MIKE BRAUN Road projects' effects on wetlands concern birders, others

Two road projects that have the potential to affect a section of wetland in the Mosquito Creek area near the Eastwood Mall in Niles have some state and local birders, environmentalists, sportsmen's groups and local property owners concerned.
One project would entail the construction of a road behind the mall in the vicinity of Cafaro Stadium. The area in question is north of U.S. 422, west of state Route 46, east of North Road and south of state Route 82. The other project would widen North Road.
John Ritzenthaler, Audubon Ohio's director of habitat conservation, will tour the area Tuesday to gather data for the organization's state office in Columbus.
Mosquito Creek Corridor
Ritzenthaler said the area is part of what's known as the Mosquito Creek Corridor. It also has the official designation of Audubon Important Bird Area, he said, and has for several years.
"It is mainly a migrant trap," Ritzenthaler said. "The corridor attracts a large number of Neotropical migrants and a wide variety of other birds," he said.
Among those birds are bald eagles, prothonotary warblers, Virginia rails, marsh wrens and Tennessee warblers.
Ritzenthaler agreed that to the average eye, the area looks like so much wet ground.
"It takes a lot of effort from dedicated volunteers to make the area stand out," he said. He added that the information those volunteers gather is what is used to determine if an area can be considered an Important Bird Area.
In addition to the bird life, the area also has species of rare plants and animal life of all kinds, Ritzenthaler said.
"Our hope is to have people see what is being done to habitat in Ohio," he said. "And make people understand that this is important to birds."
Ritzenthaler will also appear at a meeting of the Mahoning Chapter of the Audubon Society on Tuesday night at 7 in the Boardman Library.
Other advocates
Jack Mullen of North Road, Niles, president of the North Road Preservation Alliance Inc., said the corridor is a "key important area" for birds. Mullen will be accompanying Ritzenthaler on the tour Tuesday.
The wetland area has also been visited several times by James K. Bissell, curator of botany and coordinator of natural areas for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Mullen said.
Bissell has said this about the property: "The mature, unbroken swamp forest that borders the meandering channel of Mosquito Creek between Ohio Route 82 and U.S. Route 422 is an ecosystem worthy of protection. The diverse forest canopy, dominated by silver maple, red ash, American elm, hickory, pin oak, black walnut and swamp white oak, provides habitat for forest birds that only nest within such large, unbroken forest stands. The trees that border both sides of the creek reduce stream bank erosion and help sustain water quality. This is a unique wetlands that has enhanced value because it is in an urban setting. Every effort should be made to minimize environmental impacts on this important forest wetland."
Additionally, Mullen said, "This is such a beautiful and valuable area that there a reasonable alternatives to both the scope of the North Road widening project and the proposed road behind the mall."
Mullen said Bissell has identified an endangered plant at the site, the nodding rattlesnake-root, and, he added, wild turkey, deer and North American river otters have all been sighted there. Also, the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited and the Trumbull County Federation of Sportsmen have expressed concerns, he said.
96 such sites
The Mosquito Creek IBA -- from Mosquito Reservoir to Niles -- and one nearby designated as the Grand River IBA, are two of only 96 such sites in Ohio, Ritzenthaler said, about 2 percent of the state's land. "It is a piddling amount," he said.
According to the Audubon Web site, IBAs provide essential habitat for one or more species of birds and include sites that birds use during their nesting season, during the winter and/or while they are migrating. Usually these sites stand out as special from the surrounding landscape.
Meanwhile, the North Road widening project has progressed to the public meeting phase and several have been held, said Kathleen Rodi, project manager of the Eastgate Development and Transportation Agency's Transportation Improvement Program. EDATA is a municipal planning organization for Mahoning and Trumbull counties and conducts policy studies, collects data, develops regional plans and administers programs for the area.
The road construction project is in the study phase, she said, adding, "A lot of groups think this is a done deal, but it isn't."
She added that there will be public meetings on the project as well as input from a variety of state and federal agencies before any work would be started. Rodi said data needed to be gathered on areas such as wetland delineation to show why the project should, or should not, proceed.
"Since there will be federal dollars involved," Rodi explained, "the project will be complicated as well as thorough."
However, Mullen said that the alliance has had a few independent studies conducted that have shown that both projects would adversely affect the area, raising pollution levels from road runoff, for instance, in Mosquito Creek and in vernal pools found at the site.
braun@vindy.com