PERRYSBURG — A one-mile stretch of the Maumee River has been transformed from a frequently flooded farm
field back to a functioning streamside forest by the Black Swamp Conservancy.
The Paulding County property was purchased in 2017 as an addition to the conservancy’s 393-acre Forrest
Woods Nature Preserve.
The conservancy retired the riverside farmland from agricultural production, restored a drainage ditch to
a natural stream channel and planted native wetland plants and trees that are a crucial part of natural
riverside plant communities.
More than 11,000 native trees and shrubs were planted on the property.
“All kinds of wildlife and fish that use the river corridor will find important food and shelter in and
under this new stretch of streamside forest, as it matures,” said Melanie Coulter, the group’s
conservation manager.
“The restored stream and wetlands will filter out excess nutrients and sediment to improve water quality
in the river. The new habitat created here will be a buffer for the old growth woods at the core of
Forrest Woods Nature Preserve, helping to protect this biodiversity hotspot.”
Forrest Woods Nature Preserve is a biologically important property, Coulter said. Thirty-nine rare,
threatened and endangered species of plants and animals have been recorded at this important remnant of
the Great Black Swamp.
Portions of the property were dedicated as a State Nature Preserve by the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources in 2008.This property is part of a larger restoration effort by Black Swamp Conservancy to
expand wildlife habitat at Forrest Woods and improve water quality in the Maumee River. Over the past
several years, the group has restored a total of 189 acres of land at the preserve.
Another active stream and wetland restoration project, funded by Ohio Gov. DeWine’s H2Ohio program, is
now in the engineering and design phase.
The newly completed project’s engineering and design was made possible through support provided by the
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program, with Pittman Robertson Wildlife funding and the
Nature Conservancy
Implementation was financed through a grant from the Ohio EPA and the US EPA with funds from theGreat
Lakes Restoration Initiative. The OEPA received a total financial support in the amount of $1,909,283
from the EPA for this project and others.
The Black Swamp Conservancy, which is based in Perrysburg, is a land trust dedicated to protecting
agricultural land and natural areas, now and for future generations. The conservancy does this to
preserve the heritage, habitats and waters of northwest Ohio. Since its founding in 1993 the
organization has permanently protected more than 19,500 acres of wetlands, woods and working lands
across Northwest Ohio.
