A Fall Morning Along Tinker’s Creek

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3 responses to “A Fall Morning Along Tinker’s Creek”

1. 

   Bruce Kiacz

   November 24, 2019

   Jordan, I must compliment you on your lovely photos of the Tinkers Creek watershed. Although I live near Toledo, Ohio now, I grew up in Maple Heights and spent many childhood hours exploring the back country around the creek and know exactly where each of these photos were taken. I hope everyone who sees the beauty of these images takes a moment to reflect on how environmental legislation in the 1970’s and ’80’s turned this former sewer into the nearly pristine waterway it is today.

   In the early 1960’s any of these waterfalls would have smelled like an open septic tank, with human feces floating on the surface of the water. At the base of these falls there would be two or three feet of detergent foam from all the high phosphate cleaning products that, along with the human waste, was often dumped untreated into the creek. If you dug into the banks or sandbars, there was all manner of colorful industrial waste products buried in the sand. There was not a single living thing in the water, except for perhaps mosquito larvae.

   But today, thanks to the hard work of many environmental activists, the smell is gone, and all manner of fish and aquatic species now thrive in what was once a barren cesspool. Moreover, Tinkers Creek is now part of the Cuyahoga Valley National recreation Area, contributing it’s flow to the Cuyahoga River, which no longer catches fire and now supports Lake Erie fisheries instead of destroying them.

   It is my sincere hope that the public who sees your beautiful work and visits this immaculately restored public space will realize that the current cabal in Congress, and the White House, are trying to turn back the environmental clock, returning this precious resource to the status of a brownfield. Please forgive my moment of political rhetoric, but I find your images speak for a land deserving of continued protection so future photographers can enjoy and capture this natural beauty as you have.

   Reply
   1. 

      Jordan Steele

      November 26, 2019

      Thanks so much for the information and your kind words.

      Reply
   2. 

      Toerag

      January 13, 2020

      Great post! The rollback of environmental protections by the current administration is a massive own goal for the country.

      Jordan – the eddy in shot 1 is great, well done.

      Reply

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