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Published October 30, 2008 11:22 pm - Even the sun and autumn-kissed trees showed up Thursday afternoon for the Ashtabula River’s coming-out party. Ashtabula River designated ‘scenic’ By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP — Even the sun and autumn-kissed trees showed up Thursday afternoon for the Ashtabula River’s coming-out party.
About 100 humans also attended the state scenic-river designation ceremony, held in the shadow of the nation’s longest covered bridge at Indian Trail Park. With the flourish of his pen, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Sean Logan designated 271⁄2 miles of the main stem, upstream from West 24th Street, as a “State Scenic River.” The designation also covers the 12-mile-long east branch and 9-mile west branch. Logan, in comments to the crowd gathered for the ceremony, said he was “like a kid at Christmastime” when the designation study finally reached his desk earlier this year. “I’m here to help you proclaim the Ashtabula River is protected forever,” Logan said in his remarks. “What wonderful words and a wonderful legacy we can leave for future generations.” The “scenic” designation gives Ashtabula County the largest number of “scenic” or “scenic⁄ wild” rivers in the state. The Grand River has 23 “wild” miles and 33 “scenic”; Conneaut Creek has 16.4 “wild” miles and 21 “scenic.” With the Ashtabula River designation, the county now has 139.69 designated river miles. The Ashtabula River is the state’s 14th waterway to be designated since the Ohio Legislature created the program in 1968. The state was a pioneer in creating the program, the mission of which is to preserve the natural qualities of Ohio’s finer streams for present and future generations. A “wild river” designation applies when there is minimal human impact in the riparian corridor, or land along the river. The Ashtabula River did not qualify for “wild” status because, among other things, it has too many highway crossings. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources director is responsible for designating rivers as components of the Ohio Scenic Rivers System. ODNR Director Sean Logan said that while aesthetics are part of the designation, there are also rigorous quantitative benchmarks that must be documented to meet the criteria. The effort to designate the river began in 2006 with the formation of the Ashtabula Watershed Steering Committee. Chaired by Mike Wayman, an Ashtabula Township Park Commission member, the steering committee brought together individuals and communities to support the designation process, which requires a study of the stream by ODNR. Matthew Smith, assistant scenic river manager, was appointed to the task. Smith walked and canoed every foot of the river and documented its water quality, diversity of life, human impact, history and culture in preparation for his report. “Basically, when we first started looking at it, there was no doubt in our minds that, from a quality standpoint, it met the criteria,” Smith said. The stream supports 88 fish species, the most popular of which is probably the steelhead trout. Fishers report a significant increase in the number of steelhead in the river since the remedial dredging project on the industrialized section of the river was completed earlier this year. 
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