Conservation in the Cuyahoga Valley

            When people mention the Cuyahoga River, those who know the river tend to wrinkle their noses and remember the time during the 1960’s when it went up in flames. A river on fire must have been a kick in the rear for northern Ohio, because the 1960s and 1970s were full of citizen efforts for conservation and preservation of the local natural environment. Citizen persistence and support from members of the United States House of Representatives resulted in the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in 1974. The new park was jointly managed and cared for by the National Parks Service and the Cleveland and Summit County Metroparks.

            Part of the preservation revitalization efforts put in to the Cuyahoga Valley is the Countryside Initiative Program. Enacted in 1999, this initiative’s goal was to rehabilitate old farmsteads. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, the Cuyahoga Valley was full of farms. The Countryside Initiative Program allows farmers to lease land within the Cuyahoga Valley park to preserve these historic farmsteads through the use of farming practices that both protect and revitalize the land. The strict farming guidelines insure that both the land and the culture receive a measure of protection that allows the public to enjoy them.

            In 2000, the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was designated as a National Park. It is the newest national park in the United States. The result is a total of thirty-three thousand acres of protected land and river renewal projects to help slowly improve the water quality of the Cuyahoga River. Access to the river, Lake Erie, and close proximity to the Cleveland and Summit County Metroparks lead for a variety of leisure activities for the millions of annual visitors.

“History & Culture.” Nation Parks Service. Accessed March 31, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/learn/historyculture/index.htm.

“Farming in a National Park.” National Park Service. Accessed March 31, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/cuva/learn/historyculture/farming-in-a-national-park.htm

“Cuyahoga Valley National Park.” Ohio History Connection. Accessed March 31, 2019. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_Valley_National_Park

Photograph. "Dedication of the Final Leg of the Buckeye Trail, March 20, 1981." Ohio History Connection. Accessed March 31, 2019.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_Valley_National_Park