Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
CLEVELAND - On the morning of June 22, 1969, oil and debris that had collected on the surface of the Cuyahoga River as wound its way through Cleveland caught fire. The story attracted national attention, and was featured in a report on the nation’s environmental problems in the August 1 Time magazine. The fire illustrated just how bad the nation’s environmental problems had become by 1969.
BUFFALO - One year earlier, in January 1968, the Buffalo River had also caught fire, causing the South Park Avenue lift bridge over the river to be closed for several days as officials investigated the damage. But unlike Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, which made the national news magazines and had a popular song written about it when it burst into flame, the burning Buffalo River rated only three column inches in a back page of the local newspaper. Oil spills and even fires were hardly news on this river; as the Regional Engineer of the State Health Department noted, "it could have been just the normal oil load that happened to collect in that spot."
This June marks 50 years since the Cuyahoga River caught fire.
Now, it’s being honored as America’s “river of the year.”
The designation comes from American Rivers, which says the Cuyahoga River’s rebirth is an inspiration for other cities.
Both cities waterways have gone through a tremendous remediation and reclamation process, and now each river provides residential and recreational opportunities, often alongside continued industrial uses.
So, for these two rivers:
Which is most improved from the worst of its industrial past?
Which one of the two do you consider better today, and why?
Which has the brightest future for continuing improvement?
I'll just chime in on the Cuyahoga since I don't know about the Buffalo River to compare, though tbh, I had to do a double take and make sure you weren't referring to the Niagara River when I clicked on this.
As for the Cuyahoga, let's just say that even when I was growing up 80s/90s it seemed far fetched that the river would ever regain a fish habitat. Not only did fish start reappearing (I believe early 2000s when they started seeing permanent populations again) but just as of last month the fish that are caught in the Cuyahoga are deemed safe to eat. That's something I never would've thought would be possible in my lifetime.
Just in that, the Cuyahoga has done the unthinkable, especially when you consider that the fires (there were 13 total with the one in 69 being minor) led to the creation of the EPA and Clean Water Act.
On top of that, it also led to the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Forest which then grew to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park... 33,000 acres of land between Cleveland and Akron that is one of the only, if not the only, urbanized national parks in the USA.
Then, the river is the terminus of the Towpath Trail which spans 90 something miles from Cleveland to New Philadelphia.
Just for that, I doubt the Buffalo River has had near the impact on its region, let alone country.
The Buffalo River and its tributaries do not extend anywhere near the length of the Cuyahoga, so there is no equivalent to the National Forest in Ohio.
It may not be apparent today. but by the mid 1800s the mouth of the Buffalo River was the center of one of the busiest harbors in the entire world. The mouth of the Buffalo River formed the protective harbor where Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and the Erie Canal met, and served as the major transportation hub for commodities between the Midwest and the East, up until the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s.
The approximately 9 miles of river within the Buffalo city limits is roughly equivalent to the the Cuyahoga within the Cleveland city limits, and was fully lined with industries since the early 1800s, and heavily polluted for much of its history. By the 1960s it was described as "devoid of life" due to contamination, and it wasn't until the 1980s that a few pollution-tolerant species began to establish year-round populations.
Up until the 2010s, there was basically zero public access or recreational access to the Buffalo River, and since that time there has been extensive shoreline and river bed cleanup and remediation performed. The creation of Canalside which first opened in 2008, and especially Riverfest Park in 2011, were the first opportunities for public access to the river. Since then, public access and use of the river has been increasing exponentially year after year, with much more on the way.
Riverworks is an entertainment complex developed on the site of one of the many abandoned grain mills along the river - https://buffaloriverworks.com/about-us/
New developments are in-work in all of these areas, including residential, entertainment, museums, boat launches, etc. There are all multiple tour boats operating along the river today.
I'm not familiar with the Buffalo River situation even though I realize the 2 cities are quite similar. I didn't know the Buffalo River caught on fire like the Cuyahoga once did -- and Cleveland is constantly reminded of this some 50 years later.
The Cuyahoga clearly has come a long way and now there are pleasure boats on the river in the Flats entertainment district, even paddle boats, college crew shells and even jet skis. I'm glad to hear Buffalo River is also having a similar renaissance. Buffalo sounds like a nice city which I hope to visit someday.
How about a cruise from the Buffalo River to the Cuyahoga river?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
