Welcome!

The Friends of the Scioto River is an open organization whose purpose is to promote the protection and public enjoyment of the Scioto River valley in Franklin County, Ohio.

Our goals include:

To advocate and encourage citizen protection, respect, and wise management of these resources

To educate citizens and policy-makers about the benefits of the Scioto watershed as greenspace, and create an awareness of the threats to this ecosystem within the urban environment

To educate the public on proper land use and management of property in the Scioto River watershed, and to engage in restoration activities through funding from public and private sources

To work toward these goals in conjunction with other similar organizations locally and nationally

Canada geese on the river at Scioto Park

Greenways provide natural corridors for wildlife and recreation. They connect neighborhoods, parks, and municipalities. The Scioto River forms the largest greenway in Franklin County, which also includes the Olentangy, Alum Creek, and Big Walnut greenways. These greenways share various concerns including water quality and public access.

Within Franklin county, the Scioto River passes Dublin's Scioto Park, with its Leatherlips sculpture, and between the two sections of the Dublin Kiwanis Riverway Park. It forms the Griggs Reservoir, offering five miles of boating in the near northwest part of the Columbus metro area. It receives the Olentangy River and passes through the heart of Downtown, where birdwatchers and fishermen enjoy the Greenlawn Dam area.

Griggs Reservoir, looking south from the Hayden Run Road bridge

Why have a watershed advocacy group?

The community benefits from advocacy groups.

When citizens organize around a cause, they can create an advocacy group to focus their efforts. Examples range from community service, to historic preservation, to environmental stewardship. The Friends of the Scioto River directs its efforts toward the protection and enjoyment of the Scioto watershed in central Ohio. It is just one of many similar watershed advocacy groups in central Ohio.

"Protection" of a watershed can include anything from simple cleanups, to providing input on proposed development, to advising property owners on good water management. "Enjoyment" of the watershed is the public's option; people migrate to green corridors for a taste of the outdoors, even in the heart of the city. Watershed groups like FOSR promote public access to these corridors as a community resource. They work with government agencies and civic groups to develop parks and bikeways, and stage events to bring people to the streamside.

The existence of a group provides a connection among several different centers of interest.

Our community has many people and organizations interested and willing to act on behalf of the rivers and streams. This is potential energy, waiting to be tapped. In the case of a watershed group like FOSR, we can connect these three major groups:

Individuals who are willing to volunteer
Organizations who are looking for way to serve their communities
Our public parks, who need more work than our governments can afford to spend on them.

The existence of a group provides a focal point where all these interests can converge, and result in action. For example, FOSR has worked with BMW Financial Services, headquartered in Dublin and Hilliard, which has provided 40 - 50 employees who gain credit for participating in community events. The company lists "involvement in the community" in its values, and seeks such opportunities to contribute to the community.

FOSR acts as a liaison between the company and the parks department, to apply this workforce to the activities that the parks department best sees fit. On two occasions so far, this has resulted in the removal of huge amounts of invasive plants, and trash, from the city's Indian Village Camp. Other organizations, such as Battelle Laboratories, have provided volunteers to participate in other events such as tree plantings.

The group can serve as a voice expressing the concerns of citizens.

Our governments have made provisions to accept public input on proposed construction and development. As the agencies say, the approval process is intended to approve, not prevent, development. An advocacy group can combine the voices of many, into a single statement of concern representing a large part of the community.

Regulatory agencies responsible for approving development try to maintain a balance between facilitating profitable business enterprise, and protecting public interest and natural resources. When developers proposes new projects, they must provide more than one alternative development. They generally prefer the most profitable alternative, but they may not be allowed to pursue it if there is sufficient public interest in development that is more friendly to the environment and the community.

If a developer wants to build a shopping center or a residential development on a parcel of land with a stream crossing it, their most profitable alternative is usually to put the stream in a pipe and pave over it. On the other extreme, environmental activists would rather there be no development on the site at all. When there is a compromise, both interests receive some satisfaction. So, for example, the new Home Depot store in Hilliard accommodates a stream through a series of pools and riffles, planted in native vegetation. FOSR gave input to the planning and design of the development, so while we did not prevent the development, we did influence its final form.

The group can promote public appreciation of the watershed.

The two primary goals of the FOSR are to protect the river, and promote public appreciation of it. The first goal can be met in many very visible ways, but the second is no less important. When a community has a resource like the Scioto in Columbus, it's up to the people to realize and appreciate what they have. Many do actively pursue their interests, such as boating, or jogging, or bird-watching , but many more could be enjoying this feature of our area.

Local governments are working to create and expand the parks, and watershed groups can combine with these efforts to inform the public of recreational opportunities at their doorstep. When this is combined with other factors like having less trash and overgrowth, and the readiness of public and private groups to help the parks and streams, then the public appreciation and use of the parks and watersheds is enhanced. This in turn becomes a selling point for the entire community.

The group can create and provide educational materials.

Schools are becoming increasingly interested in teaching ecological appreciation to students, and a watershed group can help these efforts through internships and mentoring.

The group can create presentations for schools or other community groups, illustrating issues facing the watershed.

FOSR often staffs a booth with volunteers and informative materials to local river-oriented events.

The group can organize or participate in cleanup events.

Cleanups usually focus on two activities, sometimes both at once. First is removing trash and litter, which can include items as large as tires, appliances, and shopping carts. Trash removal is by nature a recurring job, since new trash is always being deposited either by people, or the river itself. The river naturally carries litter such as stick and leaves, and any trash that floats will mingle with it. It may be picked up or deposited anywhere in the watershed. Some of the trash, such as paper, will last for a year or two, but plastic and metal will last for many years. Glass can last forever, whether broken or not.

The second main cleanup activity is removal of invasive plants which crowd out native species. The most prominent examples are Japanese Honeysuckle and garlic mustard. The honeysuckle grows as a tall shrub, creating dense banks of brush. It overgrows paths and road margins, and shades out native species. FOSR has worked with groups and the parks department to remove tons of honeysuckle from the parks, opening them up.

The garlic mustard is a knee-high biennial plant that grows in a thick carpet, also shading out native species. It was brought from Europe as a garden plant, and is in fact edible, with a nutritional value similar to spinach. It blooms white in the spring, and during that time you can see how much of the visible vegetation is nothing but garlic mustard.

What do you need to do?

It's entirely up to you. Even if you don't join a group, or support a group, you can at least pay more attention to events and issues in your own community. You can express your concerns to public agencies who await such input. You can physically participate in events, or you can simply get out of the house and go down to enjoy some green space.