3 area projects receive grants

Three of four grants recently issued by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission will be used to support projects in northwest Ohio.

The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Preservation Society received the maximum $10,000 grant for a floating access dock and ramp system that could provide visitors easier access to the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse. Improved access will make it easier for lighthouse renovation work, the commission said.

Researcher Amie Brady, of the U.S. Geological Survey, also received the maximum $10,000 grant to do more study of e. Coli bacteria in and around Maumee Bay State Park. Her focus will be on Berger Ditch sediment, which recently was identified as a significant source of the park's bacteria. Results will be used by other researchers to help design a wetland for filtering contaminants.

Researchers Johan Gottgens and Todd Crail of the University of Toledo were awarded $9,576 to study the impact of agricultural runoff on Ottawa River fish.

Another U.S. Geological Survey researcher, Rebecca Bushon, received $10,000 to continue a bacteria study of the Cuyahoga River. That river is in the Cleveland-Akron area.