Great Lakes Projects

Restoring the Western Lake Erie Basin

Our Goals
Protect the Lake Erie wetland and shoreline habitats that birds rely on during migration and breeding, and improve water quality for the wildlife and people who live there.
What We’re Doing
Working alongside long-term partners, we are investigating how marsh birds are responding to wetland restorations that improve control of stormwater and agricultural runoff across the Western Lake Erie basin.
Aerial view of marsh sites in Ottawa County, Ohio.

From the mouth of the Maumee River to the shores of Sandusky Bay, the shallow western end of Lake Erie supports one of the Great Lakes’ most important coastal wetland landscapes for birds. Waterfowl gather here in tremendous numbers, with typical wintering flocks containing up to tens of thousands of diving ducks, and Trumpeter Swans have been successfully introduced here after local extinction. In addition, Western Lake Erie serves as an important breeding ground; hundreds of Bald Eagles nest in this region, and the coastal marshes are hot spots for breeding and migrating rails and bitterns, including what may be the only viable breeding population of King Rails in Ohio.  

However, Ohio has lost over 90% of the wetlands that once covered the state. As those vital ecosystems disappear, marsh birds are experiencing steep population declines. Additionally, the intensive agriculture in the Maumee Bay watershed causes serious water quality issues, resulting in annual toxic algal blooms that severely impair local drinking water supplies and damage important wildlife habitat.  

In response, Audubon is collaborating closely with Ohio’s Coastal Management Program and other partners to restore large wetland complexes in the region. Much of this work is supported by H2Ohio, a program arising from the Ohio state government’s commitment to improve the quality of water entering Lake Erie.  

Since launching, H2Ohio has helped restore or enhance over 16,000 acres of wetlands. Today, scientists and conservationists are studying how vulnerable marsh birds are responding to these restoration efforts, how restored wetlands are impacting the region’s water quality, and how best to ensure the protection of these critical habitats so that birds and communities across the Lake Erie shorelines can thrive.  

Partners in this region include Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Ducks Unlimited, Ohio Coastal Management Program, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Nature Conservancy of Ohio, Toledo Metroparks, Toledo City Parks, Ohio State University, Wright State University and Winous Point Marsh Conservatory.