Maumee Bay State Park is a 1,336-acre public recreation area on the shores of Lake Erie. In 2022, construction got underway and completed on a wildlife habitat management action project focused on enhancing the park’s wetlands.

This project enhances about 130 acres of critical wildlife habitat around the shores of Lake Erie, an area that has been dramatically altered by industry and agriculture. In particular, the Maumee Bay State Park wetland has been degraded by the invasive reed, phragmites. This project enables water level control for invasive species management, which will facilitate the return of native marsh vegetation and high-quality fish and wildlife habitat.

Project objectives included improving 4,362 linear feet of a rock dike wall originally constructed in 1982 and installing a fish-friendly water control structure to enable water level control and allow fish passage to and from the wetland.

Maumee Bay State Park’s wetland restoration project was led by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) – Division of Parks and Watercraft, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. It was funded by a grant from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) with additional funds from H2Ohio.

A more robust project feature will be up on maumeeaoc.org later this year.