construction resulting in a variety of bottom elevations within the cells. This was necessary to develop a diverse flora and fauna.
1. Project Title: Big Island Wetland, Sandusky Bay, Ohio
2. Contact
Dr. Jeffrey M. Reutter
Ohio Sea Grant College Program, Ohio State University, 1314 Kinnear, Columbus,
OH 43212, USA
Tel.: (614) 292-8949; FAX: (614) 292-4364; E-mail: Reutter.l@osu.edu
3. Agencies Involved
Ohio Sea Grant College Program
City of Sandusky, Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4. Restoration Goal
To compensate for the loss of 6.8 ha of wetland on the other side of Pipe Creek due to construction of the 44.5 ha condominium, hotel, restaurant, and marina complex known as "The Harbour"; to provide a site to store material dredged from a channel to the marina; to provide protection from erosion and wave attack for the City of Sandusky Water Treatment Plant.
5. Project Type
Construction of a diked wetland and rehabilitation of a wetland area to pre-1950 conditions.
6. Background and Rationale
The loss of wetland habitat on the south shore of Lake Erie has been significant. The only significant remaining wetlands in the Sandusky Bay area are diked and managed. Construction of a condominium/marina complex in the Sandusky area was being held up due to destruction of 6.8 ha of valuable natural wetland. Within 0.8 km of the site, a large wetland area had been destroyed by wave attack and the City of Sandusky's Water Treatment Plant was in danger. We developed a plan to mitigate the loss of 6.8 ha by diking and reconstructing a 38 ha wetland which would also protect the water treatment plant. The project included a management plan and a program of public education at the new wetland site (Figure 1).
7. Regulatory Considerations
Obtain a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for dredging, filling and diking. It was also necessary to get design approval from the Ohio DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for design specifications of the new wetland area to be sure it would provide habitat for fish, wildlife, birds, and a diversity of aquatic vegetation.
8. Criteria
It was essential that the water level in the new wetland be controllable,
and to reduce maintenance costs, it was desirable to have gates
on the exterior dikes to allow water to flow in and out by gravity
if the gates were opened and closed at appropriate times when
the water level in Lake Erie was changing. A 38 ha wetland would
be difficult to manage experimentally; therefore, it was divided
by internal dikes into four segments approximately 8 ha each.
The water level in each segment had to be controlled independent
of the other three. Dredged material could be placed into three
segments in varying amounts, and a fourth segment would provide
a borrow pit for dike
construction resulting in a variety of bottom elevations within
the cells. This was necessary to develop a diverse flora and fauna.
9. Project Design
The wetland was to serve not only as an educational and experimental facility, and also as an asset to the region's ecosystem. We developed four experimental units within the wetland complex, each with its own water level control in order to run water in sequence from cell A to B to C to D, and then out, if desirable. It was also important to be control public access.
10. Implementation
Construction of the wetland was started in 1983 and was essentially completed by 1984. Original plans to seed the wetland with a variety of plant types proved unnecessary as natural vegetation in the seed bank took over immediately. The pumping system has been modified several times.
11. Degree of Environmental Intervention
Dikes were constructed into Sandusky Bay and a channel, approximately 30 m wide, was dredged resulting in the removal of several metres of sediment which was deposited in the wetland. The original plan to create islands with the dredged material was not successful, as the dredged material spread rapidly as it was pumped into the wetland cells in a slurry. However, it was possible to create varying bottom elevations which has required no maintenance and which has supported a diverse flora.
12. Cost
Various estimates range as high as $2.7 million.
13. Biological Assessment
Bald Eagles frequent the wetland for feeding and muskrats are numerous. Several students at Ohio State University have studied the flora as part of their thesis work (Siegley 1986). These studies have included determinations of the seed bank (Siegley et al. 1988). Additional graduate studies of the vegetation, insects, birds, and water quality are currently underway (contact Dr. Craig Davis, Ohio State University, School of Natural Resources). Duck hunters occasionally use the site in season.
14. Measures of Success
Bald Eagles frequent the site, a rare species of tern is nesting,
muskrats are so numerous that they must be controlled to prevent
defoliation; fishing from the dikes into the bay is excellent;
vegetation is diverse. Economic development on the other side
has been diverse. In 1986, The Harbour (the developer and the
name of the condominium complex) was presented the "Take
Pride in America" award by the Ohio DNR for developing Lake
Erie's foremost example of how public natural areas can be gained
rather than lost during shoreline development. The Harbour was
also a semifinalist for a similar national award from the U.S.
Department of the Interior.
Success Rating: 5
15. Key References
Siegley, C.E. 1986. Analysis of the seed bank and early seral flora of big island wetland - a newly created freshwater marsh in Sandusky Bay, Ohio. Ohio State University. Ohio Sea Grant. OHSU-TD-014. 70p.
Siegley, C.E., Boernet, R.E.J., and Reutter, J.M. 1988. The role of the seed bank in the development of vegetation on a freshwater marsh and dredge spoil area. J. Great Lakes Res. 14(3): 267-276.
Correct citation for this contribution:
Reutter, J.M. 1995. Big Island wetland, Sandusky Bay, Ohio, p. 291-294. In J.R.M. Kelso and J.H. Hartig [editors]. Methods of modifying habitat to benefit the Great Lakes ecosystem. CISTI (Can. Inst. Sci. Tech. Inf.) Occas. Pap. No. 1.