Wrestling wetlands: secrets unlocked to creating these lush and verdant lands.

Most of us agree that the goal of parks is providing and managing outdoor spaces for public benefit. There are parks for active sports, passive recreation, natural area conservation, as well as urban parks, rural parks, suburban parks, linear parks and a myriad of these types of combinations. While many parks have manicured landscapes, other parks include conservation of natural areas and provide recreational and educational opportunities in a natural setting. To meet these goals, park districts are trying to include the widest variety of natural area types as possible. This includes old growth and early successional forests, natural streams and waterfalls, open water ponds and lakes, natural meadows/prairies and wetland areas. Wetland types include forested wetlands, bogs and fens, wet meadows, tidal marshes, pond edges and hillside seeps. The benefits of wetland areas in parks are numerous. Wetlands create wonderful places for wildlife observation, reflective thought, hiking, wildflower viewing and nature education. Natural benefits include groundwater recharge, treatment of pollutants, wildlife habitat and floodwater storage. Commonly, parks are regarded by the public as all important public asset, but often are not funded to adequate levels. As John Crompton describes in his 1999 book "Financing and Acquiring Park and Recreation Resources", "park and recreation managers are confronted with the certain reality of being required to do more with less."

Where are the wetlands?

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to incorporate wetlands into your park system is to take advantage of existing wetlands at your current properties. If you don't know where wetlands are in your parks, engage your park naturalist or contract a Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) to identify the location and function. The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) maintains a national list of these professionals on its Web site, www.sws.org, and can be a great resource. If you have wetlands on your existing park properties, attempt to make them reasonably accessible to your park visitors through developing trails, boardwalks and viewing stations. Advertise these "new-found" recreational amenities in your park guide and install signage or an informational kiosk.

Unfortunately, if you have existing wetlands on your properties that you want to open up for your park visitors, there is the possibility that they are degraded in some way. Since many parks with wetlands are located at old farm sites or other out-of-the-way places, the old ment of wetlands as wastelands led to practices that degraded the natural quality of these areas. Dumping, random trash and even old hunting blinds can lead to unsightly conditions and a reduction of wetland quality. Removing these items is an important way to help the wetland return to its natural condition.

Another concern that often occurs with existing wetlands is the presence of invasive/exotic vegetation. This type of vegetation is not native to your wetland area and can often overrun it, leading to a lowering of biodiversity. From bush honeysuckle in the Midwest and salt cedar in the Southwest, to melaluca trees in Florida and multi-flora rose in the East, invasive/exotic vegetation is a nationwide problem. The level of difficulty in removing invasive/exotic vegetation from your wetlands varies by plant species, but usually involves lots of band labor and care to not harm the other natural vegetation. The end result is a more naturally functioning and biologically rich wetland area for your park visitors to enjoy. SWS and the Society for Ecological Restoration International have information on these types of plants and resources to manage them. Most of these wetland enhancement projects can be done with minimal capital costs.

If you don't have wetlands on your own parklands, investigate whether there are wetlands on properties contiguous with your park boundaries. If your goal is to acquire wetlands for your parks with minimal cost, purchasing those properties outright may not be feasible. However, the use of conservation easements and access agreements may be used to incorporate the wetland into your park system. The agreements take some diplomacy, but two willing parties can come to a meeting of the minds on this relationship. Conservation easements are a recorded land record that runs with the title of the property conserving an area from development. Once the conservation easement is recorded, the park district can enter into a use and access agreement with the property owner so that park visitors can view the wetlands being conserved. While the park district does not own the property outright, the advantage is that a wetland area can be incorporated into the park system without spending finds to acquire the parcel.

Partnering Potential

So, you've reviewed your parkland inventory, checked adjacent properties and have come up "dry." One way to develop wetlands is first to determine in which of your parks you would like a wetland to be created. Then, begin to cultivate interest from your local industry and land developers on creating a wetland area at your park. A good place to start talking with interested business people is your local chamber of commerce or building industry association. When industries expand their facilities or land developers build communities, fill or other impacts to wetlands are often unavoidable. Depending on the level of impact, federal, state and/or local regulations require creation of new wetlands as a form of mitigation to compensate for the impacts at the existing wetlands. Since property values are often high at the development site, or availability of land to create the new wetlands adjacent to the impact area is scarce, these folks often seek off-site locations for the wetland creation.

Park districts can benefit from this demand for mitigation sites by providing the supply of available wetland development areas. The win-win situation comes when the developer pays for and builds the wetland on parklands to comply with his mitigation requirements. The developer does not need to purchase the property outright and the park district gets the wetland it desires. Additionally, as opposed to locating the mitigation wetland on private property, the new wetland can be accessible to the public on the parkland. Also, the park district can provide long-term management and stewardship of the mitigation wetland.

