2019 SWCS International Annual Conference July 28-31, 2019 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1. Years to Come:
A Case Study on a Collaboration and
Implementation to Reduce Sediment Runoff
and Expand Conservation Education in the
WLEB
July 2019

2. The Nature
Conservancy
• Leading conservation organization
• Private non profit
• “Conserve the lands and waters on which life
depends”
• Own and manage the largest network of private
preserves
• Work in more than 70 countries and all 50
states

3. Western Lake Erie
Basin
• Harmful Algal Blooms
• 2014 Toledo Water
Crisis
• 5 Million acres of
agricultural land

4. The Nature Conservancy
Western Lake Erie Basin Agriculture
Project office
• Located in Defiance, Ohio
• Working with farmers, ag retailers, land-grant
universities (OSU, MSU, Purdue), Soil and water
conservation districts
• Promoting education and outreach programs focused
on BMP’s
• No-till
• Cover crops
• 4R nutrient stewardship
• Wetlands
• Drainage water management structures

5. Sauder
Village
• Non-Profit 501c3
• 235-acre complex
• Ohio’s largest living history
destination
• Permanent educational resource
preserving the heritage of the
Great Black Swamp from 1803
- 1920
• Core purpose to honor the past
and inspire the future
• Over 330,000 guests annually
• Inn, campground, restaurant,
bakery & more

6. Best Management
Practices in place
• Windbreak
• Riparian Buffers
• Oak savanna
• Filter strips
• Grassed waterways

7. • 2015 – 8 inches of rain
• Site sits at the lowest point for ~1,024
acres of agricultural land that drains onto
the property
• Part of the Flat Run HUC12 watershed –
direct tributary to Tiffin River
• Location that will serve as demonstration,
education and inspiration

8. Partners
• Fulton Soil and Water Conservation District
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
• The Nature Conservancy
• Duck’s Unlimited
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• EDGE Consulting

9. • Constructed wetlands
• 11 acres of wetland to store
and capture upstream
agricultural drainage
• 15 acre-ft of storage at high
water elevation
• Emergency overflow routing to
grassed waterway and small
lake
• Vegetative
buffers/recreation/education areas
• 30 acres of cropland
converted to natural cover
• 2,332 linear feet of walking
trail
• Naturalized areas
• 5 acres of native warm
season grasses & wildflowers
• 3 acres of oak savanna tree
plantings
2017

10. • Project start date: July 2018
• Project end date: September
2020
• Wetland restoration
• Education & Outreach
April 2019

11. • Estimated reduction
• Reduce Nitrogen Loadings – 713 Pounds/year
• Reduce Phosphorus Loadings – 170
Pounds/year
• Reduce Sediment Loadings – 78 Tons/year
January 2019

12. Future Work
• Walkways
• Signs
• Field days
• Education site for kids, public, Soil and
Water
• Eagle scout project
• Cross country
• Many more ideas

14. More info:
Saudervillage.org

15. Reba Wicker
rebecca.wicker@tnc.org
cell.419-519-2776
Office. 419-782-0652
July 2019