Lake levels and wetland restoration on Lake Ontario

Session: Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands: Innovative Research to Improve Restoration (2)

Douglas Wilcox, SUNY Brockport, Dept. of Environmental Sci. & Ecol., [email protected]
Eli Polzer, SUNY College at Brockport, [email protected]

Abstract

Lake Ontario wetlands are in great need of restoration, as water-level regulation that began in 1960 reduced fluctuations, promoted cattail invasion in nearly every wetland, and greatly reduced sedge/grass meadow marsh. Research under the IJC Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study quantified habitat changes and also generated predictive models that assisted in development of new regulation Plan 2014 and laid the foundation for ongoing adaptive management studies. A new regulation plan that allows greater water-level variability cannot reverse habitat degradation without assistance. Therefore, studies were conducted to develop cattail-control methods, which have been implemented in several wetlands along the southern shoreline. Initial restoration projects at Buck Pond and Buttonwood Creek included large-scale cutting of cattails followed by herbicide treatment of ramet regrowth. Channel excavation through cattail stands provided open-water fish access to remnant meadow marsh, and dredged soil materials were used to create mounds at elevations suitable for sedge/grass seeding and planting. Some efforts were successful, but extreme high lake levels in 2017 may have affected future results. Lessons learned from those projects were incorporated into new wetland restoration projects at nearby sites in the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern, and continued data collection will assist in further improvement of implementations.