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Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District Leading Conservation in the Urban Landscape ON THE LAND FALL 2018 Don’t Drip and Drive - #lakeeriestartshere Your car contains fluids that allow Did you ever wonder where the it to function properly, however soapy water goes when you wash your when a car isn’t maintained, these car in the driveway? fluids may leak, and are a problem for • Water drains off impervious the environment. When it rains the (hard) surfaces into the road, then fluids from your car wash into local into the storm drain and into rivers and streams that drain to Lake streams without any treatment. Erie. Fix car leaks to keep oil • Car washing facilities are required Many of us get our drinking to dispose of their used, polluted water from Lake Erie and local and and gas from entering water responsibly. migrating wildlife also rely on a our storm drains • If you must wash at home, healthy Lake Erie system for survival. and flowing into our washing your car in the lawn Fixing a small leak now may prevent allows water to be absorbed and big car repair bills in the future and it streams, rivers, and filtered before it goes to your will help keep our waterways clean. Lake Erie! local stream. Cleveland: Lights Out for Birds Have you heard about Cleveland City of Cleveland leaders and Lights Out? It is part of a national stakeholders have met to discuss the movement, grounded in science movement in more detail. Currently, and tied into energy conservation the Cleveland Museum of Natural with respect to nature. The idea is to History and Lake Erie Nature and photo of the Cleveland skyline by engage building owners to turn off Science Center, among others, are flickr/Erik Drost building lights out during spring and training volunteers to walk the fall migration, but not in areas that downtown streets in the morning to would compromise safety. find dead or damaged birds. Every spring and fall, millions of For more information or to birds migrate through Cleveland on consider assisting with the volunteer their way to or from their breeding monitoring program, visit the Advocate and implement best management grounds. Many birds migrate at website. practices for conservation of land and aquatic night, and lights on tall buildings or resources in a developed environment through aimed at the sky can disorient them education, stewardship and technical assistance and draws them into the buildings. ohiolightsout.org/cities/ An equal opportunity employer and provider. Many perish and others are severely lights-out-cleveland www.cuyahogaswcd.org hurt. On the Land | Fall 2018 1 www.cuyahogaswcd.org EUCLID CREEK WATERSHED NEWS Perils of Plastic Friends of Euclid Creek (FOEC) efforts and the latest on changes to welcomed Dr. Sherri Mason from our county recycling program. The State University of New York at night concluded with a question and Fredonia to present her recent answer session as well as ideas about research on plastic pollution in the how we can address this threat by Great Lakes and its tributaries as well making simple changes in our daily as plastic in our tap water, bottled lives, like refusing a straw or bringing water, beer and sea salt on August reusable bags to the grocery store. 14th at Beachwood Community You can listen, watch, or read Dr. Sherri Mason chats with attendees after her Center. The event also featured Dr. about several other presentations talk.(above) A packed house at the event. (below) Cathi Lehn from Cleveland Office Dr. Mason made throughout of Sustainability, Director Diane Cleveland on Aug. 14th on NPR Bickett from Cuyahoga Solid Waste (Sound of Ideas), City Club, and District, and Cuyahoga County Cleveland.com. Look for a video of our Councilwoman Sunny Simon to program coming soon on our website: talk about local plastic reduction www.euclidcreekwatershed.org. We’d like to thank our sponsors and the people who made the event possible. Beachwood Community Center for the venue, Zagara’s catering for the food and desserts, Green Paper Products in Highland Heights for the compostable utensils, and Rust Belt Riders for helping to make this a zero-waste event. Thanks to Dr. Cathi Lehn, Ken Messinger-Rapport, FOEC President, and Chris Vild, FOEC Vice President for their hard work on this event. ROCKY RIVER WATERSHED NEWS Cuyahoga County is the most conditions, especially in headwater control measure that is installed highly urbanized county in the state stream systems. to treat runoff from a previously of Ohio, with nearly 90% of the land To address these legacy impervious constructed impervious surface, area considered developed. The surfaces, Cuyahoga SWCD was or a modification to an existing vast majority of this development awarded an Ohio Department stormwater control measure to occurred before any state or local of Natural Resources Coastal improve its effectiveness. The regulations requiring stormwater Management Assistance Grant to subwatersheds targeted by this management were in place, inventory and evaluate potential project, Abram, Baldwin and Coe