Grand River Watershed

Mighty, rolling, free-flowing rivers have always attracted human activity - whether fishing, swimming, boating, or daydreaming by the water's edge - rivers are a precious resource that deserve to be safeguarded and handed down with care to future generations.

The Grand River in northeastern Ohio is such a river. From its origins in Geauga and Trumbull Counties, it glides through lush lowlands and rich forests, before making a dramatic turn to the west where it rushes by steep shale gorges on its way to Lake Erie. The Grand River follows a course influenced by the Wisconsinan glacier some 14,000 years ago, which rerouted ancient river courses, formed large glacial lakes and carved steep gorges. Today, the river's freezing and flooding still reshapes the landscape.

The majestic Grand was designated Ohio's second Wild and Scenic River in 1974. This 712-square-mile watershed covers 455,680 acres and supports an incredible array of fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and numerous rare plant species. Its intact biological ecosystem and streamside forests of statewide significance make it one of Ohio's finest examples of a natural waterway.

Streamside forests along the Grand River shelter nesting and migratory birds. © Richard Baumer

Ecological Importance: The Grand River watershed supports 64 endangered, protected and sensitive species.  Some of these species, like the northern brook lamprey and river otter, survive in the Grand because of its exceptionally high water quality.  Others, like the four-toed salamander, find the Grand's large wetlands uniquely suitable to their needs.  Still others, like many of the migratory bird species facing long trips across Lake Erie, need the habitat that the Grand's upland forests provide.

Partners: The Grand River benefits from a strong set of partners who meet regularly and work cooperatively to protect the river's high quality habitat and waters.  The Partnership includes:

• The Nature Conservancy
• Grand River Partners, Inc.
• Lake Erie College
• Ashtabula and Geauga Park Districts
• Lake Metroparks
• Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull County Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Divisions of Soil and Water Conservation, Natural Areas and Preserves, and Wildlife
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency 
• Private landowners

In addition, Senator Mike DeWine has been a great resource to the watershed, helping to implement projects that otherwise would not have happened.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake is a very rare inhabitant of the Grand River watershed. © Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Conservation Action: The Grand River, from its low-lying wetlands to its steeply-cut valley walls, is an important natural resource benefiting both humans and nature. And although the ecological significance of the Grand River has been recognized by law, many miles of the river and its tributaries are threatened by expanding urbanization.

The Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy recently completed a threats analysis on the aquatic and associated terrestrial systems of the Grand River watershed. The analysis indicates that residential development and incompatible forestry and agricultural practices are critical threats to the biological integrity of the watershed. Solutions for abating these threats are complex, but primarily involve protecting the riparian corridor and wetlands along the river's main stem and tributaries.

Strategies that The Nature Conservancy will employ include:

• determining priority areas
• land acquisition and conservation easements
• working with local officials to develop effective landuse plans that prioritize natural resource conservation
• working with landowners to encourage the use of compatible forestry and agricultural practices

As we venture into the 21st century, it is up to everyone whose lives are touched by this majestic river, to work together to insure that the Grand continues to nurture an incredible diversity of life, bringing joy and inspiration to generations for years to come.

The Grand River's forested corridor provides shade, keeping the water cool, which allows fish species to flourish. © TNC File Photo

Grand River Facts

• Location: Northeast Ohio. The Grand starts in southeastern Geauga County, and flows through Trumbull and Ashtabula Counties before circling back around into Lake County to drain into Lake Erie near Fairport Harbor.
• Size: 98 miles long and draining 712 square miles (455,680 acres).
• Plant Species: There are approximately 60 rare plant species found in the Grand River Watershed. Painted trillium and Clinton's wood fern, two of the most rare species in Ohio, are both found within the watershed. 
• Animal Species: The Grand's wetland and upland forests provide a range of habitat types that accomodate a large diversity of species.  Most notable for the number of birds that nest or migrate here, 115 species, the Grand is also significant for the number of fish species (74), mammals (45), reptiles (18), and amphibians (10) that are found here.  In addition, both the river otter and wild turkey have been reintroduced here, with gaining success.

River Ecology: The Grand River has two distinct reaches:

• The upper reach flows slowly through the broad valley of an ancient glacial lake, past some of the state's largest wetlands, floodplain forests, marshes, wet meadows, and swamps.
• The lower reach, west of Harpersfield, has cut a steep shale gorge notable for its cold, fast flow, spectacular sedge meadows, glacial slumps, and deep ravines. The lowest reaches of the river created sand dunes and palustrine sand plains, and aquatic beds and emergent marshes were once plentiful.

Lake effect precipitation in Ohio's "snow belt" increases the biological diversity of the watershed. Hemlock-white pine-northern hardwood forests in steep ravines and rare hemlock swamp forests provide habitats for plant and animal species usually found in colder, mountainous climates.

Rich in forested communities, the watershed supports beech-maple, oak-hickory, and hemlock-northern hardwood forests. Riparian and floodplain areas are often dominated by trees that tolerate frequent flooding, such as:

• eastern cottonwood
• black willow
• black walnut

These streamside forests are critical to the health of the river. They minimize streambank erosion and filter out pollutants from agricultural and urban runoff. Forest canopies lower water temperature and allow the river to support a diversity of aquatic life such as:

• river redhorse
• rainbow trout
• eastern sand darter
• northern brook lamprey

The Grand provides habitat for Ohio's smallest salamander, the rare four-toed salamander, and the elusive spotted turtle. Beavers frequent the river banks, and thanks to the Ohio Division of Wildlife's reintroduction program, river otters once again frolic along the banks of the Grand.

Diverse wetlands along the Grand River protect the quality of the stream's water from degradation. Many of these remaining wetlands support rare plant species, such as:

• painted trillium 
• bunchberry

The forests along the river shelter nesting and migratory bird populations, including yellow-bellied sapsuckers and Cerulean warblers. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, a very rare inhabitant of the watershed, has suffered dramatic population declines in recent years. The watershed may provide one of the best areas for recovery of this secretive reptile in coming years.

How to Visit
Due to the number of partners working in the Grand, there are numerous ways to access the river for picknicking, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, or whatever you're into!

• State Nature Preserves: Headlands Dunes, Mentor Marsh
• State Wildlife Area: Grand River
• State Park: Headlands Beach
• Ashtubula Park District: Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark
• Geauga Park District: Whitlam Woods, Big Creek Park, Swine Creek Reservation,
• City of Mentor: Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve & Marina