Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of
Natural Areas and Preserves
Scenic Rivers Program

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Scenic Rivers Program
Program Goal To work cooperatively with local
governments, businesses, landowners, non-profit
organizations and other state and federal
agencies to facilitate the protection of Ohios
remaining high quality stream systems Scenic
River Law, ORC Section 1517.16 Local
community support
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Scenic River Designation

• Resolutions of support
• Study team and designation study
• Recommendation to the director
• Intent to designate
• Public comment period hearings
• Journal entry

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Ohios Scenic Rivers

• First program in the nation, started in 1968
• 21 designated streams totaling 722 miles
• Scenic River Watersheds drain about 13,611
  square miles

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Ohios Scenic Rivers
DESIGNATIONS Wild Scenic Recreational
RIVERS Big Little Darby Creeks Chagrin
River Conneaut Creek Grand River Kokosing
River Little Beaver Creek Little Miami
River Maumee River Olentangy River Sandusky
River Stillwater River Upper Cuyahoga 9
associated tributaries are also designated.

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Little Beaver Creek State Wild and Scenic River
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Big Darby Creek State and National Scenic River
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Maumee State Scenic and Recreational River
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Primary Protection Efforts
Protect riparian buffer and stream habitat
Reduce agricultural impacts Stream Quality
Monitoring Project Reduce impacts of
urbanization Dam Removal
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Benefits of Dam Removal
Safety Hazard drowning hydraulics
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Benefits of Dam Removal Ecological

• Negatively impact biological community
• Riverine to lacustrine loss of riffle, pool
  run complex
• Lower species diversity, tolerant spp.
  predominant
• Lower water quality, D.O.
• Impede natural movement of bed load

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Benefits of Dam Removal Ecological

Excessive sedimentation - substrate embeddedness
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Macroinvertebrates
Live in interstitial spaces critical level in
food chain
Unionid Mollusks
Sediment on gill surface causes decreased food
filtering efficiency and asphyxiation
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Simple Lithophils
- need a hard, clean, rocky substrate to lay eggs
on - provide no parental care
Shorthead Redhorse Moxostoma macrolepidotum
Benthic Insectivores
- need a hard, clean, rocky substrate feed on
macroinvertebrates
Hog Sucker Hypentelium nigricans
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Dam Removal Sandusky State Scenic River

• St. Johns Dam
• Constructed 1935 by Ohio-American Water Company
• Backup water supply for the city of Tiffin
• Inspection in 1999 by ONDR, Division of Water
  determined the dam was unsafe
• 150 feet long, 7 feet high
• Impounded 8.5 miles of Sandusky River

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St. Johns Dam ResearchProject Partners

• Macroinvertebrates Heidelberg, Dr. Ken
  Krieger
• ODNR, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
  
• Bivalve Unionids OSU, Dr. Tom Watters
• Fish ODNR, Division of Wildlife, Natural Areas
  and Preserves
• Geologic mapping of stream ODNR, Division of
  Geological Survey, Lake Erie Group
• Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) -
  Ohio Department of Transportation
• Additional independent research OSU, Dr. Tim
  Granata
• Sites monitored before after removal 5 yr.
  study

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Dam Removal St. Johns Dam Research

• Monitoring sites above and below dam
• Monitoring at Ohio Environmental Protection
  Agency reference sites
• Detailed mapping was completed by the ODNR
  Division of Geological Survey 9/22/03 to 11/4/03
• Post dam removal mapping was performed in
  7/26-27/04, 10/25/04, and 10/27-28/04

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Macroinvertebrates
Utilized Hester-Dendy samplers per OEPA protocol
Monitoring 7 sites, some samplers lost in high
water first year

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St. Johns Research ResultsMacroinvertebrates
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St. Johns Research ResultsUnionid Bi-valves
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St. Johns Research ResultsCaptured Fish Species
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Mexico Bridge Reach Substrate, morphology, and
rivers edge was mapped in the Summer and Fall of
2004 for comparison to mapping before the St.
Johns Dam removal in 2003
St. Johns Dam
Mexico Bridge
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Substrate Before DamRemoval (2003)
Mexico Bridge
Sandusky River
Cobble and Boulder
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Substrate After Dam Removal (2004)
Mexico Bridge

• Sandusky River

Cobble and Boulder
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Morphology BeforeDam Removal (2003)
Sandusky River
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Morphology After Dam Removal (2004)
Sandusky River
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Potential Spawning Habitat Upstream of Mexico
Bridge, Sandusky River
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Delineating Potential Spawning Habitat Before
Dam Removal (2003)
Sandusky River
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Delineating Potential Spawning Habitat After
Dam Removal (2004)
Sandusky River
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Distribution of Potential Spawning Habitat
After Dam Removal (2004)
Sandusky River
Upstream Potential Habitat
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Change in Distribution of Potential Spawning
Habitat After Dam Removal
Sandusky River
Upstream Potential Habitat (2004)
Upstream Potential Habitat (2003)
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Mexico Bridge Region Substrate Type And Acreage
Before Dam Removal (2003)
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Mexico Bridge Region Substrate Type And Acreage
After Dam Removal (2004)
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Thank You for Your Support