Our Great Lake...

 It is no great stretch of the imagination to understand why I want to protect and conserve the Great Lakes.  Marblehead, the most photographed location in Ohio, was my home for 20 years.  Yes, it is beautiful.

The Marblehead Lighthouse, Ohio's most photographed location.

We never tire of the view at the Marblehead Lighthouse.  I have been there a hundred times, and hope to return another hundred before I shuffle off this mortal realm. But, during my last visit something was different...

The water on the western basin of Lake Erie is at an all time low.

The water at the Lighthouse was disturbingly low.  The local marina has but 2 foot of water in their harbor.  I hear that the West Bay at Kelleys is too shallow to enter safely.  What is causing these low water levels?  A dry year? A seiche (low water levels due to high winds) would be in our favor on the day I photographed the shore-winds were from the north-west.

There are many factors potentially at play here -but we need to look closely- as Lake Erie is a one time gift from the Glaciers.  We must protect it for the life and health of Ohio (and Ohioans).  Perhaps it is time time to enact laws (like Pennsylvania) reducing the the water "harvested" from our rivers to feed the fracking frenzy.

This Columbus Dispatch article illuminates one more reason our lake level is going frighteningly low.  The water is being taken from the rivers before it ever reaches Lake Erie.  Is the water being regulated?  Not really, regulations are so vague there is no way we will know who is taking how much.  Experts have told me they have grave concerns for our rivers.

The Dispatch article states:  "In Steubenville, Chesapeake took roughly 6 million gallons over a two-week period ending March 5..."

That is one town in a two week time frame.  What of the other towns and the other fifty weeks?  Wake up Ohio,  your lake is trying to tell you something.  

Mohican John's River

Mohican's Covered Bridge is an icon of the natural areas in my parts.  And as many times I have been there in the last 6 years, it always offers something new.

Recently, the tale of "Mohican John" was unfolded to me.  The first surveyors encountered him on the river, and the rest is history.  Or at least frequently told folklore.

But the real story of  Mohican revolves around the water.  Water that trickles through the sandstone and  forms rivulets coursing down to the river.  Water that nourishes spring wild flowers and fruit along the riverine corridor.

Flowering Raspberries grow near the covered bridge,  enlarged, soft purple flowers that far surpass the beauty of most members of the Rubus family. 

                              The water flows cold and free.        

                      The fish are (almost) fearless.

And hemlock line the trails, giving shade to the hikers and creating habitat for Winter Wrens.

The waters of the Mohican are pristine and pure.  It is one of Ohio's Scenic Rivers.  And those of us who live here feel it is important to keep it that way.

Lessons from a CBC

The first place I head on a Christmas Bird Count- is for the water.  Sunrise, birds stir, and fresh water is their first business of the day.  Usually, I am waiting for them, beside this little stream. 

Fresh Water:  a guaranteed morning bird magnet.

 Only this year it wasn't so fresh.  Someone "forgot " their deer carcase under the bridge.  It looked like a scene from  "Dances With Wolves."  Unbelievable!  Who could be so thoughtless as to foul the water for everyone down stream?

The definition of a true friend: the guy who offers to help me get them out of the water and onto terra firma where crows and coyotes can get busy composting them.  And- yes.  We did it!  Somehow, in the life of an environmental activist- for once it feels good to see immediate results- something tangible for your sweat and struggles.

Next stop: Mansfield Lahm Airport and one of our resident Kestrels teed up in view of the radar tower.

 Lots of new road work being done out this way.  In fact, we have a new injection well scheduled to go in.  They will be transporting "fracking fluid" from Pennsylvania to be pumped under ground in Mansfield.  Gee, I wonder why PA doesn't want it.

Irony.  Clean Water- this is the neighbor of the injection well site.  Unfortunately, Mansfield water may not be so clean if chemicals seep into our fresh water supply.  But how will we ever know?  They are not obligated to put any tracers or marker in the sludge they pump underground. 

Maybe it is better to share our  water with those dead deer?   At least I can see them on the surface and know my water has been fouled.

Fresh water and injections wells, learn more about them in this amazing film clip The Divide on the GMAS Website.  Click on VIDEO.   It will give you a whole new perspective on the importance of our water.