For Immediate Release

Contact: Mary O'Connell at 312-795-3816

or Nora Ferrell or Mike Truppa at 312-408-2580

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For a map of the planned Maumee River restoration projects see here .

For a map of the Maumee River see here .

Efforts to restore the Maumee River—the largest source of polluted runoff flowing into Lake Erie—took a major step forward Monday when one of the Midwest’s largest foundations announced it is supporting a multi-state strategy to restore portions of the environmentally distressed Maumee watershed.

The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has awarded $5 million in grants to a total of four national and local organizations in a quest to aid the recovery of the 8,316 square mile Maumee watershed, the largest river system in the Great Lakes region. The mouth of the Maumee in Toledo has been designated an Area of Concern by the International Joint Commission. The Ohio EPA estimates that more than 40 percent of the streams in the Ohio portion of the Maumee watershed do not meet Clean Water Act standards.

The 130-mile Maumee River is, itself, the largest contributor of so-called nonpoint source pollution in Lake Erie, depositing five million tons of eroded soil that contains pesticides, fertilizer, toxic chemicals and other forms of potentially harmful runoff every year into the smallest and most ecologically fragile of the nation’s Great Lakes.

"The Great Lakes face serious threats to their health, and we need to attack those problems at their source," said Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding. "By investing in the recovery of the Maumee River, we hope to lay the groundwork for the long-term restoration of Lake Erie and establish a model that can be adopted elsewhere in the Great Lakes region. Our grants represent only a down payment on the clean-up of the Maumee watershed, but they strategically set the stage for local partners to leverage the funding necessary to make larger improvements. And projects of this size allow us to test the effectiveness of our methods and perfect them for use on a larger scale."

The coordinated restoration effort will span portions of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan that reside in the Maumee watershed, and it will combine the expertise of some of the leading environmental organizations on the national and local scene. Participating organizations include American Rivers, Environmental Defense, Maumee Remedial Action Plan (RAP) and The Nature Conservancy.

Once a massive, forested wetland, the land bordering the Maumee has been converted over the years into a mosaic of landscapes, each contributing its own stresses to the river’s water quality. As a result of its scope in the watershed, farming offers one of the largest opportunities to improve water quality. While widespread farming has drained wetlands and contributed significant amounts of insecticides, fertilizers, and sediments into the water, many farmers are or stand ready and eager to implement changes that will ensure the water that flows from their fields helps restore, not harm, the health of the Maumee.

Similarly, rapidly suburbanizing communities have contributed increasing amounts of road, sewer and landscaping runoff. And at the river’s mouth in Toledo, inadequate storm water treatment has led to large releases of untreated storm water and sewage into the river – an average of 624 million gallons annually between 1997 and 2001.

"I am heartened that the Joyce Foundation has recognized that the Maumee River Watershed is one of the great environmental and economic treasures of the entire Midwest," said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).  "The 1.7 million people who live in the 6,600 square miles of the watershed will benefit from this comprehensive approach to the challenges facing our region.  The same watershed unites both urban and rural communities, both agricultural and recreational interests.  A regional solution is absolutely essential to improving the overall quality of the watershed. We here on the Great Lakes have an abundant gift that will become more valuable as the years ensue.  So many places don't have this abundant land so we have to have respect for it and we here in this region have to be leaders in maintaining a better environment and passing that on to our children and grandchildren."

"Scientists have told us that the Great Lakes are on the brink of ecological breakdown, and we know that two of the key reasons are heavily polluted rivers that feed the Great Lakes and severely depleted wetlands and streamside vegetation that used to filter out contaminants," said Sam Speck, former head of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "The Maumee project is an attempt to begin repairing one of those major Great Lakes arteries as we continue to push for comprehensive restoration of the entire Great Lakes system."

"These projects provide an excellent opportunity for community based efforts to address water quality concerns within the Maumee basin that serves as a home for so many people," said Patrick Lawrence, chair of the Maumee RAP.

"The Maumee River is an important asset to the communities near the fresh water resource," said Gary Belan, Associate Director of American Rivers’ Healthy Waters Campaign. "We look forward to working with the City of Toledo and other communities to improve the quality of the Maumee and make it a valuable community asset."

"We’ve demonstrated conservation measures that have led to positive change in water quality in Maumee tributaries," said Larry Clemens, Assistant State Director for Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana. "We’re confident that if these proven practices are used throughout the Maumee River Basin that everyone who depends on the health of this freshwater system – farmers, families, and an incredible array of native plants and animals—will benefit."

"Working with farmers – who are the front line of conservation – offers one of the greatest opportunities to make significant progress in restoring the Maumee River and the Western Lake Erie Basin," said Terry Noto, a consultant for Environmental Defense. "By combining the generous Joyce Foundation grant with federal and state incentive programs, we can partner with farmers to help them produce from their lands not only food and fiber, but clean water and a healthy Maumee River as well."

Under the programs funded by Joyce, each of these water-quality dangers will be addressed. They include:

Managing Storm Water

American Rivers will work with local government and residents in Toledo to capture and filter storm water in gardens, rain barrels, wetlands, and other forms of "green infrastructure" and keep it out of the sewer system, thus reducing floods and sewage overflows into the river and Lake Erie.

Curbing Agricultural Runoff

Environmental Defense will work with state and federal agencies to target agricultural conservation incentives to encourage farmers to plant trees, restore wetlands, significantly improve nutrient and sediment management, and restore wildlife habitat. The three-state, multi-partner project will seize the significant opportunity offered by agriculture to dramatically improve water quality and leverage state and federal programs and funding to generate significant progress from Joyce Foundation dollars.

The Nature Conservancy will enlist Indiana farmers to test an improved design for drainage ditches that, in initial tests, dramatically reduced sediment and improved water quality entering local streams.

Wetland and Buffer Restoration

The Nature Conservancy will seek to reduce runoff from expanding suburban developments by restoring wetlands in the ecologically rich Oak Openings area, and by encouraging land owners within the tributary watersheds of the Maumee to voluntarily protect and restore natural land cover on their properties, as part of the "Green Ribbon Initiative" to restore wetland and riparian habitat in the area.

The Maumee Remedial Action Plan (RAP), a collaboration of private and public partners in the metro Toledo area, will test strategies for reversing ecological damage from obsolete dams, complete two risk assessments, and create inventory and restoration plans for two watersheds. The implementation of these plans could leverage millions of dollars through public and private sources for future improvement projects.

Joyce will allocate grants to the four recipients in the following sums: $2,099,119 to Environmental Defense; $1,717,055 to The Nature Conservancy; $600,000 to American Rivers; and $588,188 to Maumee RAP. The programs will take place over a three-year span and have the potential to leverage millions in additional local, state and federal dollars. 

For information on each recipient see below.

For facts about the Maumee River and details about the restoration plans see here.

Founded in 1973, American Rivers is a national non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy natural rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature.  American Rivers has more than 65,000 supporters nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, California and Northwest regions. 

Environmental Defense , a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members.  Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

The Maumee Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is a community based volunteer organization involving agencies, organizations and citizens interested in or involved with water quality concerns within the lower Maumee River in northwest Ohio and other rivers and streams in the region.  The Maumee RAP focuses our efforts on the Area of Concern as designated by the International Joint Commission and undertakes a wide range of programs, projects and public outreach geared to making the waters of our rivers and streams drinkable, fishable and swimmable.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.