
the marsh and the open bay -- protecting the narrow "South Estuary" (center, left of image) insures preservation of the source water

NOTE: As the summary above makes clear, we will continue to have plenty to chew on to move this specific conservation effort to completion. One of our priorities, however, will need to be continuing to assess all conservation tools to determine how to best legally protect the balance of this precious wetland habitat.

Top Ten

The Mallard or "Greenhead" is perhaps the most identifiable duck, and it has served as the foundation for waterfowl

hunting for generations

Considering recent posts and repeated reference to teal and "big ducks," I thought it would make sense to provide some visual context. We've already seen more than twenty-five species of waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) on the property, but those included here probably represent the ten most common duck species.

All but the teal (top right and middle right below) are what we would consider "big ducks." I am collecting a growing portfolio of reference photos, but for consistency, I created this page from stock images available through www.allaboutbirds.org, an incredible online tool produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you like (or love) birds and are unfamiliar or haven't spent much time on this website, you need to get acquainted. It's a treasure trove of information.

Top: Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Blue-winged Teal;

Middle: Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal;

Bottom: American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler