Cuyahoga River Stream Stewardship Program

Goal: To evaluate community-based watershed stewardship programs designed to reduce nonpoint source pollution and improve stream health.

The Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization (CRCPO) established Stream Stewardship Programs in the Big Creek and Yellow Creek watersheds to support the Cuyahoga Remedial Action Plan. The long-term objective was to create self-sustaining, community-based stewardship programs that could be replicated throughout the watershed.

TerrAqua evaluated the effectiveness of both programs by assessing their success in increasing public awareness, encouraging citizen participation, strengthening local capacity to address water quality problems, and restoring stream and riparian habitats. We identified which program elements worked best under different conditions and evaluated environmental outcomes, including reductions in nonpoint source pollution, expansion of riparian buffers, and habitat restoration.

We also assessed each community's readiness to sustain its stewardship efforts independently and provided recommendations to help transition program leadership to local organizations and volunteers. Our recommendations focused on building organizational capacity and establishing measurable, achievable long-term stewardship goals.

Client: Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization (CRCPO) (now Cuyahoga River Restoration)