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| The new, winding path of Pond Brook represents what a brook is supposed to look like. |
Stream Restoration
Restoring Pond 'Ditch' in Liberty Park
Despite its name, Pond Brook in Twinsburg's Liberty Park is nothing like a babbling brook, and it is far from picturesque.
Beginning in the early part of the last century and continuing to modern times, Pond Brook has been ditched, drained, moved, dammed, deforested, de-vegetated and devoid of most living things. The reasons include draining for agriculture, development and flood control. In many instances, however, these actions were simply considered better for the human environment, and many projects were classified as land reclamation.
Today, we know better. The value of healthy wetlands and free flowing streams is being realized around the world. Natural is better not only for wildlife, but for people. As our interpretive department would say: Nature is Good for You!
For several years, Metro Parks has been working with a coalition of private and government agencies to restore the natural character of Pond Brook, located in the Pond Brook Conservation Area. More than one mile of the corridor and over 2,000 feet of "Stream Channel 25," a headwater tributary, have been restored.
To date, the work done on the main stem of Pond Brook has been funded through a mitigation project sponsored by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Stream Channel 25 is being financed, in part, through a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, under the provisions of Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act.
Formal monitoring will take place for the first time in 2009, but preliminary results are already encouraging. Early fish surveys showed a significant reduction in non-native carp and an increase in IBI scores (an index that uses fish to measure water quality).
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| Stream Channel 25 is the largest tributary to Pond Brook within Liberty Park. It has been channelized and is severely entrenched from previous land-use activities. Improvements to this stream will include grade stabilization and habitat enhancements for fish and aquatic wildlife. |
In addition to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, we are grateful to the following partners who helped make this project possible:
| The City of Twinsburg |
Wetlands Resource Center |
| The Village of Reminderville |
EMH&T, Inc. |
| Friends of Metro Parks |
Oxbow River and Stream Restoration |
| United States Army |
The River Institute |
| The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
Davey Resource Group |
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