Case Study: City of Ashtabula restores native shoreline habitat with Davey Resource Group invasive species control

City of Ashtabula, OH restores 43 acres of wetland habitat with Davey

The City of Ashtabula, OH faced the challenge of invasive species degrading 43 acres of ecologically unique wetland and sand dune habitat at Walnut Beach along Lake Erie. The city, through a partner engineering firm, engaged Davey Resource Group (DRG) to implement an invasive species management and ecosystem restoration project to restore this critical shoreline habitat.

Davey Resource Group executed a five-year, two-phase demonstration project funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The solution involved precise herbicide treatments and mowing across divided site sections, followed by large-scale native plantings including over 1,200 pounds of seed and thousands of trees, shrubs, and plugs. Davey’s work successfully eradicated targeted invasives like common reed and European alder, restored native plant communities, and established a study area to demonstrate effective control methods for habitat restoration.