Deer Creek Stream & Wetland Restoration Rehabilitates Natural Resources In Ohio

Deer Creek Reservoir in Stark County, OH is open to the public for fishing, boating, bird watching, picnicking, and other outdoor recreation. The man-made reservoir was dedicated in 1954 and serves as the primary water source for the city of Alliance, OH.

The Challenge

Northwest of the reservoir, a stream and wetland site on 104 acres required restoration work. The site, formerly used for crop agriculture, contained man-made ditches and previously forested areas cleared for use.

The site was selected by the Stream & Wetlands Foundation and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy for conservation efforts as part of the foundation’s compensatory mitigation program. The foundation selected Davey Mitigation to coordinate, manage, and maintain the project site, leveraging a long-standing relationship.

The Solution

In March 2021, Davey Mitigation began work at the site. The Davey Resource Group, Northern Ohio office helped re-establish high-quality forested and non-forested wetlands, forested uplands, rehabilitated degraded wetlands, and restored degraded streams.

Construction was completed in the summer of 2022, and Davey Mitigation is currently monitoring the site for continued improvements.

The Results

The project generated 55.6 wetland credits and 10,344 stream credits for the Mahoning and Shenango watersheds that will be used for multiple compensatory mitigation projects through the Stream & Wetland Foundation.

Through these compensatory ILF mitigation credits, the Stream & Wetland Foundation will help offset unavoidable impacts to water resources in northeastern Ohio.