leading to widespread degraded stormwater retrofit project sites. A Creeks and the Lower East Branch water quality and stream habitat stormwater retrofit is a stormwater continued on Page 6 On the Land | Fall 2018 2 www.cuyahogaswcd.org CUYAHOGA SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT’S 69TH ANNUAL MEETING & EUCLID CREEK WATERSHED SUMMIT On the Land | Fall 2018 3 www.cuyahogaswcd.org MEET THE CANDIDATES CHRISTINE BALK JEFFREY DUKE CAROLINE KELEMEN Christine is a technical advisor for Jeff is the GIS (Geographic Information Growing up playing in Porter Creek the Davey Tree Expert Company Systems) Services Manager for the gave me an early appreciation for in Kent, Ohio. She specializes in Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer water resources in Cuyahoga County. Plant Pathology. Christine’s love for District where he has worked since Distraught to discover the abuse of the environment started at a young 1993. Jeff has a BS in Civil & these resources, I embarked on 20 years age, which led her to pursue an Environmental Engineering from the of environmental advocacy. In 2015, undergraduate degree in biology at St. University of Cincinnati and a MS I graduated from Purdue University Lawrence University. After graduating in Civil Engineering-Water Resources with the nation’s top rated Agricultural from St. Lawrence, Christine moved from Cleveland State University. He Engineering degree and a concentration to Alaska for a 6 month internship is a registered Professional Engineer in Environmental and Natural with The Chicago Botanical Gardens in the State of Ohio and a certified Resources Engineering. Returning and BLM. This internship involved GIS Professional. He also serves on to Cleveland, I began working at collecting native plant seeds around the Berea City School District School the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer Alaska for restoration projects. This Board. He has a passion for GIS and District’s Southerly plant. I relished project was crucial due to all of the maps – as a visual gateway – to the the opportunity to investigate the mining and drilling done there. After information and tools needed to allow largest facility protecting our Lake Alaska, Christine went to graduate stakeholders better perform business and map the area. Simultaneously, I school at The Ohio State University functions. His experience in planning, began working with the Cleveland for plant pathology. She would project delivery and technical support Metropark’s Watershed Volunteer help in the community by teaching has provided him the background to Program. Tracking erosion in the elementary students about plants and be able to be proactive in providing parks, maintaining and implementing their importance in the world. After geospatial and data management tools storm water management features and starting with Davey out of graduate to internal and external stakeholders. planting native plants was so exciting school Christine has given many Key project successes include his for me that in 2016, I was recognized talks at conferences around the US organization’s Enterprise GIS, for being the most active volunteer. and continues to spread awareness revamping customer service delivery an Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2017, on the importance of trees, soil, inquiry tracking system and supporting invigorated my passion for nature water, and our environment. We the implementation of the District’s and desire to protect it. Since May must be informed about all factors regional stormwater management 2018, as a Hydrologist Technician I affecting our environment in order to program. Jeff has collaborated with have managed a joint project between save it. Christine is running for this various agencies in developing illicit NEORSD, the Cleveland Metroparks position because she not only has the discharge tracking and elimination and Cuyahoga Soil & Water knowledge about what needs to be tools for the NPDES Phase II Conservation District to assess erosion done, but also the drive and moral Stormwater Permit Program and has tracking protocols in the Cleveland compass to do what is right. Christine worked with various community and area. I anticipate bringing my new has volunteered to provide community county agencies to enhance stormwater ideas, local knowledge and passion to programs regarding trees and is infrastructure datasets and tools to work for the Board of Directors. interested in using her skills to assist in support many business activities. the implementation of the Cuyahoga SWCD’s mission. On the Land | Fall 2018 4 www.cuyahogaswcd.org MEET THE CANDIDATES SUPERVISOR ELECTION VOTING In accordance with Chapter 940 of the Ohio Revised Code, an election of two supervisors of Cuyahoga SWCD will be held. Residents or landowners, firms and corporations that own land or occupy land in Cuyahoga County and are at least 18 years of age, may run for a supervisor. A non-resident landowner, firm or corporation must provide an affidavit of eligibility, which includes designation of a voting representative, prior to casting a ballot.