Ohio State's wetland research park gained an extra degree of protection after winning the 24th Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in the USA.
"We have done everything we can to ensure this place will go on forever," said Bill Mitsch, director of the 50-acre Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. "No one else has anything like this, so we want to protect it."
The International Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for national efforts and international cooperation to conserve wetlands, according to the Ramsar Web site.
The ORWRP is the first site in Ohio and one of only a few in the Midwest to receive this designation, according to an ORWRP press release.
"I don't think many people in Ohio knew about it," Mitsch said.
"Most Ramsar sites in the U.S. are large wetland preserves managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, (that are) not accessible to most of the public," he said.
"No one really thought about smaller, urban wetlands like this one," Mitsch said.
"In Europe most of the Ramsar sites tend to be small, in urban areas and heavily visited like the ORWRP," said Siobhan Fennessy, a professor of Biology and Environmental studies at Kenyon College.
She said she hopes other urban wetland sites will follow the ORWRP's lead.
"Particularly in urban areas, (wetlands) are important for all kinds of reasons," she said.
"One of the benefits of the Ramsar designation is it has educated Ohio's environmental community about the Convention," Mitsch said.
"I'm willing to bet there will be more nominations, probably near Lake Erie," he said.
In his nominating letter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife director H. Dale Hall said the ORWRP meets five of the nine criteria for Ramsar. Only one is required to receive designation.
"Located in a state that has seen more than 90 percent of its historic wetland base drained, the site contains riverine marshes that were once typical but are now rare," he said in the letter. "The site is also important for its significant wetland ecotourism and outreach within an urban community where few wetlands remain, as well as the high-quality university teaching and research."
"The park also meets criteria for having a high number of fish species and other plants and animals," Mitsch said.
Monica Noon, a recent OSU graduate, helped work on the application as an assistant to Mitsch and said it helped her to get her first job at a consulting firm.
"I knew they were aware of Ramsar," she said. "It was something I could say I contributed to."
The ORWRP is almost entirely run by undergraduates, with one other professor and himself on staff, Mitsch said.
"It's a very important place for students," he said. "It's like a zoo without cages."
Mitsch said his goal is to get all 50,000-plus OSU students to visit the park at some point.
Information on the park and its "Moonlight on the Marsh Lecture" is found at
www.swamp.osu.edu.
The park is located north of campus off Dodridge Street.
Adam Konvalinka can be reached at konvalinka.1@osu.edu.
2008 Woodie Awards
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