Five community projects located throughout the 18-county Muskingum River Watershed region in Eastern Ohio will receive a total of more than $205,000 in funding this year from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) “Partners in Watershed Management” grant program.

The MWCD Board of Directors recently approved the grants that assist local groups, organizations and communities in implementing water quality projects, flood reduction and mitigation programs and watershed education efforts throughout the region.

Since the inception of the Partners in Watershed Management program, a total of 42 projects have received more than $3 million worth of grant funding. The goal of the program is to provide a portion of the overall funding needed for approved projects, permitting eligible recipients to access other grants and partnering opportunities.

“We have been able to assist very worthy projects throughout the 18-county watershed region through the Partners in Watershed Management grants,” said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. “These projects also have a positive benefit to the entire watershed in areas such as water quality and flood reduction.”

Projects scheduled to receive funding from the MWCD this year include:

• Camp Presmont located along Piedmont Lake in Belmont County, $65,968 as part of a $131,936 replacement wastewater treatment system.
• Village of Leesville in Carroll County, $117,340 as part of a $2.54 million mandated wastewater system installation.
• Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum located along Leesville Lake in Carroll County, $6,170 as part of a $15,170 “Cleaner Water Brighter Future” educational program.
• Ohio State University Extension Service in Muskingum County, $1,000 as part of a $4,600 soils study program.
• Ohio Valley Conservation Coalition in Summit County, $15,000 as part of a $54,000 Tuscarawas River and floodplain protection project.

Project grants are funded through proceeds from the assessment of property owners collected by the MWCD to provide for the safe and effective operation of the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed for flood reduction and water conservation.

Applications for Partners in Watershed Management projects are accepted by the MWCD with a deadline of Dec. 1, 2014, for projects seeking assistance in 2015. For details and application materials, visit the MWCD’s website at www.mwcd.org.

The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Watershed, the largest wholly contained watershed in Ohio. Since their construction, the 16 reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving an estimated $10.7 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government, as well as providing popular recreational opportunities that bolster the region’s economy. A significant portion of the reservoirs are managed by the MWCD and the dams are managed for flood-risk management by the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org and follow the MWCD on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Buckeye Trail Association (BTA), Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), Student Conservation Association (SCA), and American Conservation Experience (ACE) have joined forces to create a new off-road trail segment of the Buckeye Trail. The new segment is a part of the Trails Corridor Project that is a collaboration between the BTA and MWCD that is working to expand the off-road segments of the Buckeye Trail in MWCD’s footprint.

The Buckeye Trail is a 1,400+ mile hiking trail linking the four corners of Ohio marked by 2″ x 6″ blue blazes. The trail follows wooded footpaths, abandoned railroad corridors, historic canal towpaths, rivers, lake shores, and country roads, within both rural and urban settings. Sections are located within the footprint of the MWCD, including the Beall Farm, regional headquarters for the trail located at Tappan Lake Park.

The SCA crew from Cleveland, Ohio and ACE crew from Fletcher, North Carolina worked to create a new natural surface trail between the Beall Farmstead and Area 5 Campground within Tappan Lake Park located near Deersville, Ohio.

Student Conservation Association and MWCD Staff working on the new trail segment	American Conservation Experience and MWCD staff working on the new trail segment

The first trail segment recently developed, covers 1.2 miles and the second segment, expected to be complete in the coming year, will result in a total length of 2 miles. Once complete, the new trail segment will be incorporated into the Buckeye Trail, providing a scenic path for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to explore the natural beauty of the area. By moving the trail off Moravian Trail Road and through Tappan Lake Park, it will provide a safer experience for trail users. Another part of this new reroute of the Buckeye Trail through the park will incorporate the nearby Turkey Ridge Trail which was originally built by BTA Volunteers to connect the BTA Beall Farmstead to the major amenities at Tappan Lake Park.

“We are thrilled to be part of this collective effort to expand the Buckeye Trail. It showcases the power of partnerships in advancing environmental conservation while enriching the outdoor experience for all,” said Craig Butler, MWCD Executive Director.

The BTA is comprised of a large, strong body of volunteers who maintain and promote the trail. For more information about the Buckeye Trail visit www.buckeyetrail.org. For more information about MWCD and trail maps, visit www.mwcd.org/trails.

