Project Location
The 59-acre Penn 7 project site is located in Toledo, Ohio, on the lower Maumee River near its mouth into Lake Erie. The site was previously a confined disposal facility that accepted sediment dredged from the Maumee River shipping channel in the late 1960s-early 1970s. Penn 7 sits along a section of the Maumee River where shorelines are predominantly lined with metal walls and where floodplain wetland habitat is almost non-existent.
Project Benefits
Due to the high amount of urban development along the lower Maumee River, much of the original fish and wildlife habitat has been lost. This restoration project provides the following benefits:
• Provide quality spawning and nursery space for over 40 species of Lake Erie fish.
• Provide quality habitat for native birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and river bottom communities.
• Provide important migratory stopover space for many bird species.
• Improve water quality and the overall environmental health of this area.
Project Objectives
• Improve and maintain approximately 59 acres of terrestrial and aquatic habitat through the creation/restoration of:
– 9.5 acres of submerged and emergent wetlands
– 8.5 acres of coastal wetlands/open water habitat
– 20+ acres of upland habitat
• Reduce suspended sediments/nutrient concentrations of stormwater that flows into the restored habitat to improve water quality.
• Control invasive plant species while promoting native species.
Management Practices
• Connected the upstream portion of the site with the Maumee River, a water control structure will be installed within the existing dike.
• Allowed river water to flow to and through the new wetland habitat, sediment will be excavated and recontoured in the upstream portion of the site.
• A channel was excavated to connect the new upstream wetland to the existing downstream embayment where habitat enhancements were installed.
• To protect/enhance the embayment, a dike with a water control and fish passage structure was installed between the embayment and the Maumee River.
Project Links
• Project Rack Card: Restoration Project at Penn 7
• Data Management and Delisting System Entry: City of Toledo’s Penn 7 Wetland Restoration Project
• From the Great Lakes Commission: Penn 7 Project Page
Project Partners
This project was funded by a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative award that is supported by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the Great Lakes Commission Regional Partnership, through a subcontract to the City of Toledo. The engaged project management team also included Ohio EPA and ODNR Division of Wildlife.
Photo credits:
Banner image: Verdantas (formerly Hull and Associates)
Project location and aerial photos: Verdantas (formerly Hull and Associates)
Project public ribbon cutting photo: Cherie Blair, Ohio EPA