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The Nettle Creek Wildlife Project is
a diverse, privately owned 130 acres. Located in Williams
County, Ohio. This property is located, adjacent to Nettle
Lake, Ohio's largest natural lake. Besides 30-plus acres of
old fields, there are approximately 80 acres of woods, with
the balance of acres being open swamp and brush land. nettle
Creek also passes through it, which is the outlet for Nettle
Lake.  To
the best of my knowledge in the county, I believe this to be
the number three of the individually owned woods, in the
county, in both acres and board feet of lumber.
Being surpassed only, easily by the Boy Scout Camp, and the
Lake La Su An Wildlife area. Click
here to view a map of the area.
Through preservation and restoration I hope
to keep and protect this land, so many generations can come
and learn, about the connection we all share, with every
living thing, and how fragile the bond we have with our
earth is.
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Nettle Lake,
the largest naturally formed inland lake in Ohio, is located
in extreme northwestern Williams County. Geologists believe
the lake was formed when the retreating Wisconsian Glacier
started to melt between 10,000 - 15,000 years ago. Today,
the lake covers approximately 100 surface acres, has a
maximum depth of about 33 feet and 3 1/2 miles of shoreline.
Three classes of the Palustrine System of
wetlands surround Nettle Lake. In terms of acreage, the
largest is the Forested class, followed by emergent and then
the Scrub Shrub class. These three classes comprise nearly
150 acres of wetlands within sight of the lake. It is the
unique wetland lake environment we find 15 of the state of
Ohio's endangered species of plants and animals.
The critical importance of Nettle Lake and the
surrounding area wetlands to 
the survival of the endangered species cannot be
overemphasized. In fact, four species of plants that once
lived in the Nettle Lake area are believed extirpated from
the county: The American Water Mil-foil (pictured
to the right) was last seen in
1896, Wild Calla, Tamarack and the Tall Nut-rush were all
last reported in 1932, well before the major development of
the lakes shoreline.
Wetlands, as their name implies, contain water.
Usually, wetlands are found in low-lying areas, their size
can range from little pools to areas covering thousands of
acres, and the water is fairly shallow. Some wetlands
contain water all year long, others may go dry for months at
a time. Regardless of the amount of water, plants and
animals have adapted to the wetlands.
Scientists have discovered that wetlands
provide more than just a home to wildlife. They provide
flood control, storing vast quantities of water for a time;
they help filter pollutants and nutrients out of the water;
and they provide hours of recreation for boaters, hunters,
fishermen and nature enthusiasts. Click
here to view the web cam.
Wetlands are known by different names in
other parts of the country. Some people call them bogs,
swamps, fens, wet meadows, mudflats, bottomland and marshes.
Before the true nature and benefit of wetlands to man was
understood, millions of acres were drained or filled for
other uses. Since colonial days when over 200 million acres
of wetlands existed, over half have been destroyed by
pollution, draining or filling. In fact, in the twenty years
from the mid-1950s to the mid1970s, an average of over
450,000 acres of wetlands were destroyed each year. Nettle
Lake is at the bottom of a 20 square mile watershed. The
watershed begins on the south east side of Montgomery, MI,
flows toward the intersection of the three states then south
and east to the lake. There are 1,000 acres in Indiana,
8,400 in Michigan and 3,300 acres in Ohio.
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Click Here to visit
the Ohio Division of
Wildlife on the net. |
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