The Lake Erie shoreline and the Cuyahoga Valley are “sunken assets and hidden treasures” that can be recovered for the benefit of the entire region, Chris Warren, Cleveland’s Chief of Regional Development, told a gathering at the Greater Cleveland Partnership offices listening to presentations for salvaging the U.S. Coast Guard Station.
Whether it’s the station as part of the Lakefront Plan, a Dike 14 Nature Preserve or connecting it to the Towpath Trail and the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, all of the plans for regional attraction depend on finding resources, Warren says.
His hopes are bouyed by the soon-to-be-released Northeast Ohio Mayors and Managers Association study that will recommend pathways for the region to boost its economic prospects and deal with the costs of fragmentation. The 23-member group studied the model of regionalism in the Twin Cities, and are expected to recommend a similar strategy of regional land-use and tax sharing in 16-county Northeast Ohio.
The costs of sprawl and redundant infrastructure are too high to ignore, Warren explains, as the region consumed 50% more land in the last decade while population and wealth flattened out.
“What we’re talking about is a pool where forty percent is redistributed in favor of communities based on age and density. Not just Cleveland, but the inner-ring suburbs and county seats,” Warren said. “The allies are looking at the fiscal sense of living within our means. We’ll reinvest in the transformation of places that are near and dear, like the coast guard station.”
Whiskey Island is a 60-acre peninsula at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River (on its west bank). Besides having the natural, 23-acre Wendy Park and a rare natural shoreline, the property contains a 10-acre marina and 30 acres of adjacent submerged land. 
August 12 was a beautiful day with a steady lake breeze (better to twirl the Science Center’s wind turbine) and light waves lapping the shore of Whiskey Island where 6,000 people gathered for Burning River Fest 2006. A decidedly local, green theme was on tap with a great lineup of home-grown bands, food, environmental causes, Great Lakes beer and awards for our bioregional champions. That is, the 
Whiskey Island is a 60-acre peninsula at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River (on its west bank). The land is owned by Cuyahoga County. Besides having the natural, 20-acre Wendy Park and a rare natural shoreline, the property contains a 10-acre marina and 30 acres of adjacent submerged land. 
"It may be 100 years late, and a few miles short of downtown Chicago's famous Grant Park on Lake Michigan, but this can be...our front door, our downtown playground on the Great Lakes," says Whiskey Island enthusiast Peter Griesinger.