WLEB EAB Target Area and Goals

TARGET AREA

The scope of this project is targeted specifically at those Ohio counties also designated for the Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, a key watershed program that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, and NRCS have already targeted for enhanced landowner and customer assistance. The included counties are: Allen, Ashland, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Lorain, Marion, Medina, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot.

GOALS

• Provide incentive funds to communities working to remove and replace ash trees
• Assist financially-challenged private landowners with removing and replacing ash trees through a partnership with WSOS
• Maximize available public and private funds for a coordinated response to Emerald Ash Borer
• Provide technical assistance to private woodland owners and communities for EAB mitigation
• Make full use of available NRCS EQIP funds to assist landowners in responding to EAB infestation/damage
• Help improve water quality in the WLEB by improved forest health in the region