Wetland restoration eyed

MONTEZUMA - County officials aim to restore a swath of wetlands at Windy Point to enhance lake-area habitat and water quality by cutting nutrient loading tied to lake pollution.

"The project will restore 14.3 acres of wetlands and upland habitat on land owned by the Mercer County commissioners - 5.6 acres will be under water, and the remaining 8.7 acres will be planted with warm season grasses and forbs," Ag Solutions coordinator and project coordinator Theresa Dirksen told the newspaper. Forbs are herbaceous flowering plants.

The undertaking would address "direct habitat alteration within the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed by restoring these wetlands," she explained. It also would annually reduce nutrient loading by 40.2 pounds, phosphorus loading by 12.9 pounds and sediment loading by 9.2 tons.

Toxic algae that have plagued the lake feed on phosphorus.

Whether the project is ultimately green-lighted, though, depends upon the county's getting a $92,532 Nonpoint Source Program Grant through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. County commissioners this week authorized applying for the grant, which would require a $72,291 local match.

The match would be met through in-house county services, the land value of $57,200, a $5,000 donation from Pheasants Forever and $2,000 from Ohio Department Of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

The county in 2014 moved to purchase more than 42 acres of land near Windy Point to protect existing habitat, promote wetlands and prevent development near Grand Lake. Clean Ohio Funds reimbursed the county $362,650 for the acquisition.

The land includes 32.7 acres at 6929 State Route 219 on the east side of Montezuma near Windy Point, where officials seek to restore the wetlands.

According to a grant application, 5.6 acres of land would be excavated, ranging from one to three feet deep.

"A principal spillway will be used to convey water back to the lake through a stoplog structure and pipe," the application reads. "The water will be routed into an existing channel that has frequent algal blooms."

The addition of the water would aid in water circulation and improve the channel's water quality, the application states.

"An existing draining ditch that runs along the east side of the property, which drains water from mobile home sites nearby, will be routed into the proposed wetland," the report continues.

The remaining 8.7 acres would be planted with warm season grasses and forbs.

Ag Solutions and the county soil and water conservation district would be responsible for project design, full engineering plan set and construction oversight. Dirksen would serve as project manager, with assistance from SWCD.

Dirksen's job is to search for affordable manure-management methods to help area farmers reduce nutrient runoff blamed for toxic algal blooms in Grand Lake.

Nutrient runoff comes from many sources, but in the Grand Lake Watershed, studies show it's mostly from farmland in the 58,000-acre, livestock-heavy watershed. Phosphorus found in manure is the algae's favorite food source. The toxins can harm the liver, cause gastrointestinal symptoms and rashes and can sicken people and kill small animals.

Phosphorus-fed toxic blue-green algal blooms have resulted in state-issued water advisories on Grand Lake every year since 2009 and millions of dollars in lost tourism on the 13,500-acre lake. On Jan. 18, 2011, the state designated the local watershed distressed after humans and animals in 2010 had been sickened by blue-green algae in the lake. This triggered new rules for watershed farmers, including mandatory nutrient-management plans involving soil tests and restricting manure application.