Sunnybrook Streambank Stabilization & Riparian Restoration

Geauga Park District was awarded a $120,000 Ohio EPA Section 319(h) grant in 2019 to improve stream and wetland habitat and stabilize streambanks along Sunnybrook upstream of a rare high quality fen wetland habitat. Geauga Park District provided $80,000 in local match to complete the project.

 

Sunnybrook is a coldwater stream in the East Branch of the Chagrin River watershed. Sensitive fish species such as redside dace (Clinostomus elongatus) and southern redbelly dace (Chrosomus erythrogaster) and rare species such as the northern clearwater crayfish (Faxonius propinquus) inhabit Sunnybrook.

 

Restoration work was completed in April 2021. In riparian wetlands and forests, invasive plants were treated and replaced with native species.  500 feet of eroding streambanks were stabilized with bioengineering methods and the floodplain connection was improved.  Two acres of wetland and riparian forest were enhanced by planting native vegetation and removing invasive species. Geauga Park District will continue invasive species management to ensure the long-term function of the project.

 

Chagrin River Watershed Partners assisted with grant writing and administration, consultant selection and oversight, and education and outreach.

 

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Funders and Partners:  

This project was financed in part or totally through a grant from the State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, under the provisions of Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act.