Annual Meeting of November 12, 2024

 Approximately ninety people attended the annual meeting of Friends of the Crooked River on November 12, 2024. The meeting was held at the Himelright Lodge at Summit Metro Parks’s Cascade Valley Metro Park, 1134 Cuyahoga Street, Akron.  

Introduction: Board member John Kaminski offered a welcome, greeting guests and introducing current board members and our two new candidates. He mentioned several highlights of FoCR’s activities this past year, including brief words about the Brecksville dam removal. (Underlining John’s remarks, Harold Marsh read aloud a letter from Ohio EPA’s Bill Zawiski that confirmed the conclusion of the dam removal project.) John also touched on the amicus brief prepared for the City of Akron, the revision of the FoCR website (and thanked Melanie Wilson for her efforts in that regard), and mentioned the several outings offered this past year. Finally, John noted the special recognition conferred on Elaine Marsh by the City of Akron: a tunnel-boring machine named in Elaine’s honor.  

Election: The election of board members was held, by email vote and in-person by members present at the annual meeting. John Kaminski and Gary Whidden were re-elected, and two new candidates, Ann Gilmore and Kendra Heiser, were elected as well. Consequently, the board of trustees of Friends of the Crooked River is currently comprised of Ann Gilmore, Kendra Heiser, John Kaminski, Elaine Marsh, Harold Marsh, Ken Schneider, and Gary Whidden. 

Awards: Elaine and Dianne Sumego then presented Dam Buster awards to the many partners who cooperated with Friends of the Crooked River to remove the Canal Diversion Dam. Awards were given to members of the Board of Friends of the Crooked River as well as to staff of  

• Ohio EPA  

• City of Akron 

• Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization (NEFCO) 

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park 

and, in absentia:  

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources 

• Cleveland Metroparks 

• Ohio Department of Transportation 

• State Historic Preservation Office 

• GLNPO  

• Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District 

• Scot Heberling  

and finally  

• Melanie Wilson, and   

• Dianne Sumego.   

Presentations: Representatives of organizational partners of FoCR offered presentations. First, Heather Ullinger of the City of Akron discussed the status the Gorge Dam removal process. Questions from the audience followed, and Elaine offered kudos to the City of Akron for its efforts on behalf of water quality. Then, Mike Johnson, Chief of Conservation at Summit Metroparks, discussed the reintroduction of lake sturgeon to the Cuyahoga River. Both presentations may be viewed here (the passcode is “FOCRMeeting11!!”). A third presenter, Jessica Glowczewski, Watershed Superintendent for the City of Akron, was unable to attend the meeting.   

Respectfully submitted by Ken Schneider, Secretary 

December 16, 2024 

Boring Elaine?!

Let me tell you, my friend, Elaine Marsh is the furthest thing from being boring, but she does have a tunnel boring machine named in her honor! Cool, right?!

🌊💙 Friends of the Crooked River would like to take a moment to celebrate and express gratitude for Elaine Marsh, a selfless warrior and unwavering voice for the Cuyahoga River. For decades, Elaine has poured her heart, soul, and endless passion into protecting and restoring our river. Her compassion and dedication remind us all how one person’s commitment can make a pivotal difference.

Elaine’s incredible impact is so profound that the City of Akron named the new tunnel boring machine for the Northside Interceptor Tunnel Project after her! This project is a critical step in reducing combined sewer overflows (CSO) and enhancing water quality throughout the Cuyahoga River.  The following Akron Beacon Journal article reveals her remarkable story: https://akronbeaconjournal-oh.newsmemory.com/?publink=04aa917f1_134f81f

Elaine, you’ve been the river’s advocate, unsung hero, and protector—standing up for its health, beauty, and future when it needed it most. Your work has inspired countless others to care deeply for our environment, and the impact of your efforts will continue to ripple outward, just like the waters you've worked tirelessly to protect!

We are eternally grateful for you, Elaine. Thank you for being the voice of the Cuyahoga River. 🌿💧

#ThankYouElaine #CuyahogaRiver #EnvironmentalHero #CleanWater

Written by: Kendra Heiser, Board member, Friends of the Crooked River

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of 2023

 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of April 18, 2023  

 Elaine Marsh welcomed guests to the annual meeting, then segued into several points of business:  

 Election, Ballot: Elaine Marsh asked if there were any outstanding votes to be cast for the Board of Trustees. Hearing none, she announced the winners of the election: Elaine Marsh, Harold Marsh, and Ken Schneider.   

 Treasurer's Report: Harold Marsh presented the Treasurer’s Report for March 2023. 

 Other Business: 

• Dianne Sumego reported briefly on the status of the Canal Diversion Dam project, noting that, although issues with the screw pump had caused delays, the project is nearing completion. 

• Ken Schneider spoke briefly about outings, sharing this season’s upcoming schedule and inviting members and friends to join. 

• Elaine thanked Jacki Zevenbergen for her long service to Friends of the Crooked River, and thanked Keith Riley, as well. She introduced the Cuyahoga Falls Fest and its organizer, Don Howdyshell, and said that FoCR will have a booth at the Fest, to take place 4/29 in Cuyahoga Falls. She also mentioned the Blue Heron Homecoming, to be held 6/24 at the Akron Water Reclamation Facility. Finally, Elaine noted that, while the Canal Diversion Dam project has occupied FoCR for some time, and perhaps distracted us from moving forward on other issues or building leadership in the organization, FoCR is a 30-year-old organization that has reorganized itself four times in the past. She now looks forward to the fifth, and asked for input from all those who have ideas on what they think the Cuyahoga River needs now.  

