and filter absorbing runoff into their roots and soil, which reduces flooding. These plants then enrich the soil with the nutrients (carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, nitrogen) absorbed by their roots. When Cottonwood Trail Restoration Project invasive plants take over a wetland, they can change the balance of nutrients in the What is a Native Plant? soil, threatening the growth of native Spatterdock and duckweed plants. If a variety of native plants are lost Native plants are species that grow naturally in an area without human then the biodiversity of plants and animals Common Native Wetland Plants intervention. In North America, that means could be in danger. A variety of native plants in a wetland is an indicator that the species that were present before European Healthy wetlands support a wide variety of habitat is doing well. settlers first arrived. Native plants are natives from common cattails and flowering sometimes threatened by invasive plants duckweed to less commonly known species that were introduced by people. Wetland Restoration such as arrow arum and the sensitive fern. Wetland management and restoration Stark Parks reestablished a variety of native The Role of Native Plants involves supporting native plant growth plants commonly found in wetland while stopping or slowing the spread of environments during the restoration of the In wetland ecosystems, native plants invasive species. Stark Parks manages our Cottonwood Wetlands. Common native provide natural flood control, produce rich native plant populations throughout Stark plants you may observe include: organic soils, and create food and shelter County through careful study and planning. Common Name Scientific Name for wildlife. During heavy rain and storms, In 2015, staff and volunteers removed Fragrant water lily Nymphaea odorata runoff and flooding occurs when rain flows Spatterdock Nuphar advena invasive plants, performed a controlled over roads, driveways, and parking lots Greater duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza burn, and began reintroducing native plant instead of being absorbed by natural Common duckweed or Lemna minor species into the Cottonwood Wetlands. lesser duckweed vegetation. Native plants act as a sponge Before these efforts began, this wetland Arrow arum Peltandra virginica was out of balance and filled with invasive Common cattail Typha latifolia Duck potato or broadleaf Sagittaria latifolia plants, but it will now have an opportunity arrowhead to return to a healthy, balanced ecosystem Bulrush Scirpus tabernaemontani with more habitat for wildlife. Skunk cabbage Symphlocarpus foetidus Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata To learn more or find out how you can help, visit Marsh cinquefoil Potentilla palustris Marsh marigold Caltha palustris www.StarkParks.com Marsh fern Thelypteris palustris Swamp milkweed Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis The Importance of Wetlands Like a natural sponge, healthy wetlands Cottonwood Wetlands Restoration absorb and slow storm water flow after rainfalls. This reduces flooding, decreases The restoration of a degraded wetland to its erosion downstream, and allows natural state is a complex process requiring underground water sources to refill. planning, resources, expertise, and Cottonwood Trail Restoration Project Wetland vegetation naturally filters excess community support. Stark Parks is nutrients from fertilizers, leaking septic partnering with local experts from Kent The Importance of Wetlands tanks, manure, and other impurities. These State University, Walsh University, and are absorbed by wetland plants adapted to Malone University to restore the 4.3 acre Wetlands are areas of land covered with this environment and digested by Cottonwood Wetlands. These wetlands act shallow water or with water near the microorganisms within the wetland. as a buffer zone between the surrounding ground’s surface throughout much of the land and water, enhancing conservation of year. Biologically diverse and naturally the local area as a whole. The restoration of effective in controlling the flow of storm these wetlands also directly contributes to water, wetlands are an essential part of a the health of the larger regional water healthy ecosystem and a valuable resource system, the Muskingum River Watershed. to people, plants, and wildlife. Healthy wetlands are comparable to the Healthy wetland soil The goals of the Cottonwood Trail rain forest in the number of species that Restoration Project are to: these specialized habitats support. Loss of Wetlands . Retain sufficient water on site to Wetlands are sometimes called “nurseries support the wetland ecosystem while of life” because of their biodiversity, the Human activity is the single greatest threat reducing area flooding by slowing excess storm water created during wide variety of plant and animal life that to wetlands. An early federal law, the heavy rains; live in them. The abundant plant life and Swampland Act of 1850, encouraged states . Create high quality plant and animal shallow water provides a home and hunting to fill in or drain wetlands to increase the agricultural and development potential of habitats by reducing non-native and ground for many wildlife species. invasive plant species and encouraging the land. The view of wetlands as increased native plant and animal “wasteful” space played a significant role in diversity; their degradation nationwide. State and . Enhance educational opportunities for federal protections enacted in the 1970s students and the public; began to slow the loss of wetlands. Nearly . Leave an improved natural resource for 220 million acres of wetlands once dotted future generations of Stark County the continental United States, but today less residents. than half of those remain. Ohio’s once 5 To learn more or find out how you