Project Titles:

• Island Storm Damage Study (FFS #R5BC)
• Implement Energy Efficiency Tier 1 (FFS #R5GY*)

State: West Virginia

Project Description: The Ohio River National Wildlife Refuge protects riparian and underwater habitat along 362 miles of the Ohio River from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. But within the refuge’s 3,300-acre boundary, many of the refuge’s 22 islands are experiencing a significant loss of acreage from erosion.

With the help of $121,000 in Recovery Act funds, the refuge funded a study evaluating the loss of land and ways to protect these unique islands and the many habitats they support. The study, which was contracted out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, assessed the damage to the islands to identify ways to restore them.

Lands along the Ohio River, both public and private, are being subjected to severe erosion. Erosion of refuge lands is occurring at a rapid rate and is the most serious threat to the refuge, said Refuge Manager Dean Rhine.

“I believe the navigation system on the Ohio River is a major factor affecting erosion. The dams raised the water level and exposed unprotected soils to water currents and wave action. Shorelines are eroded by waves caused by wind and commercial and recreational navigation. Higher water velocities during flood events increase erosion causing bank sloughing and catastrophic bank failures. In addition, ground water piping from riverbanks to the navigation pool contributes to bank erosion and bank failures,” Rhine explained.

Rhine said that the problem stems from the fact that the islands don’t have any protection against the waves and water. So a likely prescription, he says, “would be to armor the shorelines with stone or protect them with stone longitudinal dikes.”

Shorelines completely armored with stone provide little benefits to wildlife; however, stone longitudinal dikes installed on underwater benches parallel to islands shoreline provide valuable shallow water habitats for fish and wildlife. In addition, stone longitudinal dikes stabilize shorelines and eventually accrete sediments to create new riparian habitats.

The refuge collaborated with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2009 to design and construct 10,000 linear feet of longitudinal stone dikes along the channel side and toe of Buckley Island. These interrupted dike fields are constructed of limestone rock, placed offshore of the island in 2 to 3 feet of water. They serve as aquatic reef habitats and bank protection structures, as well as provide shallow water areas protected from boat wash and wave action. Over the past 5 years, this partnership has worked together to stabilize and protect over 12,700 feet of refuge shoreline habitat.

Rhine was especially eager to contract this study out the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because “the Corps is best suited to conduct this study because of their depth of staffing, knowledge of the refuge and past erosion protection efforts, experience in designing corrective treatment alternatives, and experience with island erosion events that involve geotechnical and hydrologic processes. The Corps will hit the ground running and have many of the basic requirements of the study already complete, which will allow them to focus on the more important reconnaissance and design aspects of the project.”

The project was a preliminary action that produced a planning document that will support and promote pending work efforts that, if funded, will produce significant economic benefits to local communities and private sector businesses through direct government spending. The study was completed in September 2010.

An additional Recovery Act funded project at the refuge provided a work opportunity for a local small business by helping reduce the refuge’s carbon footprint.

Pro 1 Electric, a small business from Mineral Wells, W.V., received an $81,280 contract to install a photovoltaic (PV) energy system at refuge headquarters. Since the system went online on September 27, 2010, the PV system has saved the refuge $425 in energy costs and kept 7287 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere (through April 2011). The 42-panel system outside the refuge headquarters is part of the Service’s region wide energy efficiency upgrade program.

Photos:

Islands within the Ohio River National Wildlife Refuge are eroding.

The study will help find solutions to the erosion problem.

This 42-pannel solar photovoltaic system has been saving the Service money in operating costs while lowering its carbon dioxide emissions.

*Project R5GY is a Regionwide project impacting multiple sites.  For more information view the Energy Efficiency Projects in the Northeast Region page.

Originally posted 04/14/2010
Updated 07/08/2010
Page Completed 03/09/2011
Page Completed 04/26/2011