Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP)
Project Selection for Ohio
The application period for FY 09 CELCP funding closed June 16, 2008.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) annually publishes a notice for the competitive funding process within the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP).
The notice solicits projects from the U.S. states and territories with federally approved coastal management programs and from National Estuarine Research Reserve locations. Each entity with a CELCP Plan is permitted to submit up to three projects to NOAA for funding consideration.
Based on all of the projects submitted, NOAA reviews the applications and sends its recommended funding priority to Congress. Selection by the state or by NOAA does not mean that funds are or will be committed to proposed projects, only that the projects have been passed on to the next phase of the funding process. Congress makes the final determination as to what projects are funded.
The table below outlines projects that Ohio has submitted to NOAA for funding under the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. For project details, click on the name of the project.
Name: Vermilion River Lakeshore Preserve
State Rank: 1
Applicant: Erie Metroparks
County: Erie
Project Cost: $1,908,600
Funds Requested: $947,000
Project Summary: Located in the City of Vermilion, the 1.68-acre Vermilion River Lakeshore Preserve property sits at the mouth of the Vermilion River, in the heart of the Harbour Town Historic District. The property is located within Ohio’s designated Coastal Management Area on the west bank of the river at the point where it meets Lake Erie. The property is adjacent to the Main Street Public Beach, the Inland Seas Maritime Museum (National Register Historic Places), and the Vermilion Lighthouse. These sites are highly visited destinations along the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail, a National Scenic Byway (U.S. Route 6). Erie MetroParks hopes to acquire fee title to this key property to facilitate the creation of a larger, contiguous public park along the lakeshore, and provide new opportunities for fishing access along the Vermilion River.
The primary purpose of this project is ecological, but the project also has significant conservation, recreational, historical and aesthetic value. The property contains approximately 320 linear feet of Lake Erie shoreline and a 0.33-acre beach that connects directly to the 0.9-acre Main Street Public Beach The beach on site provides habitat for two rare state-listed shoreline plants: inland sea rocket (Cakile edentula) and purple sand grass (Triplasis purpurea), which are both potentially threatened in Ohio. The property’s river-mouth location also makes it an important migratory stopover site birds. The Vermilion River has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, and northbound birds travelling along the Vermilion corridor use the mature trees and shrub/scrub habitat on site to rest and feed before crossing Lake Erie.
This project will increase public access to the Lake Erie shore for swimming, walking and site seeing. If acquired, the property would also provide fishing access along 500 feet of Vermilion River frontage, and access to the river jetty that extends almost 800 feet off the property into Lake Erie. The Vermilion River is one of the premier rivers for steelhead trout fishing in Ohio and is currently being considered for designation under the State Scenic Rivers Program.
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Name: Middle Bass Island Wildlife Area
State Rank: 2
Applicant: ODNR – Division of Wildlife
County: Ottawa
Project Cost: $1,800,000
Funds Requested: $900,000
Project Summary: Lake Erie’s Middle Bass Island Wildlife Area will permanently protect 10.6 acres of exceptional Lake Erie shoreline and inland habitat on Middle Bass Island. The project contains approximately 1,600 linear feet of natural shore, which provides habitat for the federally threatened Lake Erie Water Snake and the Eastern Fox Snake (an Ohio species of concern) both of which have been found onsite. Habitat potential also exists for an Ohio endangered plant species commonly known as Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), an extremely distinctive flowering plant that grows on rocky shores such as those found on the property.
This project will also preserve several acres of inland island habitat consisting of a combination of grasslands and maple/hackberry/basswood forest. This inland island habitat, in concert with the shallow shoals and reef immediately offshore of the project site, provide critical resting and feeding grounds for numerous migratory birds, including neotropical birds, songbirds and waterfowl. The site’s location along the juncture of the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways and its importance as a migratory bird stopover point makes Middle Bass, and the other Lake Erie islands, one of the best bird-watching locations in North America.
