Enjoying Winter's Tail
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It's hard to believe but we're two weeks away from spring! El Nino's powerful effect on Great Lakes region temperatures has translated into little snow and minimal ice on lakes and rivers
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7 things to know about Cuyahoga River dredging & disposal
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The myriad issues behind disposal of river sediment can be complex and to some, baffling. To others, it's a very simple matter: don't place anything in the lake. With that in mind, we thought we'd provide a few details on this dredging topic.
Read MoreWhy We Love Indoor Rowing & the Excruciating 2K
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We'll admit it - we're big fans of rowing. It's a great low-impact exercise and you see the world from an entirely different vantage point. But watching a race on a river or lake often distances the spectator from the drama of the athlete's effort. Which is why we LOVE indoor rowing and the excruciating 2K.
Read MoreIs Waterfront Development Paying Off For Cleveland & Cuyahoga County?
/A panel discussion will be held at Lakewood Public Library tonight giving several waterfront & neighborhood stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in on how waterfront development is paying off for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The Plain Dealer's Steven Litt will moderate the discussion with the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Cleveland Metroparks, Campus District Inc. and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization. Details on the forum are in Steve's recent Plain Dealer article: http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2016/02/free_panel_discussion_tuesday.html
Ask 50 people what "paying off" means to them and you'll probably get 50 different answers: Improved property values, enhanced quality of life, increased tax receipts, space to relax, creation of jobs, improved health, leveraging local history as a branding element for tourism, increasing waterfront access for residents, and attracting new residents all come to mind. Some organizations have even attempted to quantify the value of green-spaces: in a 2013 study the Trust for Public Land found Cleveland Metroparks generates $855M annually for the local economy. https://www.tpl.org/clevelandeconbenefits
A great summary by seeyourwords.com of a 2014 waterfront forum at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
If we were to come up with just ONE answer to the "payoff" question we think it's found in the above See Your Words graphic recording from a 2014 waterfront forum at CSU's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. Do you see it? "People want to be connected to our water". Indeed, the reason Moses Cleaveland and his team of surveyors chose Cleveland as the capital of the Western Reserve was its location on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.
We're a little envious at the successes Waterfront Toronto and Pittsburgh's Riverlife have fostered so thought we'd share some of our favorite "developments" that have helped connect Greater Cleveland's residents to THEIR water:
That's a few of our faves - clearly in-process projects like The Foundry, a new rowing & sailing training facility on the east side of Columbus Road, Canal Basin Park's 20 acre redevelopment and Cumberland Development's 20 acre mixed-use development project at North Coast Harbor will add to the vitality of Cleveland's waterfront.
There will be many projects discussed during tonight's waterfront forum and we've got one fave that we feel delivers on a number of levels - Irishtown Bend.
For now that's a brief wrap of Cleveland's waterfront scene. Check out our Twitter feed tonight for details during tonight's 7-8:30 pm waterfront meeting: https://twitter.com/sharetheriver
Otters on the Cuyahoga River?!
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Back in September local environmental, sport-fishing and naturalist circles went deservedly bonkers over a Plain Dealer article about a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District water monitoring survey team finding a walleye fingerling 10 miles from the mouth of Lake Erie, a rarity on the heavily industrialized Cuyahoga River. Cuyahoga River Restoration's Executive Director, Jane Goodman, said "Fish are our benchmark, our canary in the coal mine".
But a couple of months later we had our own canary moment when we learned a pair of river otters had set up shop in the 33,000 acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park where the Cuyahoga River winds its way between Akron and Cleveland. How could we just be learning this top of the river food chain mammal and key indicator of a freshwater ecosystem's health can be viewed just a short hike from Cleveland or Akron? So a few weeks ago we headed down to Peninsula's Riverview Rd. between Bolanz and Ira roads. Check out what we saw just off the marsh's boardwalk:
image by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Turns out river otters used to be plentiful across the nation but water pollution from industrial runoff pretty much wiped out the aquatic food chain, leading to a 75% spiral in river otter populations in the mid-to-late 1800's. By the late 1960's U.S. cities and their citizens realized they had to protect their waterways and, with the help of the 1972 Clean Water Act, ecosystems and habitats eventually rebounded to a point where 21 states felt conditions were right to implement river otter restoration projects.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife reintroduced river otters in 1986, releasing 123 otters relocated from Louisiana and Arkansas into 4 river systems. The project went so well that by 2012, river otter populations had swelled to over 8,000. Earliest reports had river otters finding their way into the Cuyahoga National Valley Park in August 2010 and subsequent park surveys confirmed their arrival in 2011.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Biologist, Meg Plona, says five young (and 2 adults) were first observed in the Beaver Marsh in 2013. Beavers created the marsh after the Portage Trail Group of the Sierra Club helped clean up an auto junk yard formerly located at that site in 1984. "We don't know exactly where the adult pair at Beaver Marsh came from" says Plona "Having made a great comeback they were de-listed as a state endangered species in 2002 and presently occur throughout eastern Ohio, including their return to CVNP."
