I remember the news, a couple weeks before Apollo XI launched, that the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was on fire. Soon we were going to be driving from Florida to Michigan and passing nearby, and I followed the bizarre story of a river so polluted it was aflame. The images became symbols of environmental degradation and helped create Earth Day and the Environmental Protection Agency the next year, and a couple years later, the Clean Water Act.
Public domain image of Cuyahoga River fire
Two years later, between Cleveland and Akron the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was established , and a quarter century later redesignated as a National Park. The Park is a patchwork of public land between small towns and among highways and rail lines. The Erie and Ohio canal and towpath runs north to south mostly paralleling the river for the entire length of the park. Along with the river, plenty of wooded areas cover the park, but one of the most important features are the 1,500 wetlands.
In 1984, with the help of the Sierra Club, the NPS began to clean up a newly acquired auto repair shop and the area surrounding a creek along the E&O canal that was filled with old cars and other junk. Soon beavers, who’d been absent for a century, moved in and dammed the creek and a marsh began to form.
Cuyahoga is believed to be the Iroquois word for “Crooked Water.” The straight lines of canals and roads are surrounded by the crooked water of rivers, streams and wetlands.
NPS photo of 1970s junkyard where Beaver Marsh would one day be
Before visiting a National Park, especially one I’ve never visited, I consult QT Loung’s Treasured Lands. QT was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary on National Parks as the first person to photograph all the National Parks, and when a new park is established he rushes to photograph the park. Not only is his book beautiful, it is great resource for photographers with tips on locations and times to visit. Cuyahoga Valley is not a place of great vistas or open spaces, so a promising sunrise location is not around every corner as it is in some parks. QT suggested Beaver Marsh, so that’s where Chance and I headed for sunrise, and we were rewarded with a misty golden glow in a view across the valley.
Beaver Marsh sunrise, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
Perhaps Mary Oliver reflected on a scene of healed land as this when she wrote Rain
. . . .
This morning the water lilies are no less lovely, I think,
than the lilies of Monet.
And I do not want anymore to be useful, to be docile, to lead
children out of the fields into the text
of civility to teach them that they are (they are not) better
than the grass.
. . . .
Mary Oliver, Rain, from New and Selected Poems: Volume One, 1992
Dawn reflection, Beaver Marsh
A little while after this image was taken, a beaver swam across the water. Muskrats scurried through, frogs and turtles moved the lilies, and bird song surrounded the scene. Runners and bikers crossed the boardwalk on their journeys on the towpath, another photographer set up his tripod nearby, one lady brought her chair to sit and watch the sunrise, and Chance curled up under a bench.
In the distance, it looked like a Japanese garden,
The park’s work to restore the native habitat continues. One struggle is invasive species. Purple loosestrife is a significant challenge, but it sure looks beautiful, and highlights a willow getting a foothold.
QT mostly uses a large format camera, and so is a landscape photographer and not wildlife, and so offers few tips on birds and wildlife. I was surprised with the number of birds here and didn’t bring a long lens with me. So we got back on the towpath, and headed to the car to get some new equipment.
Erie & Ohio towpath
Back with the big lens, I could focus on some birds. The noisiest ones in the marsh were red-winged blackbirds. And the babies were calling, “Mom!!”
This was probably the second set of hatchlings this year, and mom’s feathers looked pretty worn.
And a tender moment before heading back out for more food.
And dad helped.
And many other little ones were flying between the bushes and snags.
Warbling Vireo Willow flycatcher Barn swallows
Beaver Marsh demonstrates that concerted efforts to heal and restore the natural environment can have remarkable effect and bring peace to residents and visitors alike. Maybe the storms, fires, floods and heat will finally push us on to take major action to reverse the destruction we do to the climate and home. The walk back on the towpath was along the remnant of the old canal. There to say good-bye was a family of wood ducks—I think a young girl and boy with mama.
Wood duck family