First steps made toward improving wetlands in county

Improving wetland areas has many benefits, and Holmes County just got a giant shot in the arm in rejuvenating part of its wetlands in Millersburg.

Recently, the Holmes County Park District united with the Holmes County Soil & Water Conservation District and area Scouts to celebrate the first steps of a wetland improvement project through Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2OH initiative.

Ohio has invested millions of dollars of grant funding into improving wetlands through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, each of which plays a role in H2OH through the creation of wetlands, the reduction in phosphorus runoff, and creating access to clean drinking water and quality sewer systems.

In celebrating Holmes County’s effort to do so in the wetlands along the Holmes County Trail in Millersburg, excitement grows as steps are now in place to make that wetland area a benefit to the county in many ways.

Karen Gotter of the Holmes SWCD said the project is a massive undertaking that is incredibly important to the local wetland habitat.

She said improving water quality is a main emphasis of the H2OH project.

“Achieving cleaner water is key, and there are many other wildlife and economic benefits,” Gotter said. “What we were able to do was conceptualize that the Killbuck Creek already floods, and instead of looking at it as a problem, how could we harness that power because flooding into riparian wetlands is how you get water purification and slow down the impacts of flooding.”

She said the project would eventually help capture vital sediments and nutrients while at the same time giving specialized plant species a chance to thrive and gain a foothold.

“All of that in turn will benefit our waterfowl, our fish and other aquatic species here,” Gotter said. “This project was a slam dunk of a whole bunch of different goals, and there is more that can continue to happen here.”

She said developing both the recreational and educational components of the wetlands area is a benefit, giving people up-close access to the neat things that are going to happen in the wetlands area.

That process began in earnest when area Scouts united following a ribbon-cutting ceremony to plant hundreds of trees in the area.

Tiffany Gerber, executive director of Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau, shared her vision of the type of impact building up the wetlands will have on the ecotourism and natural tourism industry.

“Anything that improves the quality of life here is important,” Gerber said. “We’re not only preserving our wetlands, but we are also providing the natural resources for our residents.”

She said this will continue to build interest both locally and through the tourism industry for those seeking outdoor recreation and activities for which Holmes County is becoming more well known for presenting.

“It’s opening up a whole new audience to our area,” Gerber said. “This helps enhance not only the fact that we are known as Ohio’s Amish Country, but also known as a vital part of Appalachian Country, so it’s important we preserve what we are.”

Thus, as the wetland area continues to grow and thrive, its benefits have an effect on Holmes County that branches out to help bring a better quality of life to the area, both for the people and the life of the insects and animals that find habitat inside the wetlands.