Future Redwing
Nature Preserve
Future Redwing
Nature Preserve
The future Redwing Nature Preserve will be located on the south site of State Route 703, about 0.25 miles east of the Grand Lake St. Marys State Park entrance. The site is just over 16 acres and will be the future home of a newly created six acres of wetland, forest area and upland habitat. Water will be pumped from Grand Lake St. Marys for treatment (i.e. nutrient removal) in the wetlands.
The wetlands will be under construction in the fall of 2025 into the spring of 2026. The intention is to extend the current Redwing Trail through the new site in 2026 or 2027.
The project is being made possible by Clean Ohio Greenspace funding and H2Ohio funding through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
More About the Wetlands
Owned by the Mercer County Commissioners and the Franklin Township Trustees, the Prairie Creek Treatment Wetlands were established in 2012-2014. Water is pumped from nearby Prairie Creek into the constructed wetlands for treatment (i.e. nutrient removal). The wetlands operate from April through October of each year and upwards of 1.5 million gallons of water per day is pumped into the system. The nutrient removal efficacy of the site is published each year (link to wetland summary).
The project was made possible by Clean Ohio Greenspace funding, US and Ohio EPA Section 319 funding, and many generous local donors to the project. KCI Associates, Access Engineering, and VTF Excavation, LLC worked on this project.
