Excerpt from the Evening Leader
WSU-Lake Campus Biology Professor Dr. Stephen Jacquemin presented an update on restoration of Grand Lake St. Marys to the Grand Lake Restoration Commission on Thursday at the Lake Campus.
The take away from the session — the lake is showing progress and a decline in nutrient levels.
That progress was the result of collaboration, which Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Polanda emphasized.
“It takes everything. It takes wetlands, it takes producers doing the right thing,” Polanda said. “It takes constant examination and innovation.”
Mercer County Agriculture and Natural Resources Director Theresa Dircksen recalled it was in 2010 when Grand Lake St. Marys experienced a very large algal bloom, which spurred restoration efforts. Dirksen is also the facilitator for the commission and the Ag Solutions coordinator.
“We are not 100 percent there yet but we keep seeing improvements,” Dircksen said.
She has seen success with farmers wanting to improve nutrient management plans and even more potential with Barger Tech, which are planning to centralize manure processing and work with local farmers.
