Hancock Park District to Reclaim Wetlands

Beginning this summer, the Hancock Park District will begin reclaiming approximately 100 acres, formerly leased as marginal farmland, at Oakwoods Nature Preserve. The district received two grants totaling close to $1.4 million for the project, including $651,800 from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and $753,000 from H2Ohio. The projects, which will be completed by 2021, will have long-term benefits of nutrient reduction for Aurand Run and the Blanchard River, as well as providing a wetland habitat for breeding birds and a migratory stopover. “This is a great educational project with high visibility,” says Chad Carroll, Hancock Park District Natural Resource Manager. “The end result will be to teach the importance of wetlands and all the critters and plants associated with them.”