Like many people (and frankly, it should be everyone), I’m often worried about the state of the environment and what’s being destroyed and lost on a regular basis. I’ve noticed over the years that mornings are quieter as songbird populations fall. Winter here involves big temperature swings and only sporadic snowfall. Whenever and wherever I hike, I inevitably find empty plastic bottles, scraps of trash, and the remains of balloons littering the trails. And that’s to say nothing about the seemingly unending wildfires, extreme temperatures, deadly storms, droughts and floods, and all the other signs of catastrophic climate change.
But this little corner of the world also offers some hope and a reminder that things can change. The first example is the Cuyahoga River itself. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the famous fire, when the heavily polluted river burned and gained national attention. While this was neither the first nor the worst of the Cuyahoga’s fires, it became the catalyst for growing environmental movement in the United States. The river fire played a role in numerous environmental regulations starting in the 1970s, including the Clean Water Act, and the creation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Over the years, the Cuyhaoga became cleaner and healthier, culminating in its designation as an official water trail in 2019.
The Towpath Trail, which follows the old Ohio & Erie Canal system, allows people to explore the region by foot and by bike. Running adjacent to the Cuyahoga River, travelers can benefit from the restoration of waterways as they move between Akron and Cleveland, while also learning about the old canal system and exploring some of the remaining locks.
For those of you more interested in biking than hiking, the Towpath is a great place to start, particularly if you aren’t used to doing long distances yet. You can park at one of the many locations and start biking. Then, once you’ve gone as far as you care to, you can hitch a ride back on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. For only $5, they’ll load your bike and you can hop on and ride back to the stop nearest your car. And if you’d rather, you can buy a ticket for a roundtrip ride (last I checked, the ticket prices for that range between $15-$35) and experience the park through the passenger car. (Full disclosure – I’ve only ridden the train once, a couple years ago when I biked up to the Rocky River [double check] stop and rode back, so I don’t know what the nicer part of the train is like. But even the cheap seats for cyclists were nice, so I’m sure it’s a great ride!)
The Towpath also provides us with another example of restoration at Beaver Marsh. Located off the Ira Road parking lot, Beaver Marsh is a thriving wetlands, home to birds, frogs, turtles, and of course, beavers (among other critters).
But it wasn’t always thus. Roughly 40 years ago, this area was a literal junkyard, mainly for old cars. When it was absorbed into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 1984, the Portage Trail Group of the Sierra Club and the National Park Service began the long cleanup process. Beavers returned to the area, and they began working like, well, beavers to restore the original wetlands. On my most recent visit to the area, I was fortunate to see this little guy off the path (many thanks to the birders and other photographer who pointed him out to me). We were never able to determine whether it was a small beaver or a muskrat (the tail wasn’t visible), but it was the first time I’d seen one. I’m hoping to go back once it warms up and see if I can spot more!
As I mentioned in the beginning, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of songbirds over the years. But Beaver Marsh already had a notable population by February. There were robins galore, bluebirds, cardinals, and even a catbird hiding in the bushes along the trail. By spring, we’ll hopefully being hearing even more songs as redwing blackbirds and others return.
There are all sorts of examples of nature’s ability to heal that should give us hope. Of course, that still requires that we take action – once plants or animal species go extinct, they aren’t coming back and some damage will be too much to ever return to what it was. Despair won’t fix anything though. So pick up some of that litter you see, support your local, state, and national parks and wildlife organizations, be mindful of what you buy, and of course, vote with environmental protection and conservation in mind. And enjoy what we have now.
~The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.~ Lady Bird Johnson