The project is located within the Ohio's designated Coastal Management Area and within the Western Basin of Lake Erie – the shallowest and most ecologically productive and diverse of the five Great Lakes. The property will be primarily used for passive public recreation activities such as fishing, hiking and bird-watching, and used for natural resource conservation. The creation of this new wildlife area and the protection of its natural resources may help increase island tourism by creating a new hiking and bird and nature watching destination on the island. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is already investing heavily in Middle Bass and the other Lake Erie islands by creating new state park facilities, upgrading the marina at the southern end of Middle Bass Island and by the recent creation of state park and wildlife areas on North Bass Island.
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Project: East Point Acquisition and Preservation
Applicant: Put-in-Bay Township Park District
County: Ottawa
Project Cost: $2,303,250
Funds Requested: $1,151,625
This project was not selected for federal funding under CELCP
Project Summary: The East Point (Valore) Property on the eastern tip of South Bass Island includes two parcels, which together comprise about 8.6 acres with approximately 1/3 mile of Lake Erie shoreline. The area's rocky shores, shallow waters, and upland cover provide habitat for federally threatened, state endangered Lake Erie Water Snakes, migratory songbirds and waterfowl, and shoreline plants. The site is located on South Bass Island, a key stop in two major eastern migratory bird flyways at the point where they cross Lake Erie. The Put-in-Bay Township Park District is applying for CELCP funds to purchase and protect this property and provide open space and public shoreline access for recreational pursuits such as walking, shoreline fishing, and bird watching. Purchasing this property will preserve the wildlife habitat values of the area and open possibilities for shoreline, wetland, and upland habitat restoration efforts. It will also allow the community to have natural habitat accessible to the public for ecotourism pursuits.
Preserving this property would meet the goals of Ohio's CELCP Plan, the Ohio Division of Wildlife's most recent State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, the Lake Erie Protection and Restoration Plan, and key recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. The conversion threat for this property remains high. Funding of this project would mean that this high visibility, high ecological value property would have protection for the future and allow its enjoyment by the public.
The Lake Erie Islands Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy will be assisting the Put-in-Bay Township Park District in finding funding for this acquisition.
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Project: Gateway to West Creek: Protecting the Confluence
Applicant: City of Independence
County: Cuyahoga
Project Cost: $2,200,000
Funds Requested:$1,100,000
This project was not selected for federal funding under CELCP
Project Summary: Gateway to West Creek: Protecting the Confluence involves the acquisition of 10 acres of developed land at the confluence of West Creek and the Cuyahoga River. The property includes approximately 850 feet of West Creek’s main stem, where it meets the Cuyahoga River, and approximately 250 feet of Cuyahoga River frontage. It is positioned at the northern end of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and will provide a public access point to the Cleveland Metroparks’ Canalway Reservation, Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
The property currently consists of an empty warehouse and parking lot with a section of West Creek main stem bisecting the property. West Creek has previously been channelized in this area leading to flooding, degraded stream and river habitat, and influxes of nonpoint source pollution from adjacent impervious surfaces.
The protection and restoration of this ecologically significant confluence area has been outlined in the City of Independence Master Plan (July 2004), the Cuyahoga County Greenprint (2003), the West Creek Valley Management Plan (2001), and the West Creek Watershed Action Plan (2005).
This project will herald in a new era for the Cuyahoga River floodplain, encouraging its restoration to a functioning floodplain with a high degree of ecological diversity, flood storage and habitat connectivity. Its acquisition presents a great opportunity to restore proper hydrology and aquatic resources to lower West Creek. It will create an expanse of urban floodplain wetlands that will reduce nonpoint source pollution while creating important habitat for waterfowl and amphibians. It will also reconnect the riparian habitat corridor currently severed by commercial development at the site.
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Project: Howard Farms Land Acquisition
Applicant: Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area
County: Lucas
Project Cost: $3 million
Funds Requested: $3 million
This project was not selected for federal funding under CELCP
Project Summary: The Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area (Toledo Metroparks) intends to purchase 959 acres of land (known locally as Howard Farms) within Ohio's Coastal Management Area for a total cost of $6 million. This land acquisition project is the first phase of a long-term project by Toledo Metroparks to restore significant coastal wetlands, critical wildlife habitat, and functioning floodplains within Lake Erie's western basin. This 959-acre site will be one of the largest acquisition/restoration sites along the entire Great Lakes in recent history.