When asked about the status of the adult pair's offspring Plona added "We don't know where the offspring are or what they are up to, as they are not marked animals - young otters are self-sufficient by the time they are 5 to 6 months old, but the family group remains intact for at least 7 or 8 months or until just prior to a new litter. Yearling otters can disperse up to 20 miles or more from where they were reared." Plona says the river otters are protected like all native mammals in the park, 'however there are no "special" protections or management strategies in place for the otters at this time."
Plona notes there are optimal times to see the otters "River otter sightings at the Beaver Marsh usually occur in the very early morning when there is minimal human disturbance. In general, these mammals are also very active at dusk and throughout the night feeding on fish."
Want to marvel at the Cuyahoga River Valley's comeback? Take a trip to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and go see the river otters for yourself! Once you do, perhaps you'll consider sponsoring a Beaver Marsh acre via the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park!
The Day A Cuyahoga River Ship Went Viral
/In this viral video era of skateboarding dogs, cats freaking out over cucumbers, and kids doing an endless variety of cute things, there's no telling who or what will be the next transient social media star. That's why we took notice a couple of weeks ago when a time-lapse video of Interlake Steamship Company's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder heading up Cleveland's Cuyahoga River went from a personal share on a Facebook page to being distributed nationally by design & technology blog Gizmodo.
Like many viral videos it started innocently enough - Jeremy Mock, Master (Captain) of the 711 foot long, 70 foot wide Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, received a GoPro for Christmas and he lashed it to the Dorothy Ann's 75 foot high bridge before a 3 hour run from the Port of Cleveland's bulk loading terminal on Lake Erie to ArcelorMittal's steelmaking facility 5 1/2 miles up the Cuyahoga River.
On January 3rd Mock posted the 24 second time-lapse video to his personal Facebook thinking his friends would enjoy seeing what he sees. Mock recounted the night after the video first went public as he was sitting in the Dorothy Ann's galley when his 3rd assistant said "Your vid is up to 3,000 views and I bet it will hit 5,000 by midnight". Mock adds "It was the joke on the ship - I couldn't understand it. Then it zoomed right past 20,000 views. That original Facebook post now has over 85,000 views".
Interlake Steamship Company subsequently shared the video on their Facebook and a day later MLive.com (Michigan's largest news and information site, 11M digital readers/month) called Mock and ran a story on the video. A few days later, Gizmodo posted it on their Facebook (1.25M followers) and Sploid blog.
MLive Website Post (11M readers/month)
Gizmodo Facebook post (1.26M Followers)
"It goes to show the power of social media and I'm pleased the video has touched a lot of people" said Mock. When asked why so many people have an affinity for Great Lakes ships like his, Mock replies "a lot of our audience are people who had family members work on the ships, and when they see this enormous vessel passing a beach or a port, it reminds them of their history."
Interlake Steamship Company's President, Mark Barker, has embraced social media as a way to inform the public on the merits of the maritime shipping industry. "It's great that people get to see what our talented employees do while learning about the positive impact our industry has on the local, regional and national economy"
"We're a silent operation so folks don't know that much about us. People see trucks and rail cars all the time but ships aren't as visible - we come into a port, unload, and leave. In the Great Lakes our industry transports 100 million tons of raw materials per year in a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly manner. That's a great story that needs to get out there".
A different look at the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder heading up the Cuyahoga River
Chrissy Kadleck, Interlake's public relations coordinator, loves connecting with freighter fans by providing insight and engaging content about behind-the-scenes ship operations and industry news.
"It's a wonderful opportunity as a company to be able to highlight what our highly skilled and well-trained employees do every day working on the Great Lakes," says Kadleck. "You have to remember our ships aren’t typical workplaces as our employees live and work on our ships 24-7. Many people don't realize people are still working on the lakes.”
