For several years we used to recognize Earth Day by prowling the Cuyahoga River shoreline, in an effort to show still images and video of how the comeback Cuyahoga River looked and felt now - as opposed to pulling up five decade-old images from the bad ol’ days at the dawn of Earth Day.

Yes, two 1969 events catalyzed public opinion that the time had finally arrived to take action on environmental degradation: The first was an oil rig blowout 6 miles off the shore of California that spilled 100,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean and beaches of Santa Barbara. The second was a relatively minor fire on the Cuyahoga River that received national attention (along with an erroneous photo) when Time Magazine ran a short but devastating piece.

But instead of prowling the river’s edge, we now we have amazing images from our Blazing Paddles Paddlefest that show the world how far the Cuyahoga River has come - a tangible sign of the impact and effectiveness of Earth Day.

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest provides a focus on several themes central to Share the River's mission.

the importance and demonstrable positive impact of common sense environmental regulations and large public investments in large scale remediation projects.
the value of public investments in stormwater infrastructure (like NEORSD's Project Clean Lake).
the positive impact of engaged, long-term recreational use and stewardship of our nations waterways.
the benefit the above three items have on waterfront cities' appeal 1) as a place where people want to work, live and play in and 2) as a tourism destination.

Our four Blazing Paddles Paddlefests have served as an annual reminder of how the Cuyahoga River serves as “ground zero” for a substantive discussion on the value of continued environmental regulations, remediations and stewardship for our nation’s waterways. While we have come a long way since 1969, sobering announcements like American Rivers’ naming the Ohio River as its second most endangered river in the United States in its just released list of America’s Most Endangered River of 2023 remind us there’s still work to do and large investments to be made.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our amazing of hotshot photogs, Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River has now become a singular photo-op for how the river that once served as a pipeline for pollution is now a conduit for tourism and recreation! The Cuyahoga just regained the title of USA Today 10Best urban kayaking spot!.The tired punchline for a national joke is now a best-practices case study for how clean, healthy, and vibrant rivers are economic drivers for their respective communities.

So the next time someone pulls out an old image of how bad the Cuyahoga River used to be, show them this Blazing Paddles Paddlefest photo gallery or stoke video to remind them of how the river is NOW!

register for the July 22 blazing paddles paddlefest