Beaver Creek Restoration Project underway in Munson Township

A stream and wetland restoration project is underway at Beaver Creek located within Geauga Park District’s Bass Lake Preserve.

The project includes approximately 1,800 linear feet of stream restoration, 8 acres of riparian enhancement, the creation of wetlands, and invasive plant management, according to a news release. It is intended to improve water and habitat quality for Bass Lake and the Chagrin River Watershed by restoring a natural channel flow and floodplain, and wetland habitat.

Bass Lake Preserve is a 606-acre park known for its forested wetland complexes and high-quality tributaries. The preserve and its surrounding wetlands also provide habitat for migrating waterfowl and songbirds, bald eagles, beavers, and state protected Northern Wild Rice.

Conditions at the lower mile of Beaver Creek and its associated wetlands within the project area have been exacerbated by human activities, the release stated. Development within the watershed has resulted in more impervious surfaces, which has increased the volume of polluted stormwater runoff entering the site.

This has adversely affected the wetland quality through increased nutrient input and increased erosion. Channelization has also isolated the stream from the floodplain and decreased habitat diversity.

In 2017, Chagrin River Watershed Partners assisted the Geauga Park District in successfully nominating the Beaver Creek Restoration Project for an Ohio EPA Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program award in the amount of $842,840 through a sponsorship agreement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

BioHabitats was selected as the contractor for this project, and construction began in February and is anticipated to be completed by spring.

This project will restore natural floodplain connectivity along approximately 1,800 linear feet of Beaver Creek using bioengineering techniques and by converting the channelized creek to a series of interconnected pools and wetlands, the release stated.

The riparian habitat corridor will be restored and stabilized by scarifying and decompacting floodplain soils, creating wetlands, and constructing habitat features from coarse woody debris.

The project will also establish new vegetative communities though the planting of more than 8 acres of native seed mixes, herbaceous plugs, clusters of live stakes, woody trees and shrubs, and available onsite material, the release stated.