At the August 18, 2023 meeting of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) Board of Directors, the Board approved a recommendation from MWCD’s Board of Appraisers to conduct a reappraisal of MWCD’s cottage site lots.

MWCD hosted a webinar on October 10, 2023 to provide information and an opportunity to ask questions about the upcoming reappraisal. Click on the icon below to watch a recording of the webinar on YouTube.

Cottage site lessees own their houses and improvements but not their lots. Instead, they hold 30 or 40-year leases on them and make annual rental payments to MWCD. Any adjustments to these rental amounts are governed by the lease agreement, and rates are annually reviewed by staff and the MWCD Board of Appraisers and Board of Directors.

Rent payments are used by MWCD to pay for road maintenance, snow removal, lot upkeep and various other needs and expenses on cottage lots. Rent payments also help cover the property tax payments that MWCD itself must pay to counties on the value of cottage lots. Though a public entity, MWCD must pay property tax on any land from which it earns commercial revenue, such as cottage lots, marinas, stores, restaurants, etc.

The current rate classification system was established in the year 2000 based upon an appraisal conducted in 1998. Since that time, one reappraisal was conducted in 2013. Because of the large gap in time between appraisals, the value of cottage lots on the books may not accurately reflect current values today.

For the new appraisal system, the Board is considering going to a three-year reappraisal schedule like that used by Ohio’s county auditors. Additionally, it is looking at adopting the “ground rent” methodology widely accepted in the real estate appraisal industry for determining land rents. With support from MWCD’s independent appraisal consultant, the goal will be to have all cottage lots reappraised by January 1, 2024. When the January 2024 Consumer Price Index (CPI) is published in February 2024, the Board will use it, as well as an evaluation of MWCD’s cottage lot expenses, to finalize the new system and make the appropriate adjustments to rates in March 2024. The adjustments to the annual rent amounts invoiced to cottage lessees in April 2024 will be a product of this new process.

The purpose of these changes is to continue to adhere to the cottage site lease provisions and also ensure that cottage rent payments are fair to lessees, MWCD, and the public. Rental rates should accurately reflect both lots’ value as well as MWCD’s costs to maintain them. Adopting a methodology that aligns with contemporary best practices for real estate appraisals and rent payment determination will help do that.

If you have any questions about this process, do not hesitate to contact MWCD at [email protected] or 330-343-6647.

The MWCD has announced the search for a Chief of Recreation to manage parks, marinas, and campgrounds, serving over 5 million visitors annually.

The search, conducted by Beecher Hill, an executive search firm from Columbus, Ohio, is seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to help achieve strategic goal of “Reimagine Recreation”.

The position profile can be viewed HERE.

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) recently received recognition for achievement in marketing and advertising at the Ohio Travel Association’s RUBY Awards presentation, held Oct. 5 at Shisler Conference Center in Wooster, Ohio. MWCD received RUBY awards for Targeted Marketing Campaign, Radio Advertisement, and Print Advertisement. A Citation of Excellence was received for the Annual Report. Accepting the awards were Adria Bergeron, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Logan Phillips, Digital Media Coordinator.

The Ohio Travel Association’s RUBY Awards recognize excellence in Ohio’s hospitality and tourism industry for efforts in advertising, marketing, and public relations. In this year’s competition, the Recognizing Uncommon Brilliance Yearly (RUBY) Awards had 236 entries in 17 categories. The awards, sponsored by Ohio Magazine, were presented during the Ohio Conference on Travel, the state’s tourism conference for all sectors of the tourism industry.

Nine marketing professionals representing academia, consulting firms and ad agencies judged each entry on the basis of concept, results and creativity.

“Competition for these awards seems to grow every year, and this year was no exception. We had a record number of entries,” said Melinda Huntley, Ohio Travel Association executive director. “Winners truly represent the best of the best in marketing strategy and design. It’s inspiring.”

“We are thrilled to receive these awards which reflect our team’s dedication to creativity, innovation, and excellence in marketing campaigns,” said Bergeron. “I was honored to represent the MWCD at the Ohio Conference on Tourism, and proud to have the opportunity to serve as this year’s conference chair. The organizations that are represented at the Ohio Conference on Tourism are some of the best in the state. To be recognized amongst your peers, who present tough competition, is exciting.”

