Buffer Ohio Award Winner- Charlie McCarthy

News Release
For Release: Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Columbus, Ohio

Charlie McCarthy of Upper Sandusky was recognized today as one of ten statewide Buffer Ohio Award Winners. The award was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Buffer Ohio is a statewide awards program, which recognizes exceptional landowners who have done an outstanding job of applying and maintaining conservation buffer practices to the Ohio landscape. It is co-sponsored by Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Corn Growers, Pheasants Forever, ODNR Division of Wildlife, ODNR Division of Forestry, ODNR Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Ohio Wetlands Foundation, Nature Conservancy, Ohio Soybean Association, National Conservation Buffer Council, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and the Lake Erie Buffer Team.

Conservation buffer practices include grass filter strips, riparian tree plantings, sod waterways, wetland restorations, and windbreaks. They are a fundamental part of the conservation effort to protect and enhance Ohio’s precious soil, water, plant, and animal resources. Buffer practices provide improved agricultural production, erosion control, water quality, and wildlife habitat benefits. Buffer areas trap sediment, nutrients, pesticides, provide food and cover for wildlife, and increase plant and animal diversity.

Charlie McCarthy of McCarthy Corporation was recognized for his work installing conservation buffer practices. Charlie has installed filter strips along the ditches and streams adjacent to his farmland in Wyandot County. He owns a wide range of land from rolling hills to the flood plains of the Sandusky River where he has established over 69 acres of filter strips on alluvial soils where flooding is common. Charlie has installed over 115 acres of conservation buffers on his land and the land he rents, totaling approximately 6.5 miles of ditches and streams in the Lake Erie watershed. Charlie is very proud of his filter strips and encourages those who are interested in installing them to look at the buffers he has installed. Charlie allowed his filter strip to be used to collect trash and debris from the 2001 Sandusky River Clean Sweep effort. His filter strips have also been a stop on the Wyandot SWCD Official’s Tour. As a result of his efforts Charlie was awarded the Lake Erie Buffer Award in recognition of his efforts to protect the waters flowing into Lake Erie. Charlie McCarthy has done an excellent job of applying and maintaining the conservation buffer practices installed as well as educating the public about those practices.

As part of the award Charlie McCarthy of McCarthy Corporation received a cash award, recognition plaque, and Buffer Ohio Jacket. Award recipients were selected based on a review of their conservation buffer accomplishments. Judging was done by a committee of the Buffer Ohio Partner Organizations.

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