ENJOY THE VIEW: ASSESSING RIVER-RELATED SCENIC VIEWS TO HELP DETERMINE WILD AND SCENIC RIVER ELIGIBILITY AT CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, OHIO

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) in northeastern Ohio encompasses approximately 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River, a river considered to be one of the sparks that ignited the environmental movement when the burning of the river hit the press in 1969. Since then communities have come together to help restore the Cuyahoga River and the results are pushing the river’s tragically polluted condition to one of the past. One of the park’s goals is to celebrate the restoration of the river through designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR) Act. To be eligible for WSR designation, at least one river-related outstandingly remarkable value (ORV) must be identified within the river corridor. A National Park Service (NPS) visual resource inventory was chosen as a method to help quantify a possible ORV in scenery, and a Geoscientist-in-the-Parks intern was sought to facilitate project completion.

A visual resource inventory (VRI) is an inventorying method previously developed by the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service, and later modified by the NPS for agency specific inventorying of visual resources. The NPS VRI provides quantifiable ratings for scenic views based on various aesthetic categories and on the importance of the view to park visitors. The visual resource inventory at CUVA was conducted with training from the NPS Air Resources Division and the help of many park staff and volunteers. Forty-two sites within the park were inventoried in leaf-off (winter) conditions and then re-inventoried in leaf-on (summer) to capture seasonal changes. Sites were chosen if the view included the river or were within the river corridor. This inventory is the first to be completed both in leaf-off and leaf-on conditions and the first to be used in support of Wild and Scenic River eligibility. Results indicate a number of high or very highly rated scenic views within the park that may support an ORV in scenery at CUVA. Results also show a significant decrease in scores in the leaf-on season. Ratings provide guidance for the improvement of existing river views or the establishment of new views, and for vegetation management within the park. The ratings help to set priorities for restoration projects at CUVA and provide quantifiable data to support an ORV in scenery at CUVA.