The Willow Creek Watershed in Lorain County, Ohio has become the focus of a coordinated effort to restore stream, wetland, and floodplain function while improving watershed resilience within a Lake Erie tributary system. Among these initiatives, the Gerber Stream and Wetland Restoration Project serves as a key implementation effort demonstrating how watershed-scale visioning, strategic partnerships, and coordinated funding can advance multi-benefit restoration. This presentation will examine how multiple restoration opportunities within the Willow Creek Watershed have been evaluated and prioritized to address hydrologic alteration, floodplain disconnection, water quality impairment, habitat degradation, and aging drainage infrastructure. Particular focus will be placed on the Gerber Stream and Wetland Restoration Project as a case study in moving restoration from conceptual planning toward implementation. This session will discuss how partnerships among local agencies, watershed stakeholders, funding entities, and technical consultants helped align restoration goals across the broader watershed for a $4.3 million restoration project. Lessons learned will highlight practical approaches for advancing watershed-scale restoration in Great Lakes tributary systems where ecological function, community priorities, infrastructure constraints, and long-term resilience objectives must be balanced simultaneously.
