FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kelli Alfano,
Public Affairs Coordinator
734/623-2000 or kalfano@ducks.org
Trumbull County:
Ducks Unlimited Partners With the Ohio Division of Wildlife to Conserve, Preserve and Restore Wetlands in the Lake Erie Watershed
Akron, OH – April 7, 2006 – The Lake Erie watershed has been designated an area which to focus on as the Ducks Unlimited (DU) Great Lakes / Atlantic Regional Office continues to conserve, preserve and restore wetlands.
The Lake Erie watershed focus area contains some of the largest and most historically significant wetlands in the lower 48 states. Ninety percent of pre-settlement wetlands have been drained and remaining wetlands are threatened by development and urban sprawl. Despite these impacts this area is of vital importance to waterfowl.
“The open water bays and coastal wetlands of Lake Erie are used extensively for feeding and resting by migrating and wintering waterfowl and other wildlife. Emergent and depressional wetlands with associated uplands provide valuable habitat for breeding waterfowl. The conservation focus in northern Ohio is to restore and preserve wetlands on public and private lands for breeding, wintering, and spring and fall migrating waterfowl,” said Ducks Unlimited biologist, Heather Braun.
DU has worked on several key projects Trumbull County with the Ohio Division of Wildlife
With the Horvat Wetland Restoration project, DU worked in partnership with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to restore 57.5-acres of wetland at Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area in Trumbull County. DU designed this project to restore a shallow water wetland surrounded by warm season grasses and wet woods. This wetland type is one of the most valuable habitat components for threatened and endangered wetland wildlife and will provide important breeding and migration habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds.
Another project in Trumbull County was the Dylan Wetland Enhancement where DU partnered with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to enhance the Dylan unit at the Grand River Wildlife Area. Located along the banks of the Grand River, this wetland had been unable to hold water since high river levels breeched and eroded the original dike. DU rebuilt the dike away from the influence of the river and installed water control structures to enable staff to manage the 20-acre moist soil management unit. This wetland now provides habitat for fall and spring migrating birds, as well as a host of other wetland dependent wildlife.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
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