A recent success story using this approach involved the partnership of the Pella Corporation-Entry Systems Division with MetroParks of Butler County in Ohio. In 1995, Pella needed to expand its door factory at its facility in Fairfield, Ohio. Unfortunately, avoiding wetlands was unfeasible due to the configuration of the plant and property. In conformance with the Army Corps of Engineers wetlands permit, Pella began seeking property off-site to develop mitigation wetlands. MetroParks was approached to determine if it had any interest in developing wetlands at one of its parks. From these discussions, the Rentschler Forest Preserve adjacent to the Great Miami River in Hamilton, Ohio, was selected as a desired site.

"We are pleased to work with commercial interests in the county," says Mike Muska, director of MetroParks of Butler County. "The Rentschler Forest project is a good example of how government regulators, the public sector and the private sector can work together to get things done for the community. The project was an appropriate addition to the park, converting an under-utilized part of the park to a natural feature for recreation and wildlife study."

The site was a former farm field on park property in a rapidly growing area of greater Cincinnati. In 1998, the site was excavated and planted to develop four acres of mitigation wetlands. Unfortunately, the original designer did not fully investigate the soils conditions at the site and the four acres of wetlands were not achieved. In 2002, a new remediation plan was developed that included excavating soil, installing a clay liner, replacing the excavated soil and installing trees and shrubs. Broshear Contractors of Hamilton, Ohio, constructed the project in the fall of 2002. Since construction, the four-acre site has been continually wet and is well on its way to being a biodiverse wetland area.

The parks district installed a loop trail for walking around the wetland. Many birders use the site to observe shorebirds and herons. Also, the park naturalist has used the site on numerous occasions for nature education sessions. The new designer of the project, LJB Inc. of Dayton, is currently conducting a multi-year monitoring to ensure the successful development of wetlands at the site.

"Pella views itself as a good corporate citizen and saw the project as a win-win situation," says Rob Bradley, division controller for Pella. "We were able to expand our facility, which added jobs to the community, and fulfill our obligation to mitigate the wetlands by providing a recreational facility in a public park. We are committed to make it work and so far we are pleased with the progress of the wetlands."

Jane Archer, regulatory specialist of the Louisville District Corps of Engineers has been with the project since the beginning and was also positive about the project. She commented, "this was an excellent opportunity to foster a successful partnership between the private and public sector in order to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act by providing practical compensatory mitigation to replace wetland losses. Also, this wetland site provides habitat for wildlife species including waterfowl, shorebirds, frogs and other aquatic life along with educational and recreational opportunities for the MetroParks of Butler County. The common goal is to lind a balance between development's needs and protecting aquatic resources."

Power in numbers 

Other low-cost ways to develop new wetlands or enhance existing wetlands at your park include using volunteers, low-cost labor and seeking grants. Volunteers to clean up trash and remove invasive/exotic vegetation takes little in supply costs, but is labor-intensive. Training your volunteers and providing supervision is critical because many of your volunteers are "weekend warriors" with little experience in wetlands. The positive side of these inexperienced volunteers is their effort gives you a chance to educate them on wetlands.

Eagle scout service projects are also a great way to get these projects done. Publicizing your volunteer project "wish list" in your parks bulletin or local paper is a good way to generate interest. Low-cost labor can come from a variety of sources, but one successful means is to get work-release workers involved. Talk with your local sheriff on how this can be accomplished. MetroParks, for example, successfully uses this approach for park maintenance. The people in county custody get the benefit of being outdoors and the parks district only has to pay for lunch in exchange for the labor.

The parks district uses these types of workers for painting, weed pulling, litter cleanup and occassional maintenance tasks at the Rentschler forest wetland.

Grants are also a wonderful way to get free money for wetland development projects. Grants include the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Five Star Restoration Program, the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, as well as many state, local, non-profit and corporate grants.

President Bush announced on Earth Day in April his goal: "instead of just limiting our losses, we will expand the wetlands of America." Wetlands have many natural benefits and can be enjoyed recreationally by increasing the number of wetlands, enhancing access and providing interpretation. The parklands of this country are perfect places to accomplish these goals. Although wetland development or enhancement can cost some money, numerous methods can help defray these costs. Use what resources you have, obtain easements and access to your neighboring parcels, develop partnerships with private enterprises to implement wetlands, and use volunteers and grant money. Even with budget limitations, with enough creativity and ingenuity, park districts can include wetlands in their parks for enjoyment by their visitors.