The
A Watershed Stewardship Success Story
When I
received yet another call inquiring “what
needs to be done in order to make flow data for the
A quick
call to USGS, the federal agency which maintains river gages, confirmed that
interest was indeed present as their regional representative had received
numerous recent inquiries regarding this matter. The main problem was that his agency can’t
directly accept non-governmental funding and most past inquiries had originated
from private groups. The fact that
Cleveland Metroparks is a major watershed
stakeholder, was interested in such a project, and is able to work directly with such groups made us an ideal regional
government “sponsor” of this project.
After an
encouraging start to our conversation, we proceeded to discuss what would have
to occur to make this possible. He
informed me that the
As it
turned out, a number of groups almost jumped at the opportunity to assist in
funding this project. Project partners comprised a
diverse cross section of non-profit sportsman’s groups and several levels of
government, including: Emerald Necklace
Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Firelands Fly Fishers,
Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, USGS,
and Cleveland Metroparks. The Metroparks
portion was from an ECO Green Project fund, which is generated from proceeds
from our recycling program, which reflects responsible economic and
conservation practice.
It was at
this point that a neat “bigger picture” benefit of this project became
clear: successful watershed stewardship.
This simply means that several groups with a stake in the health of the
river were working together towards attaining a common goal in the interest of
the watershed. This was every bit as
important as the more immediate benefits of this project.
As of the
date of writing this, project funds have been acquired and an agreement is being
signed by Park officials. The data
should be available as you read this on the Cleveland Metroparks
and USGS websites.
Michael Durkalec, M.S., Aquatic Biologist
Office
phone: (440) 331-8017
Cell
phone: (216) 701-7634
Fax: (440) 331-8279