EnviroScience & Cleveland Museum of Natural History to Partner on Mentor Marsh Restoration

Earlier this month, the Board of Lake County Commissioners awarded EnviroScience, Inc. and teaming partner the Cleveland Museum of Natural History with a full delivery contract for the Mentor Marsh Wetland Mitigation Project.  Our team will be restoring an approximately 20-acre portion of the 800-acre, mainly emergent marsh wetland located near the confluence of the Grand River with Lake Erie.  The area to be restored is located at a strategic point where Marsh Canal enters Mentor Lagoons Marina. This restoration effort will be a model and a catalyst for future restoration work within the marsh.  The restoration project seeks to restore marsh ecology through the revitalization of its native emergent, shrub, and forested marsh habitat.

The Mentor Marsh is Ohio’s largest Lake Erie marsh, receiving the designation of National Natural Landmark in 1966.  In 1971, a portion was selected as the first Ohio Department of Natural Resources State Nature Preserve.  The Mentor Marsh holds importance for migratory and breeding birds, as well as a high degree of species variability.  The importance of this habitat, however, has diminished over time due to loss of ecological integrity and water quality issues.  The proposed restoration project seeks to improve both aquatic and ecological function throughout the restoration site, thus ensuring a solid foundation to ensure long-term recovery for the area.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History will assume full control of the management and oversight of the restoration area, so that it will be protected and preserved for generations to come.  EnviroScience is proud to be a part of this vital restoration initiative.

For more information on the history of the marsh, visit  http://naturepreserves.ohiodnr.gov/mentormarsh.

For tours and other activities within the marsh, visit https://www.cmnh.org/mentor-marsh-programs.