Auglaize River Stream Enhancement Project moving forward

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By staff reports - email

The Boards of County Commissioners in Allen, Auglaize and Shelby Counties have approved the cleanup work of removing logjams and debris from the Auglaize River and Two Mile Creek in Allen and Auglaize Counties, in Ohio.

The Joint Board of Commissioners met May 8, 2012 to review and approve the estimated assessment schedule for the project. All landowners in the watershed area, covering almost 155,000 acres in the three counties, will receive notice in the mail in the coming days advising them of the estimated assessment to their property.

Landowners will have the opportunity to file a written letter of objection to the Commissioners about their assessment, if they feel the method used has caused them to be improperly assessed. Property owners will have until June 16, 2012 to file their notice of objection with the Commissioners.

The project will involve the removal of woody debris, logjams and severely leaning trees over 57.9 miles of the Auglaize River beginning at Hay Road in southeastern Allen County and following the river into Auglaize County, through the City of Wapakoneta and then back into western Allen County, up to the Allen/Putnam county line. The work will also include about 8.5 miles of Two Mile Creek in southern Allen and northern Auglaize County.

Material removed from the river will be left for each landowner along the river to dispose of as they choose. Some will leave the piles for wildlife habitat, some will cut the trees for firewood and some will leave the trees along the outside of the wooded corridor to decay. Each property owner will have that choice. The estimated cost of cleanup for the Auglaize River is $950,000 and the Two Mile Creek is estimated at $58,900 dollars.

The work will begin on the downstream end at the Allen/Putnam County line and progress upstream. Landowners along the river will be notified as time goes on when the work crews will be in their area. Personnel from the Allen Soil and Water Conservation District will be available to meet with landowners of adjacent properties as work progresses. They will discuss issues on an individual basis to insure property owners are kept informed as the work moves forward.

It is anticipated that work could begin in the fall of 2012 and is estimated to take about a year and a half to complete the entire project.

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