This site consists of a 365 ha coastal wetland owned by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. High water levels and severe storms destroyed the barrier beach in the late 1940's allowing wave action to erode organic matter and vegetation. Today less than 10 percent of the marsh supports emergent vegetation. The refuge and the Ohio Division of Wildlife in co-operation with Ducks Unlimited and other partners plan to construct a dike across the mouth of Metzger Marsh to replace the barrier beach.