Office of Coastal Management moving from Sandusky

SANDUSKY — The state's Office of Coastal Management is moving away from Sandusky, although it will remain in Erie County. The office, part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is moving to the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve in Huron, which is also a state nature preserve. The move will take place on July 1. The new address for the office will be 2514 Cleveland Road E. in Huron. The office currently is located at 1031 Pierce St., Suite A, in Sandusky. It moved to Pierce Street last year after being housed for many years at 105 W. Shoreline Drive in the old Boeckling Building. A department spokeswoman, Stephanie O'Grady, issued a brief statement after the Register asked for the reason for the move. "The office is fully engaged with the city of Sandusky and the reasons for the office change are taxpayer cost-savings, staff retention, increased responsiveness, and improved efficiencies," she said. There are 13 people working at the Sandusky office, O'Grady said. The office runs various programs involved with Lake Erie's 312-mile shoreline in Ohio. Moving the office will put it in direct contact with one of the programs it manages. The office manages two state and federal partnerships, it explained in a press release announcing the decision. It runs the Ohio Coastal Management Program, providing grants, technical assistance, outreach, and management of coastal resources along Ohio's 312-mile Lake Erie shore. It deals with issues such as coastal erosion and worked with the City of Sandusky on the new wetlands project the city is building at the Cedar Point Causeway, which is being done with the help of federal funds. The office also runs the reserve, which is part of a national network of 30 state-federal partnership coastal reserves that address state and regional coastal management needs through research, education, and stewardship. Other examples of programs run by the office include the Ohio Clean Marinas Program and the Ohio Clean Boaters Program.