The
Toledo Blade
www.toledoblade.com
State
fears Lake Erie marsh is endangered
July 24, 2000
A marsh filled with plants, birds, and other wildlife could
be threatened if an irrigation dike is built on private
property near the nature preserve, state and local officials
said.
An emergency meeting will be held Wednesday to discuss environmental
concerns about the dike, which is being built by a nursery on
a private wetland west of the Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers organized the meeting and
site visit after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and
Ohio Department of Natural Resources called the Corps' Buffalo
office to ask about the project.
Some residents and officials fear the dike construction could
have a negative impact on the marsh and its habitat.
The state nature preserve, created in 1980, is popular with
birdwatchers, and has one of the last remaining undeveloped stretches
of shoreline along Sandusky Bay.
"It's a delicate ecosystem,'' said Heather Lauer, an
EPA spokeswoman. "What this would have done is funnel some
of the water away from the ecosystem. . . We
have a lot of migrating waterfowl. We have a lot of endangered
species who depend on it."
Barnes Nursery & Garden Center, Inc., of Huron, which
owns the property next to the 587-acre state marsh, recently began
construction on the irrigation dike that would extend several
hundred feet into Lake Erie.
Nursery owner Bob Barnes did not return phone calls seeking
comment. The family-owned nursery received approval for the project
from the Corps, said Philip Frapwell, chief of the agency's enforcement
division in Buffalo.
But Mr. Frapwell said Mr. Barnes has agreed to stop construction
until the meeting. "He has agreed to meet with me and, until
we can assess the situation, we don't know whether any violation
has occurred," Mr. Frapwell said. "We're going to go
out and take a look at it."
Ms. Lauer said state EPA officials believe the Corps should
not have granted Mr. Barnes the type of permit it did. She said
the nursery received a nationwide permit, which Ohio stopped accepting
several months ago for a Class 3 wetland.
The Barnes property, as well as the adjoining marsh, are
Class 3 wetlands. That means the habitat in the area is considered
rare, Ms. Lauer said.
Gary Obermiller, local manager for the state's Division of
Natural Areas and Preserves, said Mr. Barnes called him last week
to discuss the project.
"He just wanted to inform me and I appreciate it,"
Mr. Obermiller said. "But it was after the fact. Construction
had already started."
State officials were upset because they weren't told about
the project when the permit application was filed with the Corps,
Mr. Obermiller said. Mr. Frapwell said the Corps is not required
to notify adjoining property owners in the case of nationwide
permits.
Mr. Obermiller said he would like to have the opportunity
to discuss the project with Mr. Barnes. One of his concerns is
that sediment from the dike construction will filter into the
preserve's marsh, which is filled in places with up to 10 inches
of clear water.
"We are concerned about the activity. We have to lay
our emotions aside. It's not that we wish to deny Barnes Nursery
access to water. We just want to protect the quality and health
of the marsh," he said. "All we're looking to do is
make sure the development or the project is constructed in a way
that protects our interest. We want to protect the quality of
the marsh."
