Outdoors: Restored wetlands should be magnet for unique cranes

Mar. 1—A major project underway in western Lucas County will take nearly 300 acres that have been farmed for many years and help it revert to its original intended role in the greater Lake Erie ecosystem.

The tract is being transformed into a functioning wetland that again will serve as nature's micro-filter to intercept nutrient runoff into neighboring streams and keep that algae-feeding effluent out of the big lake.

"We are so very excited about this project, something we have had in the works for many years," said Alexis Sakas, natural infrastructure director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. "This will take a substantial amount of property out of agricultural production and put it back to work as a wetlands. It was marginal cropland at best, but it can provide so many positive things as a wetlands."

Sakas described the area, located northeast of the Angola Road-Raab Road intersection and north of the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport, as one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels in the historic Irwin Wet Prairie.

The Irwin Prairie, considered the best example in Ohio of a unique sedge meadow, was once more than 10 miles long and a haven for songbirds, waterfowl and other wildlife before it was sliced up by development and agricultural use. The Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve located off Dorr Street and west of Crissey Road is a small portion of that original extensive habitat with about 200 acres of wetlands, prairie, and woodlands.

"The Sandhill Crane Wetlands site had been drained for as far back as we can see. It had been drained through the use of pumps and tile so it could be farmed," Sakas said. "We see that a ton in the greater Oak Openings Region, but the plan here is to decommission all of that. This is a highly diverse area that we expect to rebound."

She said The Nature Conservancy partners with Metroparks Toledo, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and other entities on projects such as this in a collaborative effort to keep pollutants and nutrient-rich agricultural runoff out of Lake Erie.

Advertisement

"That is the primary focus for The Nature Conservancy, at least in this region of the country — keeping the lake clean," she said. "That frequently involves restoring wetlands, floodplains, riparian areas, and working with our partners on all of their projects. We want to make sure we are as strategic as we can be. We need to get it right."

The project is bolstered by funding from both private and public sources, and Sakas said it checks the most important boxes by combining the protection of water quality offered by the wetlands along with the restoration of wildlife habitat. That second charge gives the effort its hope-filled name: the Sandhill Crane Wetlands.

The expectation is that one of the many ancillary benefits of returning the site to its original use as a wetland will be to offer a wide range of wildlife — songbirds, waterfowl, amphibians, and reptiles — a new home and nesting area. The unique sandhill cranes are included in that group of expected beneficiaries. Although their numbers are sound in general across the North American continent, sandhill cranes are considered a threatened species in Ohio.

These tall birds have a distinct long neck and legs, and a bright red crown. They have a very unusual call that is trumpet-like and quite loud. Sandhill cranes also engage in a very animated and energetic dance during their mating ritual.

The Lake Erie corridor is part of their historical migration route from their wintering grounds in Florida and Cuba, and this region also serves as a key staging area and breeding area for sandhills, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Sandhill cranes breed in fields, prairies, and wetlands, with a preference for areas that support growing vegetation near water sources. Sakas said one of the goals of this project is to provide an additional nesting site for these cranes, which also utilize the expansive Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

"That is an example of the scale these birds need for nesting," she said. "They have tried to nest at Irwin Prairie but it has not been successful, to date. But we think that with the scale of this project, and the type of habitat we'll have, there is a strong chance they will nest there."

Plans call for an application of seeds and plantings to get native plants and wetlands vegetation started at the site.

"Restoration is ultimately very complex," Sakas said. "It is easy to talk about in a singular lens, but sandhills are just one aspect of this project. Bringing back species diversity is so important."

She said the "natural infrastructure" a wetland adds to the landscape brings the "long-term benefits of flood reduction, cleaner water, wildlife habitat and recreation, and tourism opportunities."

Once it is restored and functional, the site is expected to provide about 300 million gallons of stormwater storage capacity, which will reduce flooding in the area and allow the replanted native vegetation to go to work filtering out nutrients that would otherwise flow downstream and eventually reach the lake."

"This site wants to be a wetlands," Sakas said.