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The Pickle Pond Pilot Project: Measuring changes in landscape and ecosystem benefits through the remediation of contaminated sediment and habitat restoration in a Great Lakes Area of Concern
Citation:
Josephs, J., T. Angradi, S. Green, T. Hollenhorst, J. Launspach, S. Paczuski, M. Wick, K. Williams, AND J. Witts. The Pickle Pond Pilot Project: Measuring changes in landscape and ecosystem benefits through the remediation of contaminated sediment and habitat restoration in a Great Lakes Area of Concern. St. Louis River Summit, Superior, WI, March 07 - 09, 2022. https://doi.org/10.23645/epacomptox.19380113
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation to the St. Louis River Summit March 2022. Evidence to support underlying assumptions that people living near or recreating within areas that undergo ecological remediation or restoration benefit from these environmental efforts is rare and often indirect or mismatched in scale. A new methodological approach is needed to assess community benefits of these environmental restoration projects. In this presentation we describe a new methodological approach to monitor and assess pre- to post-project changes in recreational use and perception of how such an area contributes to (or detracts from) human wellbeing. This new approach will potentially be transferable to other AOC project sites around the Great Lakes. Through this research we hope to reach an audience of environmental and social science researchers as well as program leaders interested in new methodological approaches to assessing how environmental initiatives impact the wellbeing of local communities.
Description:
Since 2010, $87M have been spent on remediation and restoration efforts in the St. Louis River to improve ecological conditions. However, evidence to support the underlying assumption, that people living near or recreating within areas that undergo ecological remediation or restoration benefit from these environmental efforts, is rare and often indirect or mismatched in scale. Pre- and post-project measurements to identify changes in use and perception of how the area contributes to (or detracts from) human wellbeing is needed to assess or measure community benefits of these environmental restoration projects. Our pilot study of the Pickle Pond AOC project area at Barkers Island in Superior, Wisconsin – where extensive habitat restoration is planned for summer, 2022 – seeks to overcome that gap. Our three-pronged mixed-methods approach studies the interconnections between site use, environmental change, and public perception by employing trail counters and cameras, a web camera, direct observation, intercept surveys, and aesthetics monitoring. To complement these methods and increase transparency with the public, we’ve developed suite of handouts, informational signs, and a website to increase public access to the survey and information about the project, project site, and related planned restoration activities. Although this data is site-specific, two key goals are to test the feasibility and value of each methodological component for future application at other project sites, and to demonstrate a practical and cost-efficient approach to assess community benefits of a remediation/restoration project that can be transferred to other sites around the Great Lakes.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: The Pickle Pond Pilot Project: Measuring changes in landscape and ecosystem benefits through the remediation of contaminated sediment and habitat restoration in a Great Lakes Area of Concern
PICKLE POND SLRS PRESENTATION_V3.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 3648.1 KB, about PDF)