can help, visit million acres of wetlands now number less Restored Cottonwood Wetlands than 484,000 acres. That’s a loss of 90%! www.StarkParks.com What makes a plant invasive? brought these plants to the United States were unprepared for their rapid growth and Several factors allow invasive plants to grow, reproduction, and these introduced plants multiply, and spread quickly. They have high rapidly took over the landscape. seed and fruit production and efficient seed What Can Be Done? Cottonwood Trail Restoration Project dispersal, so they can reproduce many new plants quickly. Their seedlings then It is very difficult to control the growth of What is an Invasive Species? germinate quickly, allowing the plant to invasive plant species. Typically, invasive grow and access important resources such plants must be controlled by physically An invasive species is an exotic, non-native as nutrients and sunlight at a much faster removing individual plants. Some success species that is harmful to the ecosystem, rate than native plant species. Invasive has been had in using commercial weed economy, or environment. There are over plants are not found naturally in their new killer products, and in introducing insects 70 species of invasive plants in Ohio— habitats and therefore have no natural found in the plants’ native homes that use including garlic mustard, Japanese predators in their new homes. Native these plants as food source. honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, autumn olive, animals do not recognize them or use them In 2015 Stark Parks cleared 4.3 acres of and shiny buckthorn—and over 5,000 as a food source, so the invasive plants nation-wide. These invasive plants deplete invasive species from the Cottonwood grow unchecked. For all these reasons, Wetlands, performed a controlled burn, and groundwater resources and crowd out invasive plants are often able to out- native plants. They decrease biodiversity by reintroduced native plants to the wetland. compete native plants and alter the natural Continued monitoring and maintenance will creating a monoculture so that where many balance of ecosystems that they invade. species of plants used to grow, now there is encourage these native plants to thrive, and only one. This disrupts the ecosystem and How Did They Get Here? over time the ecosystem will return to threatens native wildlife, especially birds balance and displaced native wildlife will Invasive species were introduced by and amphibians, by displacing the native return to the restored habitat. humans for a variety of reasons. Some plants those animals rely on for food or To learn more or find out how you can help, visit species, such as purple loosestrife, were shelter. Approximately 42% of endangered introduced because people liked the www.StarkParks.com species in the United States are listed due appearance of these to competition with invasive species. plants and planted them in their gardens. Others were introduced for their usefulness in erosion control, medicine, or as a source of food. Autumn olive The people who Controlled burn also provides an ample food supply for snakes, such as garter snakes and fox snakes, that hunt small animals. Amphibians Cottonwood Trail Restoration Project Amphibians depend on wetlands for reproduction. As the snow melts in the Wetlands are for Wildlife spring, many of these species arrive at wetlands to breed. Young amphibians Healthy wetland habitats are essential to remain in the water and eat wetland Mink the survival of many wildlife species. More insects, plants, and macroinvertebrates. In than half of threatened or endangered healthy or restored wetlands, many species Birds species in the United States rely on of amphibians will thrive, including spotted wetlands for their survival at some point in Wetlands are important stopover points for salamanders, common toads, bullfrogs, their life cycles. Over one-third of migratory birds to rest, feed, and recover spring peepers, green frogs, and wood threatened and endangered species live from their travels. Many migratory birds frogs. In the Cottonwood Wetlands, you are only in wetlands. Many species that depend also use wetlands as breeding grounds and likely to hear a chorus of frogs and may on wetlands are declining as their habitat is nesting sites. During the spring, the calls of even be lucky enough to see one before it lost. The Cottonwood Trail Wetland many migratory bird species fill the air. jumps into the water! Restoration Project aims to restore habitat Common wetland bird species include great and support wildlife diversity. Insects blue herons, green herons, and wood ducks in addition to seasonal migratory waterfowl, Reptiles Many species of insects can only survive in shorebirds, and songbirds. wetland habitats, and healthy wetlands Numerous species of reptiles rely on have a wide diversity of insects. The Mammals wetlands for a safe habitat and food supply. flowers of native wetland plants attract In the Cottonwood Wetlands you may see The biodiversity of wetlands make them many pollinators such as butterflies, moths, snapping turtles and painted turtles basking ideal habitats with food sources for many and both wild and domestic honeybees. In on logs in the water. The diversity of wildlife types of mammals. Herbivorous mammals, the Cottonwood Wetlands you might see such as muskrats dine on the roots and water striders gliding across the water, shoots of aquatic plants. Carnivorous jewel colored dragonflies and damselflies mammals, such as the mink (a semi-aquatic flying through the air, as well as diving member of the weasel family) hunt frogs, beetles and other aquatic insects. crayfish, birds, and small mammals. Bats, To learn more or find out how you can help, visit insectivorous mammals, fly over the wetlands at night hunting insects. Eastern painted turtles www.StarkParks.com