It also provided vital habitat for wildlife such as songbirds, waterfowl, amphibians and reptiles.Ī largescale restoration project is underway by The Nature Conservancy and key partners to restore more of the historic Irwin Wet Prairie. Once over 10 miles long, Irwin Wet Prairie played a pivotal role in slowing down and naturally treating waters that carried nutrients to Lake Erie.

Included in the Great Black Swamp’s historical range is Irwin Wet Prairie. “Historically, the Great Black Swamp of Northwest Ohio covered an area about two-thirds the size of Florida’s Everglades National Park, but early settlers drained much of the land,” Seidel says. What’s at Stake in Northwest OhioĪs was evidenced with the Toledo-area water advisory of August 2014, water quality is nothing to take for granted-especially in the Western Lake Erie Basin, a highly agricultural region where excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff and urban areas are contributing to toxic algal blooms.ġ50 years ago, it was a different scene entirely, says Terry Seidel, Director of Protection for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. TNC played an essential role in getting H2Ohio off the ground and is now bringing it to life through on-the-ground scientific mapping and targeted wetland restoration projects. Through public funding programs like H2Ohio, the Conservancy and partners are better able to do just that. “We need to be strategic and think about protecting wetlands in the right places and at a scale that will improve water quality, provide protection from flooding and create habitat,” says the Conservancy’s Director of Conservation Amy Holtshouse. In the case of Western Lake Erie Basin's wetlands and marshes, that number is estimated to be even higher. Protecting, connecting, and restoring habitat is critical in a state that’s lost 90 percent of its original wetlands, with most of the remainder suffering from degradation. The Key to Successful Wetlands Protection The Oak Openings is a 1,300-square-mile region in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan comprised of oak savanna and wet prairie-preferred habitat for the turtle. “Although its exact route is unknown, it seems pretty likely that the turtle moved through our Kitty Todd Preserve and other nearby protected areas along his journey,” says The Nature Conservancy’s Ashlee Decker, a partnership specialist for the Green Ribbon Initiative.ĭecker says the turtle’s feat demonstrates the value of partnerships like the Green Ribbon Initiative, which is working to preserve, restore and connect key natural areas in the Oak Openings region. Traveling that distance meant that it had successfully navigated through a predominantly suburban landscape. It was originally seen at what is now Wiregrass Lake Metropark. It was discovered that the micro-chipped animal had travelled a remarkable 17 miles since first being documented in 2007. In late 2014 a Blanding’s turtle made his appearance at Maumee State Forest.

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