State restoring wetlands at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area

SANDUSKY — Work has begun to restore two wetlands at the Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area in Sandusky County, near Erie County. The wildlife area is located on U.S. 6, about halfway between Sandusky and Fremont. It's the area where two creeks, Pickerel and Raccoon, flow into Lake Erie. Wetlands function as natural filters to remove pollutants from water, and Gov. Mike DeWine's administration has made wetlands restoration a major focus of its efforts to restore Lake Erie and reduce the size of the lake's harmful algal blooms. The governor's water quality program is known as H2Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which announced the work, said the plans for Pickerel Creek call for restoring 44 acres of wetlands by reconnecting the creek with its floodplain. That work is expected to continue until late summer, with vegetation restored in the fall and control efforts to battle invasive species to continue into 2025. The Raccoon Creek work is expected to begin later in the spring and will restore wetlands along the Lake Erie shore. Both projects are expected to provide filtration to remove nutrients and sediment from water flowing into Lake Erie. In addition, the Raccoon Creek work is expected to provide spawning habitat for fish such as the northern pike and provide places for birds to forage and nest. The Raccoon Creek work will be done largely from a barge, so public access won't be affected. The work at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area is a collaboration between the ODNR and The Nature Conservancy. "These two projects are the first in a series of H2Ohio wetland restoration projects planned for Sandusky Bay," DeWine said. "This work will not only improve water quality and recreational opportunities by reducing algal blooms, but these wetlands are also important habitats for wildlife." A map provided by the ODNR shows that other planned Sandusky Bay projects include a wetlands restoration at the Moxley Creek Wildlife Area, located three miles northwest of Sandusky, and the Sanford Agricultural Drainage Treatment Train Project, a 495-acre project being carried out with the Erie Soil and Water Conservation District serving as a partner. In addition, the Redhorse Bend Preserve Wetland Restoration Project is restoring 54 actors of floodplain habitat along the Sandusky River in Sandusky County. The Buehler Farms Treatment Wetland project in Ottawa County in the Muddy Creek watershed also will affect runoff that goes into Sandusky Bay. The Buehler Farms work is being carried out as a collaboration with the Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District. Also, the City of Sandusky is building a wetland on the west shore of the Cedar Point Causeway, using dirt obtained from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging carried out to maintain Sandusky's harbor.