Cuyahoga River Recovers

student handout

National Park Service CuyahogaCuyahoga Valley River RecoversU.S. Department of the Interior Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga River Recovers

The Cuyahoga River has kept itself on history’s pages. It has been a transportation route; a boundary; a birthplace for oil, rubber and modern steel industries; a power source; and a dumping place. Although small in size, it became a national icon in the 1960s and 1970s that galvanized the environmental movement and helped lead to the ﬁrst Earth Day, establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and passage of the Clean Water Act. Because of the Cuyahoga, rivers throughout the nation are better monitored and protected.

©TOM JONES Crooked Path The 100-mile Cuyahoga River flows wandering south until they hit the north- both south and north south continental divide at Akron and then before emptying into turning sharply north and burrowing into Lake Erie at Cleveland, an ancient river bed filled with glacial debris. Ohio, a scant 30 miles west of its headwaters. Today the river drains 813 square miles American Indians called of land in portions of six counties. it “Ka-ih-ogh-ha”—crooked. The Cuyahoga has rural beginnings in This U-shaped path is due to the Geauga County, yet its lower river basin river’s geologic history. As melting is one of the most densely populated glaciers retreated from the last ice age, their and industrialized urban areas in North waters tried to find their way to Lake Erie, America. NPS COLLECTION History of Commerce The importance of the Cuyahoga River to As the young nation expanded, settlers people begins with the American Indians moved to the lands known as the Western who used it for thousands of years in their Reserve which surrounded the river. Living trade routes that reached throughout much here was initially a challenge because it was of North America. Indians could leave the hard to move people and goods, and malaria Cuyahoga River and portage eight miles was common. Men of vision foresaw the overland on the old Portage Path through vast Ohio country’s potential, if only Akron to connect to the Tuscarawas transportation could be improved. The watershed, the Ohio River, and the river, falling some 395 feet in 38 miles, was Mississippi River. unsuitable for transportation, but its water could be used to fill a more reliable system: By the 1600s, the Cuyahoga appeared on the Ohio & Erie Canal. Cash and commerce maps and in Jesuit records of the region. In began flowing when the canal opened 1795, the Treaty of Greenville established between Akron and Cleveland in 1827. the Cuyahoga River as the northernmost boundary between the United States and The canal’s unique location alongside the Indian territory. This distinction ended river’s 180-degree turn and rapid fall soon ten years later when the Treaty of Fort brought industrialization to Northeast Ohio. Industry pushed the boundary west. Cleveland was at the crossroads of iron ore, coal, and the confluence of the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, making it attractive to industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller who founded Standard Oil there. Akron’s unique lofty position on the divide between the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes gave it water power that brought industries such as Ferdinand Schumacher’s oats and Benjamin F. Goodrich’s rubber.

COURTESY/CLEVELAND PRESS COLLECTION

Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park — Preserve and Protect 49 student handout

Flames Spark a Movement Industrialization came at a and the oil floating on the water. The fire cost. The Cuyahoga River burned only 24 minutes—too quick for the began to transport industry’s Cleveland Plain Dealer to get a photograph. waste and the growing cities’ Fame came later when Time magazine ran sewage. As early as 1863, an article about the incident in its August 1 the river was recorded issue, widely read because of the cover story as muddy and murky in on the Chappaquiddick scandal. The article Cleveland. The Cuyahoga described the Cuyahoga as the river that is now famous as the “oozes rather than flows” and in which a river that burned, but person “does not drown but decays.” This, few realize how early and coupled with an oil spill in California that often it did so: in 1868, year, became rallying cries for America to 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, protect its waterways. 1936, 1941, 1948, and 1952. The latter

1952 blaze. caused nearly $1.5 million in damage. The event helped spur an avalanche of COURTESY/CLEVELAND PRESS COLLECTION pollution control activities resulting in the However, it was the June 22, 1969 fire that Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970, the helped galvanize the national environmental Clean Water Act of 1972, the Great Lakes movement. Ironically, this fire was modest Water Quality Agreement, and creation of in scale and initially attracted little attention. state and federal Environmental Protection A railroad trestle near the river’s mouth Agencies. The fire helped inspire the first caused debris such as floating logs and Earth Day. The historical significance of the picnic benches to pile up. A passing train Cuyahoga River was recognized in 1998 with a broken wheel bearing likely provided when it was designated an American the spark that ignited both the debris Heritage River.

