RiverDay aims to raise awareness among everyday citizens concerning the important role that a “free-flowing” Cuyahoga River plays in their everyday lives and to highlight the need to continue the improvement of its water quality.
Canoe, kayak livery saw fewer boat rentals compared to previous years
Like last year's water level, traffic in rented canoes and kayaks was down on the Cuyahoga River. Fewer people took trips in 2012 with Crooked River Adventures, the canoe and kayak livery operated Kent State University downtown. The livery reported close to 1,300 total trips from April to October of 2012, according to a year-end report on the livery by Kent State administrators. In 2010 and 2011, the livery managed about 2,300 total canoe and kayak trips per year. Dave Herpy, outdoor adventure coordinator for the Department of Recreational Services at Kent State University, said the near record low rainfall in the region contributed to the decline — and an average water depth of 1 foot on the stretch of the Cuyahoga River used by the …
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Crooked River Adventures to return for third season in Kent on Cuyahoga River
Canoe, kayak, tube and bicycle rentals will remain a staple of Kent's summer time activities thanks to a lease renewal between the city and Crooked River Adventures. Kent City Council voted in committee Wednesday to renew a lease with the Kent State University based livery operation to make the recreational boats available to the public from a base in John Brown Tannery Park. Kent Parks and Recreation Director John Idone said the lease, in terms of cost, remains largely the same, but the lease has been changed to give the city the option of renewing the lease for one-year periods for two years after the initial year. "So it would be in essence a three-year contract, but right now we’re only committing to the first year," he said. Idone …
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Construction of new bridge to Kramer Fields not expected to be delayed by discovery
Local and state officials say the discovery of mussels living in the Cuyahoga River can clearly be seen as a positive indicator of water quality improvements in the Crooked River. If and how the invertebrates may affect construction of the new bridge from Fred Fuller Park to the Kramer Ball Fields is a bit murkier. Brian Peck, an environmental specialist in the Ohio Department of Transportation's District 4 Office, said the mussels' presence "absolutely" is a good sign of improved water quality in the river. "They’re a pretty sensitive species," Peck said. "There’s a lot of rivers and streams that do not have the mussel species in them they once had." A surveyor for ODOT inspected the area of the river where the old bridge will be …
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12:28 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
As a Tree Hugger myself, I'll be happy to volunteer to assist with moving the mussels. See, that's how issues like this get solved - not by crabbing about how hippies are spoiling things and calling people names, but by recognizing the problem and contributing to the solution. more ›
Once the dams are gone, the river will heal and recreation can begin. But the process won't begin until at least Dec. 1.
Don't count on seeing those category five whitewater rapids in the Cuyahoga River in Cuyahoga Falls this summer. But there's a good chance you'll be riding them next year. Deconstruction of the Samira and Sheraton dams on the Cuyahoga River will begin right after the city’s bicentennial celebration, said Cuyahoga Falls engineer Tony Demasi. If all goes well, the dams could be down by Dec. 1. “A lot of work that we’re going to be doing is going to be behind the scenes,” Demasi said. "Designs need to be finalized and permits need to be approved before the Army Corps of Engineers and the contractors can start work on the river. We may not see any construction until September or October.” Previous delays and a lawsuit brought by Beaver Falls …
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11:33 am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Fish like oxygen, so I suppose they want the dams down too. more ›
The Kent Parks and Recreation Department hosted a Cuyahoga River Day Saturday at Plum Creek Park
Volunteers, sponsors and parents all hope a day of fun and learning about the Cuyahoga River will foster better care of it in the future. The Kent Parks and Recreation Department on Saturday hosted the 22nd annual Cuyahoga River Day at Plum Creek Park. The three-hour event attracted dozens of young visitors who helped celebrate the restoration of Plum Creek — when they weren't petting frogs from the creek, building grass mats or practicing life jacket safety. "Rivers are the arteries and veins of the Earth," Bonnie Tomassetti of the Native American & Veterans Center said during a group discussion. "You can go longer without food than you can water. We've got to keep the river clean." River Day was one of 19 similar events across Northeast …
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Kent marks annual event with river improvement tours, pot-luck
Friends of the Crooked River and Co-sponsor Appalachian Outfitters are organizing the line-up of events for the 22nd Annual RiverDay to be held Saturday across northeast Ohio. River Day aims to raise awareness among everyday citizens concerning the importance of the role that a “free-flowing” Cuyahoga River plays in their everyday lives and to highlight the need to continue the improvement of its water quality. RiverDay 2012 will feature 19 events across Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage and Geauga counties, including: clean-ups; habitat restorations; watercraft excursions; hikes; a bus tour of dam and restoration sites; a free concert and an art exhibition. (Event descriptions are listed in the .pdf attached to this story). These events …
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Canoe and kayak portages improve river access in downtown Kent
New access points to the Cuyahoga River for canoe and kayak enthusiasts are open in downtown Kent. The Kent Parks and Recreation Department added canoe and kayak portages to Kent's Heritage Park and River Edge Park as part of an effort to increase access to the river. The work included new stairways leading to the river, railings for easy canoe and kayak transportation, and stone pathways along the water's edge. The new access points were built this fall in conjunction with a new park and access point to the river in River Bend about 2 miles north of downtown.
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11:27 pm on Sunday, December 18, 2011
If you have not tryed or walked down these walk ways. Your really missing out. Love it. more ›
Downtown, River Bend parks increase waterway access with state grant
Two of Kent's parks will offer increased access to the Cuyahoga River before the year's end for canoe and kayak enthusiasts. Projects under way at Kent's Heritage Park and a new park located in the River Bend subdivision are expected to be finished by mid December and will add new put-in and take-out areas for canoe and kayak use along the river. Both projects were paid for largely by a Ohio Department of Natural Resources Cooperative Boating Facility grant. Downtown, two new access points were added to the river; one is just north of the Main Street Bridge and the second is a few hundred feet south of the Stone Arch Dam. Kent Parks and Recreation Director John Idone said the take-out spot with canoe rail just north of the bridge will …
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Eric Johnston saved a Kent girl from drowning in the Cuyahoga River this summer
Kent residents can help a Kent State University student earn a Red Cross Hero Award for saving a girl from drowning in the Cuyahoga River this summer. Todd and Jennifer Fisher nominated Eric Johnston for the award after he pulled their 9-year-old daughter, Madelyn, from the river in May. "I would really love to see Eric win this award," Todd Fisher said. Madelyn was playing near the river in downtown Kent when she slipped and fell into the rushing water. Moments later, Johnston pulled her to safety on the river's west bank several hundred feet from where she fell in. To vote for Johnston, click on his nomination page on the Red Cross website. Voting ends Sunday.
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John Bard
10:00 am on Friday, January 4, 2013
I can only guess that the reason we are discussing Park issues at council meetings would have something to do with the city owning the land not parks and recreation? What is more troubling is that I haven't seen the shoreline showing on Lake Rockwell or Pippin Lake yet the river is low? What happened to Akron allowing the water to flow as it would naturally would ? more ›