Tony Sasson on the Darby
Eddy Lines By John Lane 0205
There's a statue down at the Statehouse - a quasi-maternal figure with arms downstretched. The inscription on the base reads, "These are my jewels." The mythic jewels referred to are her sons which she brought out when a visitor asked her to show him her jewels.
If I was asked to show the COP jewels they would consist of our volunteer helpers and leaders. We held a canoe work party in early April. Doug Eldridge, Bev Miller, Constance Hall and Andy DiPalma showed up to help Jon Blake and me put in knee pads, OH#'s, tie down kits and painters. We go a lot of work done. We have Doug Eldridge leading a June trip on the Grand River in northeast Ohio. Tony Sasson has worked some magic and is leadin a Big Darby Creek trip this month and next and teaming up with a Metroparks naturalist for some interpretive education. Ann Gerckens has put together an ambitious rafting schedule and more gems are sprinkled throughout our school, trip and miscellaneous event calendar.
There are many opportunities this season to get out and boat with COP. Take advantage of the local and regional trips we have scheduled and see our jewels along the way!
See you on the water!
Destination Boating:
The Darby - What Lies Beneath?
By Anthony Sasson
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Tony Sasson on the Darby |
The Big Darby Creek watershed, the focus of frequent headlines over the past thirty-plus years, has been so for a good reason - the Darbys contain some of the best remaining diversity of aquatic life for a watershed of its size in the Midwest. No need to travel to the Amazon or Everglades to get close to endangered species - they are right under your boat in the Darbys.
What lies beneath? Over 100 fish species have been found in the Darby watershed, plus 43 species of mussels. Some are amazingly colorful, like the rainbow and bluebreast darters, small but beautiful fish that rival those in your aquarium. But twenty of these animals are rare enough to be classified as endangered or threatened - and in all, over 35 rare species may exist in a watershed that is smaller than the size of about two Ohio counties. The Darbys flow through six counties west of Columbus, starting in Logan County and emptying into the Scioto River near Circleville. Named after Chief Darby, a Wyandot friendly to settlers, it is the only large stream without a major dam in Central Ohio.
Because of these features, over 80 miles of Big and Little Darby Creeks are designated as National and State Scenic Rivers. While most of the land bordering these streams is privately held (no trespassing!), the largest natural areas along the Darbys are in Battelle-Darby and Prairie Oaks Metro Parks. In and downstream of these parks, forested streambanks and - at least for now - relatively few intrusions on the natural scenery offer some of the most tranquiil and best paddling in Central Ohio.
A few good boating access points exist along the Darbys. These include (starting from upstream), a roadside rest upstream of Plain City along SR 736 near US 42, Lucas Pike above Prairie Oaks Metro Park, High Free Pike, Alkire Road at Battelle-Darby Metro Park, and Trapper John's Canoe Livery in Darbydale. ODNR has listed Big Darby access points at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/watercraft/boat/rivers/bigdarby.html Paddling is best when flows are at least 200 cfs at the USGS Darbyville gage, which you can check at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/uv/?site_no=03230500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060
In the 1960s and `70s, the Big Darby was the focus of an intense debate over the building of dams, which would have wiped out many species. Scenic river designation came in the 1980s. Recently, part of the Little Darby Creek watershed was proposed as a National Wildlife Refge, but the Fish and Wildlife Service announced withdrawal of this effort in March. In the area near Columbus and Hilliard, development pressures have been great, and the City of Columbus recently proposed some developmental standards to help protect the Hellbranch Run, a major Darby tributary in western Franklin County that has recently seen degradation. The continuing health of these streams greatly depends on our environmental awareness and actions.
Regardless of headlines or letters to the editor, Big and Little Darby Creeks offer a chance to experience some of our natural heritage up close. Anyone available to run shuttle this weekend?
See the Activity Schedule for scheduled Darby trips.
The Grand River
By Doug Eldridge
From its headwaters in Geauga and Portage counties, the Grand flows through Trumbull, Ashtabula and Lake counties in northeast Ohio. The river enters Lake Erie just north of the town of Painesville in Lake County.
The Grand is one of just two Ohio rivers designated as "Wild and Scenic" by the state. Water quality in the Grand River is the highest of any of the rivers that drain into the Lake Erie Basin, and the Grand has the most aquatic diversity of any of Ohio's Lake Erie tributaries.
If you're a novice boater, don't be put off by the "Wild" designation. You won't see any whitewater or boiling rapids on the Grand. What you will see are wooded hillsides, steep bluffs, swamp forests and a natural river that has been largely untouched by humans. With luck, you may even spot some of the endangered river otters that make their homes on the upper stretches of the river. Bring your camera!
I hope you can join me on Columbus Outdoor Pursuits' boating trip on the Wild and Scenic Grand River in northeast Ohio. We'll drive up on Friday evening (June 7), paddle the river on Saturday and Sunday, and head home on Sunday evening. We'll be camping at Geneva State Park. To sign up, or get more information, send me an email or call me at 614/267-1303 (home) or 614/440-1116 (cell) or via email at jdeld (AT) ix.netcom.com
For more information on the Wild and Scenic Grand River go to: www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/sr/grand.html