The Cuyahoga’s Comeback The Cuyahoga is making a comeback. studying new methods of rapidly assessing Its first 25 miles are biologically rich the amount of sewage-related bacteria in and designated as a state scenic river. the water, so CVNP can say when the river Recreational opportunities are available in is safe for recreation. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP), state and county parks, and the Ohio Another problem is pesticides, fertilizers, & Erie Canalway. Communities are oils, soil, and debris washing off built areas removing obsolete dams to improve into nearby creeks and eventually the river. oxygen levels and fish movement. Channelization, urban sprawl, and the loss ©SARA GUREN Several stretches between Akron and of wetlands and headwater streams have Cleveland—the most polluted section— diminished the watershed’s natural ability have met some or all of the goals set by to slow and filter polluted storm water. the Clean Water Act. Industries and cities discharge far fewer toxins into the river. Damage from recent floods has caused Within CVNP, nesting bald eagles have CVNP, nearby communities, and others to returned to Cuyahoga County after over work together to find solutions. Watershed 70 years, a potent symbol of renewal. planning partnerships are forming. The Cuyahoga River’s Remedial Action Plan However, the region still needs to better (RAP), created as part of a bi-national effort manage the quality and quantity of storm to restore the Great Lakes, and other NPS COLLECTION water pulsing down the watershed into the organizations are educating residents river. Some cities have older storm drains on how to be more effective watershed that empty into their sewage system. During stewards. Within CVNP over 3,500 heavy rains, treatment plants cannot students per year participate in the handle the volume and must discharge residential program at the Cuyahoga Valley into the river before sewage is fully treated. Environmental Education Center, spending This happens just upstream from CVNP. four days learning about watersheds and The city of Akron and the Northeast Ohio sustainable practices. Regional Sewer District plan to spend more than $1.3 billion to correct this, but Once a source of shame, the Cuyahoga is that may take decades. The U.S. Geological now an inspiration, demonstrating how ©TOM JONES Survey and the National Park Service are people can heal a damaged river.

www.nps.gov/cuva www.dayinthevalley.com

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™ 50 LESSON 15 Lake Erie’s Struggle to Survive

A map of the Great Lakes America and Canada share an important natural resource called the Great Lakes, which hold one-fi fth of the world’s freshwater. These fi ve lakes are so large that Canada they can be seen from outer space. Polluting Lake Erie

ck, Inc. From the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, cities and United farms dumped untreated waste into the lake. The people States believed that the lake was so big that all of the waste and / Shuttersto chemicals would be diluted into insignifi cance. Although all of the Great Lakes suffered from pollution, Lake AridOcean Erie received the most damage because of its warm Lake Erie temperature and shallow depth. By the late 1960s, the lake was so foul that most of its fi sh had died. The high bacteria count made the water unsafe for swimming. The lake stunk from algae overgrowth. Mats of green slime fl oated on its surface. Its condition was so bad that

scientists called Lake Erie “dead.” Chin Kit Sen / Shutterstock, Inc. Saving Lake Erie In 1972, the Canadian and American governments agreed to clean up the lake. After they found that the lake’s worst enemy was the phosphate in laundry soap, people protested until the soap makers removed this chemical. New laws required waste to go through a treatment plant before entering the lake. The two nations spent eight billion dollars to help clean Lake Erie. After 10 years, the quality of Lake Erie’s water had improved so much that it could be restocked with fi sh,

and people could once again swim in the lake. Even so, Shutterstock, Inc. Shutterstock, more must be done to protect the lake and keep its water clean. Recently, scientists were alarmed to discover a “dead zone” in the lake. In this dead zone, the lake has low levels of oxygen and no living things—except for algae. Even outside the dead zone, more than 300 chemicals still pollute the lake to some degree. This causes problems for wildlife. For example, ospreys have An osprey such thin eggshells that few of their young hatch. Male whitefi sh do not develop normally. Scientists are doing research to determine how to solve these problems and make the lake as nature intended it.

PART 1

Directions: Explain how the different kinds of typeface found in this passage help a reader looking at the page for the fi rst time.

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PART 2

Directions: You are learning about typeface. Write what you know about Lake Erie just by looking at the typeface on the page.

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PART 3

Directions: Typeface can give the reader a clue about the main idea of the text. Write the main idea of this text below.

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86 #12178—Targeted Reading Intervention, Level 8 © Teacher Created Materials LESSON 15 Name ______

Typeface (cont.)

PART 4

Directions: Find three examples of typeface that grab your attention. Fill in the chart below.

Typeface Typeface Typeface Example #1 Example #2 Example #3

What the text says

A sketch of the text

Why did this typeface get your attention?

How could this typeface help you determine the main idea or locate information?

PART 5

Directions: Use the passage to answer the questions below.

1. How could the typeface be improved to help you understand the topic?

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2. Based on the typeface, what does the author want you to know about the topic?

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Directions: Fill in the best answer for each question.

●● 1 The typeface tells you that this 4 What is an ecosystem? passage is mostly about A a system that exists in lakes and A Lake Erie. oceans

B maps. B a complex group of organisms and their environment C the Great Lakes. C an ecological group D an osprey. D an explanation of how plants and animals work together

●● 2 Why is the title in a large typeface? 5 Recently, scientists were alarmed to discover a “dead zone” in the lake. A It is the least important thing. What is a dead zone? B It comes first. A an area where only dead animals are found C It tells the main idea of the passage. B an area with no algae C an area with low levels of oxygen D It is the name of a place. and no living things D an area with few living things

● 3 The typefaces help you to ● 6 Which topic would probably come next? A learn more about lakes. A Wonders of the World B learn how the Great Lakes formed. B Lakes of the Northwest

C find out how Lake Erie solved its C A Look at the Great Lakes problem. D The Future of Lake Erie D understand the important ideas.

Directions: Design a fl yer telling people how they can help save Lake Erie. Remember to use different sizes and styles of writing to highlight important information.