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Joyce Foundation Grant Will Help Restore Lake Erie by Improving Maumee River and its Tributaries

The Nature Conservancy to Work with Local Farmers, Families, Public Officials on Projects to Curb Sediment and Pollution, while Improving Source Water from Wetlands and Important Tributaries

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — February 12, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy applauds the Joyce Foundation for working to protect and restore the Maumee River and its tributaries by funding a portfolio of strategically selected conservation projects in three states.

The Conservancy and three other conservation organizations will share $5 million in grants announced Monday (Feb. 12) by the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation. Together, the projects made possible by these grants represent a significant opportunity for tangible and lasting improvements to both water quality and wildlife habitat in the Maumee River – one of the largest sources of pollution to Lake Erie.

Funded projects include efforts by The Nature Conservancy to both reduce pollution to the river and its tributaries, and to restore wet prairies and other natural land cover that will augment the watershed’s natural ability to provide abundant clean water to the river system and to Lake Erie downstream.

"To protect and heal the greatest lakes on Earth, we must heal the great rivers that nourish them, and no river basin is more important to Lake Erie than the Maumee,” said John A. Andersen, Jr. Director of the Conservancy’s Great Lakes Program. “Thanks to the Joyce Foundation's support, The Nature Conservancy is increasing our commitment to promote innovative land management practices that will improve water quality and aquatic habitat so critical to our conservation mission."

The 130-mile Maumee River drains more than 8,000 square miles of farmland and city streets from portions of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, and dumps the contaminated and sediment-laden residue into Lake Erie. But as the largest river system in the Great Lakes, the Maumee, its tributaries and surrounding land also provide habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species, including several rare aquatic species found in the tributary streams.  These include three federally-endangered freshwater mussels: the clubshell, northern riffleshell and white cat’s paw pearly mussel (which survives nowhere else on Earth).

Approximately 1.7 million people live in and rely on the Maumee watershed, and rapid suburbanization is threatening to overwhelm this already-taxed ecosystem by converting remaining natural areas into streets and rooftops.

“The Great Lakes face serious threats to their health, and we need to attack those problems at their source,” said Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding. “By investing in the recovery of the Maumee River through the efforts of The Nature Conservancy and others, we hope to lay the groundwork for the long-term restoration of Lake Erie and establish a model that can be adopted elsewhere in the Great Lakes region.”

The Joyce Foundation grant allows the Conservancy to amplify the work it has been doing for at least 15 years in two critical areas within the Maumee watershed – the St. Joseph River in northeast Indiana and the Oak Openings region in northwest Ohio. With the help of the grant, and by leveraging state and federal program funding, the Conservancy will:

• Enlist Indiana farmers to test an improved design for drainage ditches that, in initial tests, dramatically reduced sediment and improved water quality entering local streams. The goal is to install 5-10 miles of these two-stage ditches in the watershed of Fish Creek (a St. Joseph River tributary) to reduce sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen leaving farm fields.                                                                        
• Restore 1,500 acres of wetlands and riparian corridors along the St. Joseph River and its tributaries to filter water for nutrients and chemicals and to reduce soil erosion.                                                         
• Develop a landowner registry in the Oak Openings Region to encourage land owners within the tributary watersheds of the Maumee to voluntarily protect and restore natural land cover on their properties.                                                                                                                                   
• Further reduce runoff by restoring 100 acres of unique remnant wetlands, savanna, and prairie habitat in the Oak Openings region.                                                                                                                                        
• Develop a tool kit for watershed managers and drainage officials applicable throughout the Great Lakes basin.

“We’ve demonstrated conservation measures that have led to positive change in water quality in Maumee tributaries,” said Larry Clemens, Assistant State Director for Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana. “We’re confident that if these proven practices are used throughout the Maumee River Basin that everyone who depends on the health of this freshwater system – farmers, families, and an incredible array of native plants and animals—will benefit.”

Other participating organizations include American Rivers, Environmental Defense, and the Maumee Remedial Action Plan.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river around the world. For more information about the Conservancy’s work in the Great Lakes Region, visit us on the Web at www.nature.org/greatlakes