Chippewa Wetland Restoration Site, Medina, OH
by
Angelica Bradac & Kayla Short
On April 5, 2014, John Carroll University students from an Earth Systems Science class visited Chippewa Inlet. The Chippewa Inlet is part of a water shed that drains into the Chippewa Lake, the second largest natural lake in Ohio, and originated from glacial activity during the Pleistocene Epoch. The area around the inlet was previously a bog wetland, which about 150 years ago was drained for agriculture purposes. Due to the destructive farming methods, the water quality decreased. Today, there are projects that are trying to restore the area to what it once was in order to increase the water quality and preserve the natural species of the area. The Medina County Park system received funds for the restoration project from two sources: by the EPA 319 grant and a mitigation bank. The EPA 319 grant is a grant which there exists a matching fund for. Therefore, the park has to pay the government back 25% of the total funds given to them. The grant is used to restore areas that were impacted by non-point source pollution. There is also an educational component to this grant with the goal of providing education outreach to the public to inform them about the value of a wetland ecosystem in the affected area. The mitigation bank is money helping to pay for anthropogenic development in one location by restoring a wetland in another location. One of the mitigation sites we saw was Chippewa Central.
The restoration project of the Park District aims to re-establish an area that can act as a buffer to the main lake by slowing down the water flow and nutrient intake by plants in the area, which can cause dangerous algal blooms. Before any restoration efforts the Chippewa Inlet was previously mostly channeled. This was done specifically for farmer’s needs to minimize the flooding of and draining the surrounding lands to make the land farmable. They also added a tile system that brought water from the stream to their farmland. Tile drainage is an agriculture practice that removes excess water from soil subsurface. Whereas irrigation is the practice of adding additional water when the soil is naturally too dry, drainage brings soil moisture levels down for optimal crop growth. Now, with the mitigation funding the park system is redirecting the stream to its natural flow. One way the Park District tries to redirect the stream is through bioengineering, for example by placing a fallen tree trunk in an area to prevent water from going beyond it. Another example is the use of black willow trees because they are good at holding onto soil even in waterlogged conditions or when flooding occurs.
We encountered many different biota while traveling through the park. One dominant organism we saw was an invasive species called Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea). Reed Canary grass was used to secure soil after the damage from tile drainage from farmers. This however, created a problem because it out- competed the native plant species in the area. It established a monoculture in the area and it is now difficult to get rid of. One way the land managers are attempting to control this grass species is by having an agreement with farmers to have them plant corn in areas that have not been restored yet. Corn creates its own monoculture and wipes out the Reed Canary grass. However, afterwards corn is much easier to remove completely than the Reed Canary. Another way is to spray the grass with pesticides and physically remove the rhizomes of the plant in order to kill the grass species. An additional way is to flood areas to suffocate the Reed Canary Grass. Once it gets suffocated, the native species that are water tolerant are able to reestablish there. This could work; however, the park did not build large enough barriers to make it sufficient enough to suffocate the grass species over a large area. Another invasive plant species is the Bush Honeysuckle. This plant species tends to dry out the soil so native wetland species will not grow. An interesting fact we learned was that honeysuckle also has an impact to birds. Female cardinals generally mate with males that are a bright red color. The dark red honeysuckle’s seeds eaten by male cardinals and make the cardinals a brighter red color indicating a good mate However, the seeds are low in nutrition which makes the birds not as healthy for mating.
An additional invasive plant species is the Buckthorn which also out-competes the natives and creates a monoculture. Other plants that were present established from underground seed banks. Once agriculture was phased out, the native seeds were able to germinate. Most of those plant species were annuals. Also, environmental technical designers constructed a seed mix specifically for the area and the park’s employees spread them. Some species that were in the seed mixes were sedges, forbs, grasses such as switch grass (panicum virgatum) and Pennsylvania smart weed (Polygonum pensylvanicum), and various asters.
The park also wanted to establish a bog-like environment like it previously was. They did this by planting bog native species like Sphagnum and they also added lime to the area to increase the pH in the soil. However, their efforts did not work because water from the channel flushed out the system. The peat soil was unable to hold the water containing the native seeds and lime in when the area flooded and the soil water was washed away. Today, there is still Tamarack present which is a pioneer species in a bog setting. Another species present in the area is Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) that does well in wet soils.
In conclusion, this was a very fun field trip. Although the weather was very cold and windy, we made the best of it. We even helped the park system plant 1000 native willow cuttings along the stream bank to help stabilize the soil around it. By helping the park system we are contributing to the restoration of the wetlands of the area. Many of the wetlands were lost to agriculture, pollution, and construction. Restoring wetlands is important because it helps filter water for the ground table. It also reduces flooding in some areas as well as making a good habitat for native and rare animal and plant species.
The park also wanted to establish a bog-like environment like it previously was. They did this by planting bog native species like Sphagnum and they also added lime to the area to increase the pH in the soil. However, their efforts did not work because water from the channel flushed out the system. The peat soil was unable to hold the water containing the native seeds and lime in when the area flooded and the soil water was washed away. Today, there is still Tamarack present which is a pioneer species in a bog setting. Another species present in the area is Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) that does well in wet soils.
In conclusion, this was a very fun field trip. Although the weather was very cold and windy, we made the best of it. We even helped the park system plant 1000 native willow cuttings along the stream bank to help stabilize the soil around it. By helping the park system we are contributing to the restoration of the wetlands of the area. Many of the wetlands were lost to agriculture, pollution, and construction. Restoring wetlands is important because it helps filter water for the ground table. It also reduces flooding in some areas as well as making a good habitat for native and rare animal and plant species.