Author: sawmaster

The Ohio Wetlands Foundation was one of the first mitigation banking companies in the country and for more than 20 years, we have focused most of our efforts on developing successful wetland mitigation banks. In recent years, our stream mitigation program has grown and our mitigation options have expanded to include in-lieu fee mitigation. We are also currently working in other states including the Northeast Cape Fear Mitigation Bank in North Carolina.

With our expanded service offerings and now that we work in multiple states, we have changed our name to better reflect our reach and scope. We are very proud to announce that Ohio Wetlands has changed its name to Stream + Wetlands Foundation and we’ve launched a new website to showcase our services.

In addition to our new name, we are growing! We are pleased to announce the return of Aaron Van Ostran, P.E.. Aaron has more than 22 years of experience in engineering and managing projects and design teams from initial concept design through construction and monitoring to long term stewardship. As our Director of Operations, Aaron brings a strong background in large- and small-scale ecological restoration and mitigation projects to the Stream + Wetlands Foundation team from his previous work for the Ohio Wetlands Foundation and Jobes Henderson & Associates.

We are very proud of our first 23-plus years of existence as Ohio Wetlands Foundation and we look forward to continuing to serve our valued partners and clients and grow as the Stream + Wetlands Foundation. Our name may have changed, but our mission to protect, enhance and restore streams and wetlands has not.

In March of 2010, the J.M. Smucker Company announced plans to replace the company’s existing fruit spread manufacturing facility in Orrville, Ohio with a new, state-of-the art facility. Referred to as “Project Heritage,” the company broke ground on the new Orrville facility in the fall of 2010. The new 460,000 square-foot manufacturing facility will offer the opportunity to implement the most current equipment and technologies available and help ensure the company’s long-term competitiveness. Smucker’s anticipates the facility will be fully operational in the summer of 2013.

In order to provide compensatory mitigation for impacts to the wetlands and a stream on the property being developed for the new plant, the J.M. Smucker Company retained Ohio Wetlands Foundation (OWF), on a fixed cost basis, to develop a mitigation and monitoring plan for the Little Stillwater Wetlands Mitigation site. OWF worked closely with their ecological consultant, Davey Resource Group, to develop a compensatory mitigation plan that was acceptable to regulatory agencies. The approximately 12-acre mitigation site is located in Franklin Township, Harrison County, Ohio.

Wetland mitigation will be provided for impacts to 1.439 acres of forested wetlands and 0.489 acre of non-forested wetlands; all wetlands impacted are ORAM Category 1 or 2, non-isolated wetlands. The project also provides mitigation, via additional wetlands restoration, for impacts to 120 linear feet of Class 1 ephemeral stream. OWF developed this plan to provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources associated with the construction of Project Heritage. Additionally, OWF will be responsible for implementation of this plan and completing all monitoring and remedial measures necessary to meet the terms of the final 401/404 permits.

A minimum of 3.38 acres of forested wetlands and 1.16 acres of non-forested wetlands will be reestablished on the Stillwater site. This will provide the required compensatory mitigation for the impacts that will occur at the new manufacturing site.

John Jaeger, retired director for natural resources at the Metroparks of the Toledo Area, walks through a three-hour bird survey every 10 days. Jaeger is contracted to perform the survey for the Columbus-based Ohio Wetlands Foundation. Read the entire article here.

The Press, Thursday 11 March, 2010

OWF is pleased to share the attached press release from The Ohio State University that announces our continued support of the Ohio Wetlands Foundation Fellowship. This fellowship, funded solely by Ohio Wetlands Foundation, supports graduate student research at the Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park (ORWRP) at The Ohio State University. The ORWRP is the only on campus wetlands research facility in North America and operates under the leadership of Dr. William Mitsch. In case you were not already aware, the wetlands at the ORWRP were designated in 2008 as a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance – only the 24th such wetland in the US, 1st in Ohio and the 1st created wetland to be so honored. We are very proud of our efforts and excited to be a part of the wonderful success story at ORWRP!

Learn more about the ORWRP by visiting their website at http://swamp.osu.edu/

On December 1, 2009 the US EPA issued a new Construction Storm Water rule affecting all new construction sites with over 10 acres of disturbed area. The new rule requires all applicable construction sites to monitor storm water effluent for turbidity. The rule can be downloaded below. This 64 page document contains 62 pages of preamble, explanation, and justification for the rule. The actual rule appears on page 63.

Download as a PDF

BP Toledo Refinery has donated $50,000 to the Pearson Metropark expansion project, pushing the capital fundraising campaign past the halfway point. Cash donations and pledges from numerous small businesses, local organizations and individuals, as well as in-kind services, now total nearly $350,000 of the $400,000 fundraising goal. Bay Area Credit Union and the Oregon City Federation of Teachers have each pledged $10,000 to the project.

Download as a PDF

After observing Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer, locals are embracing the concept of "staycation," looking to brown their skin, not blow their budgets.

North Ridgeville’s Sandy Ridge Reservation of the Lorain County Metro Parks is a 310-acre wetland and wildlife preserve and an accessible outlet for education, recreation and … read more >

Download as a PDF

With Pearson Metropark’s 75th anniversary approaching, work is progressing with the Oregon park’s roughly $5 million northern expansion, where a log cabin built in 1866 is being outfitted with wavy glass windows and other details from the era.

The expansion also is doubling Pearson’s size, returning to wetlands about 300 acres last used as farmland. More than 100,000 trees and shrubs already have been planted on … read more >

Download as a PDF

The name ‘Black Swamp’ conjures images of a boggy quagmire with slippery amphibians and murky waters littered with lily pads and algae. Yet Northwest Ohio is built on this natural resource — one of the region’s most important ones.

Keeping the swamp from vanishing in a rapidly expanding world of highways, shopping centers and residential zones can be a mucky duty. But the Black Swamp Conservancy is willing to wade through … read more >