The Ohio Travel Association is a nonprofit trade association representing travel and tourism-related businesses throughout the state. For more information on OTA, visit www.ohiotravel.org

Millions of visitors enjoy the lakes of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) on an annual basis to enjoy outdoor recreation ranging from fishing and boating, to camping and hiking among a variety of other opportunities. While relaxing on the water or reeling in a big catch are obvious benefits of the lakes, the most important function is to mitigate flooding for the entire Muskingum Watershed region.

To prepare for winter, on an annual basis the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducts annual temporary drawdown of the normal pool elevation of the lake levels. The drawdown allows for additional flood storage capacity needs during the winter thaw and spring rains and allows MWCD personnel to access near-shore areas for shoreline stabilization projects and other reservoir maintenance activities. Drawdown will begin in early November and the return to normal pool elevation will initiate in February. Normal pool elevations will be obtained in time for the next summer recreation season.

The temporary 2023 – 2024 drawdown dates and lake levels are as follows:

Shoreline projects planned for the Winter of 2023 – 2024 include:

• Charles Mill Lake – South Peninsula Cottage Area: Coir log, rock riprap, and native plantings will be installed to stabilize approximately 1,900 feet of eroding shoreline on the west shore of the South Peninsula cottage area.
• Atwood Lake – Arcadia Drive: Rock riprap, coir log, and native grass plantings will be used to stabilize a 500-foot section of eroding shoreline in the Atwood Pines cottage area.

On September 19^th, ODNR released 1100 juvenile Muskellunge into Leesville Lake at the North Fork Marina boat launch and on September 25^th, they also released 2370 fish into Piedmont Lake. This is a routine stocking event that has been happening almost every year since 1965. Muskellunge, Esox masquinongy, or “Muskie” are a large, predatory fish species native to Ohio. Currently there are only a few naturally reproducing populations, one of them being the Little Muskingum River, although historically their distribution was widespread across the rivers in Ohio. These predators routinely reach 50 inches in length, 50 pounds, and live for 30 years in their natural environments. They are a sport fisherman favorite, elusive and fun to fight with on the reel, with large heads and many sharp teeth. Because of their high sportfish value, they are stocked in selected reservoirs in Ohio.

The stocking of Muskie and other sport fish is done to boost populations in reservoirs where sufficient spawning habitat does not exist. Muskellunge are usually not able to reproduce in inland man-made lakes. In natural river systems, Muskie will lay their eggs on flooded vegetation in early spring. Man-made reservoirs typically have the water levels drawn down in winter and early spring to hold back the water from these floods, so the Muskie don’t have the needed vegetation in place to protect and hold their eggs.

A second reason for the lack of reproductive success of Muskie in lakes is the dense populations of predators like Largemouth Bass. When Muskie hatch, they tend to hover in place and wait for prey to pass by, and don’t hide down in vegetation where they might be safer. Bass are aggressive predators and will gobble up most of the Muskie that manage to hatch. Because of this threat, fish hatcheries raise Muskies until they are too big to be eaten by the Largemouth, then release them back into the reservoirs.

In April of each year, an ODNR field crew captures live male and female Muskellunge from Leesville Lake. Eggs are extracted from the gravid (meaning full of eggs) females, and then fertilized using sperm collected from the males.  These fertilized eggs are then taken to the London Ohio Fish Hatchery and the Kincaid State Fish Hatchery where they are raised for 6 months. In September, the juveniles are then transported back to Leesville Lake in a large truck with a holding tank and aerators to give a continuous supply of oxygen. The Muskie are then released into the water using a pipe attached from the bottom of the tank that flows into the lake. The Muskie will then continue their life cycle, growing to maturity within 3 to 4 years.

In addition to their sportfish value, Muskellunge provide an important ecological and conservation value. Although they can’t spawn naturally within the reservoirs, they do add to the biological diversity and as a large predatory fish they help balance fish populations in the food web. This is one of many examples of how recreation and conservation weave together. Sport fish such as Muskellunge, Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, and Channel Catfish are all native fish species that add wildlife diversity to the reservoirs, promoting both ecological health, and a draw for fishermen. The revenue generated from these fisheries goes to back organizations like MWCD, as well as state and federal agencies so that fish stocking and other conservation projects can continue for years to come.