Addressing Deferred Maintenance
As you may know, water in the refuge marshes is managed through a series of dikes, culverts, and pumps with the ultimate goal of being able to manage water to provide habitat for Ottawa’s flora and fauna.
Flashback to 2019...
This water management was extremely challenging in 2019. Lake Erie continued the trend of an increasing lake level, and set new record highs for the five-month period from May through August. A new all-time record high
for Lake Erie of 574.62’ was set in June, 2.6’ above the long-term average lake level for the month of June. Biology and maintenance staff spent considerable time pumping water for flood mitigation in an effort to protect critical infrastructure.
Failing water control structures and pumps had greatly impacted wetland management on the Ottawa NWR complex. Many of the original water control structures were installed in a short period of time in the 1970s and ‘80s, and were reaching the end of their serviceable life. As you can see in the chart below, in 2019 five pumping stations were in critical condition, greatly impeding the refuge’s ability to manage water for suitable wildlife habitat.
Flashback to 2019...
This water management was extremely challenging in 2019. Lake Erie continued the trend of an increasing lake level, and set new record highs for the five-month period from May through August. A new all-time record high
for Lake Erie of 574.62’ was set in June, 2.6’ above the long-term average lake level for the month of June. Biology and maintenance staff spent considerable time pumping water for flood mitigation in an effort to protect critical infrastructure.
Failing water control structures and pumps had greatly impacted wetland management on the Ottawa NWR complex. Many of the original water control structures were installed in a short period of time in the 1970s and ‘80s, and were reaching the end of their serviceable life. As you can see in the chart below, in 2019 five pumping stations were in critical condition, greatly impeding the refuge’s ability to manage water for suitable wildlife habitat.
2019 Wetland Management Status at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
This management status map depicts a ranking of wetland units from good to failed based upon water control structure condition and our capacity to achieve wildlife management objectives.
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In 2019, Friends of Ottawa NWR submitted a statement regarding the refuge’s deferred maintenance issues to the Public Lands Alliance (PLA). The statement was used as one of five examples of the national funding issue in testimony presented to Congress by the PLA. Thanks to the many voices of partners across the country, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law August 4, 2020. Through GAOA, the Department of the Interior is investing in much-needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas and Tribal schools. |
Restoration and Enhancement Projects
Over the past two years, significant work has been accomplished in replacing and maintaining infrastructure through the following means:
H2Ohio
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a project partner for the state of Ohio’s H2Ohio initiative, which aims to improve water quality throughout Ohio. Refuge projects are focused on improving water quality and fish access through improved connections between coastal wetlands and Lake Erie and its tributaries. Funding was awarded to Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District in 2020, and in cooperation with the Ohio Division of Wildlife wetland restoration on five units was completed in 2021. They include installing a new water control structure that will filter water from Crane Creek, one structure that allows fish passage and water filtration from Veler ditch and Crane Creek, and installing three structures on the Darby Unit that will create fish passage and water quality benefits from LaCarpe Creek and the private lands that drain through the refuge. (Locations of these projects, excluding the Darby Unit, are marked with the H2Ohio logo on the map below).
Addressing Deferred Maintenance
Deferred maintenance projects were a priority for the refuge in 2020-2021. With funding from GAOA, the refuge added three new four-year term maintenance positions in the summer of 2021 to help address the deferred maintenance backlog across the National Wildlife Refuge System. These new employees split their time between Ottawa Refuge and other national wildlife refuges to tackle projects that are long overdue for attention. Together refuge staff replaced the MS3, MS4, and MS5 water control structures, two water control structures at Woodies Roost, and fixed the MS7 and Trail Head Parking Lot pump structure. Additionally, funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provided the opportunity to hire a wetland restoration heavy equipment operator (a two-year term position). The new equipment operator will restore and enhance wetlands and other critical fish and wildlife habitats across the refuge. The four new positions will provide an increase in the Service’s capacity to complete mission critical projects in the coming years. These four new employees include Brandon Giesler, Keith Atkinson, Keith Findlay, and Kenneth Millerschone (pictured top to bottom). (Locations of projects addressed by the Ottawa Refuge maintenance crew are indicated by Blue Goose symbols below.)
With those 7 structures being replaced/repaired, the refuge now has full management capabilities on over 915 acres.
Over the past two years, significant work has been accomplished in replacing and maintaining infrastructure through the following means:
H2Ohio
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a project partner for the state of Ohio’s H2Ohio initiative, which aims to improve water quality throughout Ohio. Refuge projects are focused on improving water quality and fish access through improved connections between coastal wetlands and Lake Erie and its tributaries. Funding was awarded to Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District in 2020, and in cooperation with the Ohio Division of Wildlife wetland restoration on five units was completed in 2021. They include installing a new water control structure that will filter water from Crane Creek, one structure that allows fish passage and water filtration from Veler ditch and Crane Creek, and installing three structures on the Darby Unit that will create fish passage and water quality benefits from LaCarpe Creek and the private lands that drain through the refuge. (Locations of these projects, excluding the Darby Unit, are marked with the H2Ohio logo on the map below).