This project will provide the following benefits to coastal land conservation:
- Protection of 60 acres of existing habitat within a major corridor for migratory birds.
- Long-term restoration of approximately 900 acres of Lake Erie coastal marshes providing critical habitat to numerous resident and migratory wildlife species.
- Long-term restoration of 900 acres of Lake Erie floodplain to directly improve water quality within Lake Erie.
- Provision of long-term opportunities for multiple recreational uses such as bird watching, hiking, fishing, and potentially hunting.
- Preservation of scenic views along the Lake Erie Coastal Trail National Scenic Byway.
Much of the project area is currently used for row crop agriculture (corn, soybeans). Approximately 60 acres (3.5 linear miles) of the project area consist of well-vegetated canals and waterways, providing critical resting and feeding habitat within one of North America's most important corridors for migratory birds.
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Project: Lake Erie Coastal and Riparian Forest Preserve
Applicant: Village of Bratenahl
County: Cuyahoga
Project Cost:$2,200,000
Funds Requested:$1,100,000
This project was funded in federal FY2007.
Project Summary: The Village of Bratenahl seeks to acquire 19.5 acres of undeveloped land within the designated Lake Erie Coastal Management Area to create the Lake Erie Coastal and Riparian Forest Preserve.
The primary purpose of this project is to protect the ecological value of coastal habitat. Together, the two properties that will make up the Lake Erie Coastal and Riparian Forest Preserve contain high quality mature forest, a riparian corridor, the 100-year floodplain of Dugway Creek, and a rare estuarine environment on the Lake Erie coast. Both properties contain old growth woods that provide important habitat for migrating birds. A recent survey of both properties documented 40 species of birds (18 of which are migratory) and nesting sites of four neotropical migrant species. Many rare bird species have also been observed on site. The conservation value of the Preserve is enhanced by its proximity to Dike 14, which provides habitat for more than 280 species of birds.
In addition to its ecological values, the project will also meet CELCP's recreation goals by providing passive public access to the Preserve and the coastal area. In addition, the project will enhance aesthetics by preserving scenic views along Lake Shore Boulevard. Most importantly, acquisition of the Lake Erie Coastal and Riparian Forest Preserve will preserve one of the last remaining natural areas along Cleveland's coast.
This project is a partnership between the Village of Bratenahl and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
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Project: Port Clinton Waterfront Acquisition
Applicant: City of Port Clinton
County: Ottawa
Project Cost: $1,750,000
Funds Requested: $875,000
This project was funded in federal FY2007.
Project Summary: The Port Clinton Waterfront acquisition consists of approximately 3.4 acres and contains 1,252 feet of Lake Erie shoreline frontage. The natural features of the property include near-shore wetlands, coastal marsh and critical waterfowl and shorebird habitat.
The City of Port Clinton has partnered with the Trust for Public Land to work toward successful acquisition of the property. The property will be managed for restoration and enhancement of the site's natural features.
The addition of a nature trail will also allow public access and enjoyment of the Lake Erie coast.
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Project Title: Grand River Lowlands Acquisition
Applicant: ODNR Division of Wildlife
County: Cuyahoga
Project Cost: $2,260,000
Funds Requested: $1,130,000
This project was not selected for federal funding under CELCP.
Project Summary: Project 3: Grand River Lowlands acquisition will permanently protect approximately 804 acres in the Grand River watershed. The natural resources that will be protected by this acquisition include several hundred acres of the highest quality, Category III, wetlands and both main stem and tributary streams of the Grand River. The Grand River has been determined to be the most biologically diverse and intact ecosystem in the Lake Erie drainage basin in both the United States and Canada. The property is currently owned by a sand and gravel quarry operator who is considering expansion of mining operations onto the site. Protection of these critical resources to ensure headwaters protection of the Lake Erie basin is vital to the success of any effort to protect Lake Erie coastal resources.
This project is a combined effort of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Wildlife (DOW), the Trust for Public Land (TPL), Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Nature Conservancy and Grand River Partners. The property is ideally suited for public ownership by the ODNR Division of Wildlife, as it is located in an area the Division has been expanding its conservation efforts for the protection of the Grand River's unique natural quality and for use and enjoyment by the public.
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Page last updated 07/10/2008 |