Kadleck loves how Interlake's fans share pictures and videos of the company’s fleet and she likes fostering conversations with the community by answering questions posted on Interlake's Facebook page. "It's my goal to create a compelling conversation with our fans. It’s important to have that the back and forth so I aim to answer every question and message we receive in a timely fashion.” Popular posts run the gamut from, weather related items such as waterspouts, lightning, and large waves to ship repowering projects and the expansion of emission-reduction efforts to 1/3 of its fleet.
"We never know what's going to take off with our audience," says Kadleck. "But our genuine connection also allows us to inform them on strategic issues impacting the Great Lakes shipping industry such as expansion of the Soo Locks, a new heavy icebreaker for the Great Lakes, dredging and uniform federal regulation of ballast water."
As the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder sits at an Erie, PA shipyard for its winter lay-up before heading back out on the Great Lakes late February, Master Jeremy Mock reflects on the Cuyahoga River's uniqueness in the Great Lakes system. "The Buffalo River is somewhat comparable in terms of twists and turns but the Cuyahoga River is like nowhere else - it's a completely unique beast".
Blazing Up the Cuyahoga River
/By now most of you have seen that great time-lapse vid of Interlake Steamship Company's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder making its way from the Port of Cleveland bulk terminal on Lake Erie up the curvy Cuyahoga River to ArcelorMittal in 24 seconds.
It was interesting to see how the video went viral and we'll be posting something next week on the confluence of Great Lakes shipping and social media. In the meantime, here's our #FreighterFriday nod with a different time-lapse of the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder blazing up the Cuyahoga River!
And if you somehow missed the video shot by the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder's captain, here it is!
IngenuityFest Freestyle
/We're sad to see IngenuityFest, Cleveland's annual mash-up of art and technology, is now in the rear view mirror. We're also bummed Friday night and Saturday's weather kept some from experiencing the creative energy that IngenuityFest fosters.
Thankfully Sunday's brilliant weather gave many a chance to stroll through Voinovich Park, North Coast Harbor, the Rock Hall and Great Lakes Science Center and it was great to see youngsters interacting with many of the installations.
One of the great things about bringing the arts to public spaces is sometimes you don't know what you'll experience. Case in point: we happened upon three young folks who just met and threw together an impromptu freestyle rap session. It started slowly at first, but about a minute in things took off. Totally random, fun, off the cuff, and completely energizing. Take a look and see if you agree.
The Day the Cuyahoga River was Cut in Half
/On this Throwback Thursday we're revisiting an event that served as a tipping point in the relationship between two Cuyahoga River stakeholders: the maritime industry and Cleveland's H2O recreation community.
Cleveland Rowing Foundation's Head of the Cuyahoga Regatta (HOTC) is Cleveland's annual rowing event where over 2,000 scholastic, collegiate and adult rowers from 26 cities, 9 states and 2 countries travel to Cleveland to compete on a 4,800 meter course that's renowned for its curvy path. In 2013 HOTC volunteers headed upriver before dawn under leaden rainy skies to set buoys for the course but when they rounded the turn at the Innerbelt Bridge they saw an obvious problem - two Canadian flagged freighters were parked on either side of the Cuyahoga River, effectively cutting the race course in half.
Under a federal rule the Cuyahoga River (a federal navigation channel) is closed to freighter traffic from 7 am - 4 pm during the HOTC. Due to a series of miscommunications, the freighters had traveled upriver the night before, unaware of the HOTC the following day. Regatta organizers conferred with the U.S. Coast Guard and after it was determined it would take too long for the freighters to be moved, a decision was made to cut the race distance by half. Cleveland's skies eventually turned sunny and racers and spectators had a great day on the river.
As news broke about the inadvertent "blockade", someone was heard to say "this will probably get the HOTC more PR than if the freighters hadn't been there". That prognostication was on target as local media saw the promise of a story that illustrated the challenges associated with commercial and recreational stakeholders sharing the same body of water.
Plain Dealer columnist Mike McIntyre's story on the freighter kerfuffle ran on page A4 in the following Sunday's paper and many saw this event as a catalyst for substantive and fruitful conversations about the shared use of the Cuyahoga River. http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2013/09/freighters_blockade_cuyahoga_r.html
Two weeks later, the Plain Dealer's Robert L. Smith wrote an excellent piece on the "challenges" resulting from a cleaner, greener, and more popular Cuyahoga River. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/cleaner_greener_cuyahoga_river.html
In the two years since the freighter incident, cooperation and communication between recreational and maritime stakeholders has evolved to a point where both parties recognize the Cuyahoga's rising tide of popularity can lift all boats. And Saturday's regatta will give out-of-towners a great opportunity to see how Cleveland's re-energized waterfront is a catalyst for economic development. If you're a local, head down to the Cuyahoga River this Saturday to see it as you've never seen it before!