Addressing Deferred Maintenance
Deferred maintenance projects were a priority for the refuge in 2020-2021. With funding from GAOA, the refuge added three new four-year term maintenance positions in the summer of 2021 to help address the deferred maintenance backlog across the National Wildlife Refuge System. These new employees split their time between Ottawa Refuge and other national wildlife refuges to tackle projects that are long overdue for attention. Together refuge staff replaced the MS3, MS4, and MS5 water control structures, two water control structures at Woodies Roost, and fixed the MS7 and Trail Head Parking Lot pump structure. Additionally, funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provided the opportunity to hire a wetland restoration heavy equipment operator (a two-year term position). The new equipment operator will restore and enhance wetlands and other critical fish and wildlife habitats across the refuge. The four new positions will provide an increase in the Service’s capacity to complete mission critical projects in the coming years. These four new employees include Brandon Giesler, Keith Atkinson, Keith Findlay, and Kenneth Millerschone (pictured top to bottom). (Locations of projects addressed by the Ottawa Refuge maintenance crew are indicated by Blue Goose symbols below.)
With those 7 structures being replaced/repaired, the refuge now has full management capabilities on over 915 acres.
2021 Wetland Management Status at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
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Water Management
While Lake Erie water levels declined slightly from the record highs of the last two years, overall high lake levels continued to cause some erosion problems. A significant amount of time was devoted to drawdowns for restoration projects and installation or replacement of water control structures identified in the previous section. With 11 units in drawdown for a total of 1640 acres, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge had excellent spring migration use of drawdown areas by shorebirds and waterfowl. Annual plant production was outstanding—especially for nodding smartweed which reached 8 feet plus in height in some areas. The units also had very good use by waterfowl in fall migration. What’s Beneath the Surface? The photos below show the installation and completion of the replacement water control structure on MS 5. It’s interesting to see what is happening beneath the surface! The original structure had failed causing the loss of all water management capability for the 250 acre unit. Funded by H2Ohio, the new structure provides improved fish access, water quality benefits, carp exclusion, and is all aluminum for corrosion resistance. 
Photo: Contractors install the new structure to improve water management for fish & wildlife habitat.
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Above: L-R USFWS Regional Director Charlie Wooley, Ron Huffman, ODNR Director Mary Mertz & Jason Lewis try out the updated water control structure in the MS 5 Unit of Ottawa Refuge.
Here's what the water control structure looks like from above. This is what you may see when you are out on the Wildlife Drive.
More to Come in 2022
GLRI Projects · The Navarre Marsh restoration will restore 790 acres in cooperation with Ducks Unlimited, H2Ohio, Ohio DOW, and Energy Harbor. It will reconnect Pools 2 and 3 to the Toussaint River and Lake Erie hydrology by a fish passage structure, which will provide fish access to the marshes, and water quality benefits by wetland filtration. · Ottawa NWR coastal project will restore and enhance 600+ acres of habitat throughout the complex through planting and installation of water control structures. Work will include the following areas: Pool 9, HU 6, MS 6, Darby, Two Rivers, and Turkey Run. |
Invasive Species
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Experimenting with Phragmites Treatment at Ottawa Refuge
Summer is almost here and native plants and pollinators are thriving; however, with the advent of summer and the beautiful blooms in your garden come garden chores as well. Invasive plants are likely to pop up just about anywhere and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is no exception. Out in the field, we can foliar spray large patches of invasives, but in the pollinator gardens we often have desirable native species right next to undesirable invasive plants. The easiest and safest option is usually to pull these plants, as removing as much plant material as possible is important to ensuring they do not return. This is easier when plants have more compact tap roots, but when plants have rhizomatous (spreading across the ground) roots, they become exceedingly challenge to remove. Phragmites australis (common reed) spreads vegetatively through these rhizomes as well as their stolons, sending up shoots in patches that can be as dense as 60 stems per square foot. Phoebe, our Wetland Technician Intern, has been finetuning methods for injecting miniscule amounts of glyphosate into low cut stems of Phragmites. When injected, the herbicide spreads throughout the rhizome and kills multiple stems within a stand as well as the rhizome below, preventing future vegetative regrowth. |
The stems and leaves left standing will pale as the plant dies, providing a good indicator of the herbicide’s effects, allowing applicators to assess whether treatment was effective. Injecting herbicide into Phragmites has proven to not have any effect on the surrounding plants and has positive implications for use in areas with extremely sensitive native plants where other application methods may be unsafe.
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Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
In 2018, the refuge received a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to treat invasive plant species on federal, state, and private lands and hire an invasive species position. In 2019, a three person invasive species strike team was hired consisting of Holly Walp, Owen Segaard, and Morgan Donaldson. This incredible team far exceeded the grant target of 850 acres treated. They addressed a number of species and locations that the refuge normally does not have the capacity to treat. In addition, remaining grant money will fund a position for follow up treatments in 2021. Species Treated
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Holly Walp demonstrates one of the most fun means of invasive species control - fire!
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