Nestled at the southeastern end of Sycamore State Park in Trotwood, the Great Miami Wetland Mitigation Bank consists of a wetland area, a forested wetland area, and a prairie. Wetlands are an important ecosystem that provides many key functions, such as biodiversity support, water quality improvement, flood abatement, and carbon dioxide management. With the expansion of human populations, less than half of the world’s wetlands remain today. Wetlands are the “kidneys” of our ecosystem, able to hold enormous amounts of water that minimizing floods and filter and cleanse the water that passes through them, improving local water quality. Wetlands are so efficient at removing contaminants and pollutants from water that some wetlands have even been utilized for waste-water treatment.

Five Rivers MetroParks is converting this area to grassland, forest, and wetlands. It includes 360 acres that are a mitigation bank, previously farmland and once slated for a landfill. The remaining 180 acres are the former Larch Tree golf course, which Five Rivers MetroParks acquired in 2015. The land is still developing different habitats but already includes wetlands and prairie, and thousands of tree seedlings have been planted. The mitigation bank also serves as a regional economic development tool: If an existing wetland is damaged, qualified developers can purchase federally required credits from the Great Miami Mitigation Bank. The funds are used to restore wetlands at the mitigation bank and support other projects in MetroParks. Because wetland banks are on larger tracts of land, they are more effective at replacing the wetlands that are lost. The Great Miami Mitigation Bank is the first mitigation bank in Ohio owned, designed and managed by a conservation agency