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With Northeast Ohio's biodiversity at stake, regional parks and naturalists find their voice

Marc Lefkowitz  |  02/15/19 @ 3:00pm  |  Posted in Climate, Land, Water, Plants & animals, Shaping the land

They have been gathering for years to advocate for nature in Northeast Ohio. They are park rangers, wetlands biologists, wildlife specialists, and conservationists getting their hands dirty on a daily basis in natural areas. Increasingly, they have become the voice for nature in a region that has lost many acres of forests and wetlands to unplanned development.

<br />Images courtesy of LEAP<br /><br /><br />

We are all Lake Erie

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/02/18 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Climate, Water, Shaping the land

A recent exchange with a colleague about the health of Lake Erie ended in something of a stalemate. We both shared concerns about water quality and environmental degradation and how the lake, our drinking water supply, will be affected by harmful algae blooms, climate change-induced weather, and the creation of artificial reefs off the coast of Cleveland from the soil...

Wild and pristine<br />At its best, as in this view at Mentor Headlands State Park, Lake Erie appears clean and clear and awesome as an ocean. Place of contemplation<br />The sun sets to the northwest over Lake Erie in the summer.Armored shoreline<br />The Lake Erie coastal zone is a dynamic place where one person's shoreline protection can undermine a neighbor's property.Off limits<br />Northeast Ohioans might have a stronger connection to Lake Erie if public access were not so limited. Toxic algae returns<br />Algal blooms were thought to be part of Lake Erie's polluted past, but a huge outbreak of the green scum covering much of the western and central basins of the lake in October 2011 was an indication that over-enrichment of nutrients from runoff is still a problem. (NASA satellite image)

Back to nature: 10 best examples of ecological restoration in NEO

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/29/16 @ 1:00pm  |  Posted in Connecting to nature, Shaping the land

Cities are healthier as a whole when nature is invited in. So we are not just protecting parklands and high-quality natural areas. We are rebuilding cities in Northeast Ohio by reweaving nature into the urban landscape—restoring nature’s capacity to provide beauty, cooling, water retention and filtration, quiet, air purification and many other ecological functions.

Mentor Marsh<br />After the phragmites were beaten back, native butterfly bush was able to to be planted in the emergent marsh. Image: Becky Donaldson, Mentor Marsh Nature Center.Shaker Lakes<br />Volunteers plant a wetland. Photo: The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Redline Greenway<br />Plans for restoration and recreation in the RTA Redline corridor. Image: LAND Studio.Wildwood Park<br />Volunteers plant a bioswale. Image: Friends of Euclid Creek.Morley Road restoration<br />A riverbed restoration in Lake County. Image: BiohabitatsScranton Flats<br />Wildflowers in bloom along the Cuyahoga River. Image: Canalway Partners.Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek<br />The new visitor center at Cleveland Metroparks West Creek Reservation is a place for everyone to learn about stormwater issues and the care of water resources. Image: GCBL.Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve<br />A nature studies class hikes the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, formerly Dike 14. Image: GCBL.Beachwood City Park<br />Land that was set aside for the Rapid was turned into a nature park. Image: City of Beachwood.Acacia Reservation<br />Restoration of the former Acacia Country Club golf course as an eco park is slated to include a part of the Euclid Creek (seen here). Image: Biohabitats.
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Time to split the stock of Shaker's great experiment

Marc Lefkowitz  |  05/20/15 @ 10:00am  |  Posted in Shaping the land

Its unusual when a traffic sign turns into a cocktail party conversation starter. But when the subject turns to biking, suburbanites across the east side of Cleveland have noticed and are talking about one in particular.

<br />The Shaker Boulevard median trail is a hugely popular trail network in Beachwood and Shaker that could be the blueprint for the entire eastside.

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