• John Kaminski made a motion that the business meeting be adjourned, and Gary Whidden seconded; the meeting adjourned at 7:16 pm. 

 River Rat Revelry--Guest Presentations 

• Bill Zawiski of Ohio EPA presented on the Gorge Dam removal project. He noted that it’s a major undertaking requiring substantial financing, multiple partner organizations, and multiple phases: sediment removal, sediment disposal, dam removal, and aquatic habitat restoration. All funding has been secured, and he anticipates removal of sediment sometime between 2023 and 2025, with removal of the dam to follow in 2026. 

• Ryan Trimbath of Cuyahoga Valley National Park presented on freshwater mussel restoration in the Cuyahoga River within CVNP. He noted the success of other recovery programs—river otters, fish, the river itself—so why not mussels? Feasibility studies were conducted, and as a result freshwater mussel bed restoration in the Cuyahoga will start in 2023, followed by building local capacity to breed mussels, including $150,000 for a mobile aquatic mussel rearing trailer. 

• Paul Pira of Geauga Park District—who also provided our musical entertainment for the evening--spoke about efforts to protect Ohio’s native brook trout in the Lake Erie drainage. After noting that most previous trout restoration work had occurred in the Chagrin River watershed, Pira described a project to be undertaken at a recently-acquired property in the watershed of the West Branch of the Cuyahoga; it will build 1,800 linear feet of coldwater trout stream, fed by a gushing spring of cold water. 

• Mike Johnson of Summit MetroParks spoke about a project to raise native wetland fish at Summit Lake for reintroduction into local glacial lakes—the Portage Lakes, for instance. Summit MP worked with Brian Zimmerman and others to raise least darter, lake chubsucker, blacknose shiner, blackchin shiner, and western banded killifish, with great success.   

Respectfully submitted by Ken Schneider, Secretary 

 May 16, 2023  

Brecksville Dam Demolition News Release

May 25, 2020
The Brecksville Dam has had many names: the Station Rd. dam, the Rt. 82 dam and the Canal Diversion dam. The original dam and its rebuild have had a checkered history. On May 21, the dam’s history met it future as deconstruction began with a rat-tat-tat.

Friends of the Crooked River (FOCR) have advocated for the dam’s removal since our inception 30 years ago. Several studies by the Ohio EPA confirmed that the dam was the major impediment to aquatic life in the stretch of river from the Little Cuyahoga to the Navigation channel, a 36 mile stretch of the river. In addition, the dam’s hydraulic wave was the single most hazardous obstruction to paddlers in that same river section.

For the last decade or so, efforts to remove the dam have intensified. Not long after the turn of the century, the dam, its impacts, its historic value, and the benefits of its removal have been examined, studied and permitted every possible way.

Upstream, derelict dams have been removed or modified to restore a free-flowing Cuyahoga. Down they came: Kent dam in 2005, Munroe Falls dam in 2006, two dams in Cuyahoga Falls in 2013. The results have been remarkable. Healthy aquatic life was restored, the goal of the projects. In addition, communities where dams were removed have celebrated other benefits: the aesthetic beauty of a natural river, the increased public access and recreational opportunities and economic benefits. As communities embrace their renovated waterfronts, land and water trails have raced to meet each other culminating in the 2019 designation of the Cuyahoga River Water Trail as one 13 official water trails of the state. And, new traditions are emerging, like the Cuyahoga Falls Kayak Race, the Akron Waterways Renewed, Cuyahoga River Homecoming. Overall, the dam removal projects have been heralded by Northeast Ohio as a great boon to the quality of our life.

FOCR first became officially involved in this iconic project in 2006 when we received $120,000 in Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funds from the Ohio EPA to manage needed studies for the process. Since then we have worked with the projects various partners, most notably Ohio EPA and CVNP. In 2009, we were named recipient of $900,000 SEP funds from the City of Akron in the consent decree regarding the city’s combined sewer overflow abatement implementation. We received the funds in 2017.

In 2018, after the required procurement process, Kokosing Industrial, Inc. was contracted by Friends of the Crooked River to deconstruct the dam and to install a River Water Pump Station to transfer water from the river to the historic canal. FOCR hired Dianne Sumego of dms water solutions co. as our Project Manager and Phil Rhodes of Rhode2Compliance to inspect deconstruction of the dam.

In 2019, through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Region 5 of the USEPA granted Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization (NEFCO) $800,000 to round out the financial picture.

In addition to the key operational partners of FOCR, Ohio EPA, CVNP, now NEFCO and USEPA, have joined mix. Many other landowners and permitting agencies are involved. Landowners include, CVNP, Cleveland Metroparks, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). Permitting agencies include the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office, ODNR, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Ohio EPA. Funding programs are, SEP funds from the City of Akron and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and a grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Given this list, it is not overly surprising that progress moved at the pace it did.

So finally, the complicated and long-time-coming Canal Diversion Dam removal has reached its lengthy but inevitable conclusion. On May 21, with the positioning of the excavator jackhammer attachment on the caterpillar and a rat-tat-tat of its hydraulic drive, the business of deconstruction of the dam began. The crack heard ‘round the watershed.

With gratitude toward all partners for their diligence and patience, FOCR Board of Directors bows to the day in great celebration.

What’s next. The schedule for the following list will be dependent on the safety of water levels.

1. The notch will be expanded to lower the water level.

2. The original Pinery Dam currently drowned behind the 1950’s dam will be exposed for historic documentation.

3. The remainder of the dam will be deconstructed.

4. The river will find its new path.

5. Final planning for the installation of the pump station will be completed.

6. The pump will be ordered and upon completion will be installed (probably in 2021.)