Conneaut Creek Watershed

High shale banks along Conneaut Creek are riddled with seeps that freeze into icy winter scupltures.

Conneaut Creek is located in the most upper corner of Northeast Ohio. It flows 21 miles from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border to Lake Erie. In October 2005, Conneaut Creek was protected as a Ohio Wild and Scenic River and is only the 3rd waterway in the state to receive the "Wild" designation.

Conneaut Creek offers an exceptional diversity of habitats, which support outstanding wildlife populations. The stream corridor is home to 78 fish species and 32 species of amphibians and reptiles. The heavily wooded watershed harbors more than 30 unique plants and plant communities, many of which are listed as threatened or endangered.

The Friends of Conneaut Creek (FCC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to education and environment stewardship to preserve and restore the Conneaut Creek watershed for current and future generations. The Friends of Conneaut Creek have also been working with the City of Conneaut and Ohio Department of Natural Resources to protect more than 260 acres through a WRRSP project.

Building Trust

An iron truss bridge more than a century old, spans the Creek at Tinker's Hollow, once the site of a 19th century foundry.

The Friends of Conneaut Creek was formed in 2003 in response to two on-going projects involving the Conneaut Creek watershed. A study to determine if the creek met wild/scenic status had begun and the City of Conneaut had made an application for the Water Resources Restoration Sponsorship Program. This program, sponsored by the Ohio EPA, could allow up to $1 million of loan interest money used to upgrade waste water treatment systems to be utilized in watershed restoration or protection programs. The FCC was to be a local presence to work with these projects.

Like many small towns, there seems to be a healthy distrust of "outsiders" as well as a strong feeling of parochialism. I'm an outsider. Both of these factors held us back in several ways - accepting help from experts in the field was not easy for many nor was working with "outsiders" on the board. A huge problem was learning to trust each other and value different perspectives.

A ceremony celebrating Conneaut Creek's Wild and Scenic designation was held in October of 2005 within the State Road Covered Bridge.

Yes, we had a common goal of protection but what that really meant and how it was to be achieved differed widely. We were not working together and we wasted a lot of time arguing.

Compounding this problem of trust was that part of the board really wanted to move ahead quickly. We had the "Custer Brigade" ready to forge ahead, yelling "CHARGE" - ready to do as much as they possibly could as quickly as they could - and worry about the details later.

The other group was the "Anchors" and wanted to follow a plan, investigate every opportunity thoroughly and proceed with caution. This was a nightmare for all. We would start down one road, then two weeks later, hear about something better and change directions.

Finally, over time and repeated efforts, land protection, conservation easements and ways to achieve both started to sink in. Some board members left because of differences of opinion and others were disappointed that the group seemed to be moving so slowly. The smaller the board became, the more difficult it became to move ahead as there were fewer people left to do the work. Perseverance, patience and dedication to the underlying common goal of land/water protection have been the key.

Key Lesson

"One of the most important things that I have learned over the 5 years associated with our group is that input from a variety of individuals and organizations provides a stronger effort and allows for a broader view. We have had to learn to trust others, accept differences, utilize strengths, minimize weaknesses, and look with a broader perspective in order to arrive at where we are today."
Sue Skufca, Friends of Conneaut Creek

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