Life Depends on Water grand watershed

Grand River

The Grand River Watershed drains 712 acres along its 98-mile course to Lake Erie. Because of glaciation during the last ice age, the Grand River follows an odd course. The headwaters are in Geauga and Portage Counties and it flows north through Trumbull County and into Ashtabula County. In the northern part of the county, the river turns west into Lake County on its way to the outlet into Lake Erie in Fairport Harbor and Grand River.

On January 17, 1974, the Grand River became Ohio's second wild and scenic river. The river is

designated scenic along 33 miles through Ashtabula County from the US 322 Bridge in Orwell to the Harpersfield covered bridge. Twenty-three miles of scenic designation is bestowed upon the Grand River from the Harpersfield covered bridge downstream to the Norfolk and Western Railroad trestle just south of Painesville. The Grand Wild and Scenic River represents one of the finest examples of a natural stream to be found anywhere in Ohio. Due to its rugged topography, the Grand River has not until recently felt the influences of urbanization.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the Grand River is the most biologically diverse river of its size in the Lake Erie-Lake St. Clair basin. Notable wildlife within the watershed includes river otter, snowshoe hares, wild turkey and bald eagles.

Audubon Ohio has identified the Grand River as an Important Birding Area (IBA).

IBAs target areas for active bird population monitoring and habitat restoration efforts. In the river itself, Grand River has the most aquatic diversity of any Ohio Lake Erie tributary.

Upper Grand River

The upper portion of the Grand River in Ashtabula County is designated scenic. In the upper reaches, the river is bordered in many areas by extensive swamp forests of elm, ash, maple, pine, pin oak and swamp white oak. In Trumbull County, the Ohio Division of Wildlife owns and manages the 7,200-acre Grand River State Wildlife Area. These protected lands with impounded marshes, headwater streams and wooded swampland was the site of the first river otter reintroduction by the Ohio Division of Wildlife in 1986. The slow flow of this section of the river along with the adjoining wetlands provides excellent habitat for a number of wildlife species.

Lower Grand River

The lower section of the Grand River in Lake County is designated wild. Steep valley walls of Chagrin Shale keep the river wild and mainly undeveloped along this stretch. Hemlock ravines, a natural hemlock swamp and rich floodplain forests rim the river through the gorge.

Hundreds of years ago, the Grand River emptied to Lake Erie five miles west of its current day mouth. The old river channel developed into complex coastal wetlands and is protected as Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve. Salt contamination and the invasion of Giant reed grass, Phragmites australis have had negative impacts on the marsh ecosystem.

Other notable habitat near the mouth of the river includes the coastal dune headlands at Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve.

		Excerpted from ODNR, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and Grand River Partners www.grandriverpartners.org



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