EnviroScience is proud to announce the completion of a restoration project at Fox Creek, an essential tributary to the Middle Fork Sugar Creek and Tuscarawas River watershed. This project, undertaken in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, highlights our commitment to restoring and preserving critical natural habitats.
Project Overview
Fox Creek, located on the property of The Wilderness Center, was previously adjacent to farmland and included a small stream and wetlands in desperate need of improvement. Historically, the stream had been “ditched” to prevent flooding on the farmland, which involved creating a deeper, straighter channel. While effective for flood prevention, this practice significantly disconnects the stream from its floodplain, removes its natural variability, and hastens its flow. Adjacent historically wetland areas were drained by clay tile into Fox Creek.
Restoration Efforts
Our ecological restoration team at EnviroScience took significant steps to rejuvenate this vital waterway:
Stream Reconnection
We reconnected the stream to its floodplain and expanded the existing wetlands. Restoring the stream’s natural meander allowed it to wind through the property, slowing the flow and creating a more natural habitat.
Hydrologic Enhancement
The reconnection of the stream and removal of the wetland tile drainage restored the area’s natural hydrology, allowing drained hydric soils to rehydrate and develop wetland communities once again.
Habitat Enhancement
Rocks and logs were strategically placed to add habitat variability within the channel. These features now play a crucial role in supporting the return of native species.
Invasive Species Management
Invasive species were removed from the wetland area and replaced with native plants. This effort has been instrumental in reestablishing the local food chain and promoting biodiversity.
Project Impact
The restoration has had remarkable results:
Biodiversity
The wetland and stream are now flourishing with new life. Seedlings from adjacent habitats are establishing themselves, and frogs and salamanders have begun to lay eggs in the restored environment.
Water Quality
The restored wetland is a natural filter for pollutants, significantly improving the watershed’s overall health.
This restoration project showcases our ability to collaborate with partners like The Nature Conservancy to achieve significant environmental benefits. By reconnecting Fox Creek to its natural floodplain and enhancing its habitat, we have laid the groundwork for a thriving ecosystem that will benefit both wildlife and the local community.
Check out the storymap that The Nature Conservancy assembled, which tells the story of the Fox Creek stream and wetland restoration project at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d190a6c9147e4e9d957d5ae7e349bad2
Future Protection
This restoration project is a crucial step in revitalizing the Tuscarawas River watershed. The Wilderness Center will permanently protect this area, ensuring our efforts continue to benefit future generations.
For more information on our ecological restoration practices and other projects, visit our Ecological Restoration Services webpage. EnviroScience is dedicated to solving any environmental challenge with excellence. If you have a project that requires our expertise, please get in touch with us today.
Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse backgrounds of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results.
Our client guarantee is to provide “Excellence in Any Environment,” meaning no matter what we do, we will deliver on our Core Values of respect, client advocacy, quality work, accountability, teamwork, and safety. EnviroScience was created with the concept that we could solve complex problems by empowering great people. This concept still holds true today as our scientists explore the latest environmental legislation and regulations and incorporate the most up-to-date technology to gather and report data.
EnviroScience expertise includes but is not limited to aquatic surveys (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments, invasive species control, and water quality monitoring); emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; sustainability services; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation). Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.