Mentor Marsh restoration project receiving state funds

The Mentor Marsh Restoration Fund is receiving state funds for the engineering, design and planning services for remediation of Ohio’s first natural landmark.

The $250,000 was released Feb. 11 by the state’s Controlling Board that had been previously approved in the 2019-20 biennial Capital Budget.

The Mentor Marsh is one of the largest marshes along the Lake Erie shoreline.

“The Mentor Marsh is an important natural and historic landmark in Lake County and these dollars are the start of what will be a tremendous investment by Ohio in this project,” Rep. John Rogers, D-Mentor-on-the Lake, said in a statement.

“This is just the beginning of the efforts toward restoring this area of the Marsh and ensuring this

beautiful community asset lives on for future generations.”

According to Rogers’ office, $10.6 million in private funds are earmarked for the project. The restorative efforts are expected to take between two and five years.

The Mentor Marsh serves as a breeding area for Lake Erie fish and as a waypoint for migratory birds, and was at one time an ecologically diverse forest wetland according to Rogers’ office.

In 1966, some 225,000 tons of waste salt were dumped into the wetland, creating a salt fill site with salt leaching into the Marsh over time, killing nearly all of the trees in the area.

Much of the marshland today is dominated by phragmite, an invasive cattail that does not rot and can become dry as paper. It is responsible for fueling several serious fires in the Marsh over the years.

Custody of the land in question is being be transferred to the Lake County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the Lake County Land Bank. Rogers is the director of the land bank. The Ohio EPA is overseeing the remediation efforts.

Once the work is completed and the area restored, ownership and the responsibility for preserving the Marsh will be transferred to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.