History steams over the Cuyahoga River
/We saw a little bit of history travelling over the Cuyahoga River when the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Engine no. 765 steamed through Cleveland yesterday. The distinctive sound of the the locomotive's steam whistle echoing through the river corridor stopped spectators in their track as the 404 ton locomotive made its way across the Norfolk & Southern bridge. Built in 1944, Engine no. 765 is one of a handful of steam locomotives still operating in the U.S. More info on Engine 765 is here: http://fortwaynerailroad.org/nickel-plate-road-no-765/
Your can travel back in time with a trip on Engine no. 765 at Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad's upcoming "Steam in the Valley" later this month. Info on the event is here: http://www.cvsr.com/steam-in-the-valley
Keeping the River Open for Business (Cuyahoga River Dredging)
/The Cuyahoga River is a fairly shallow body of water until it enters the wider & deeper commercial navigation channel where the change in river flow rate deposits large amounts of sediment. Twice a year the US Army Corps of Engineers dredges the Cuyahoga River in order to maintain a 26 foot deep channel for freighter traffic. Earlier this summer we captured their contractor, Ryba Marine Construction, hard at work along the ArcelorMittal docks.
The dredging crane's “clam bucket” takes 15 cubic yard bites out of the riverbed and deposits the sediment into a scow (a hollowed out barge). Once full, the scow holds 1,500 cubic yards of sediment, enough to fill 150 dump trucks. The total weight? Two million tons! More on this process here: http://www.portofcleveland.com/enewsletter-june-2013-along-the-water/
Early this spring the Port of Cleveland deployed a bed load interceptor upriver in Independence and it's hoped this will reduce the amount of sediment making its way into the navigation channel, reducing the frequency of future dredging operations.
Running Route from Convention Center
/We happened upon a tweet from a visitor from Kansas City looking for a 4 mile running route starting from the Cleveland Convention Center. We came up with this Cuyahoga River centric route that took them past the Flats East Bank project, through Settlers Landing, down Columbus Rd. to the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail, through Scranton Flats Towpath, crossing the river on the Carter Rd. Bridge and back to the Convention Center.
We wonder what route you would suggest? Leave us a comment!
Summer Rowing League Championship Slow-Mo
/As we watched Western Reserve Rowing Association's Summer Rowing League Championship regatta on the Cuyahoga River this weekend we got to thinking about how pretty and technically challenging the sport is. Things happen fast out on the water so we thought we'd slow things down a bit.
Wizbang! at Flats East Bank
/Has the time arrived for Cleveland to start thinking about its own version of a Coney Island or Navy Pier on the waterfront? Wizbang!'s pop-up circus at the Flats East Bank is fleshing out that idea on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. Wizbang's Danielle Tilk shares a few thoughts on Pinch and Squeal's evolution and their plans for the future.
Their final show of the weekend is Sunday at 1 p.m. Ticket info here: http://wzbang.brownpapertickets.com/
Cuyahoga River freighter time lapse
/When you see freighters heading up the Cuyahoga River do you marvel at their ability to navigate through close quarters? We sure do, so we thought we'd give you a look at how these behemoths make the journey from Lake Erie to their industrial clients upriver.
You'll also see a wide perspective of the Scranton Flats Towpath as well as a segment of the newly dedicated Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail.
BTW, technically Interlake Steamship Company's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder is a tug/barge combo but at one time, the Pathfinder WAS a freighter!
Adaptive Rowing on the Cuyahoga River
/We had the pleasure of riding along with Western Reserve Rowing Association as volunteers for their adaptive rowing program took Cleveland Sight Center clients out for their final practice of the season.
Team VIPER (Vision Impaired People Enjoying Rowing) has been rowing since late spring and they will be competing in WRRA's Summer Rowing League championship regatta this Saturday at Cleveland Rowing Foundation. Regatta details are here: http://www.westernreserverowing.com/news/final-srl-regatta/
The Cleveland Sight Center's mission is to empower people who are blind or who have limited vision to realize their full potential and to shape the community's vision of that potential.
