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Canal Road Partially Closed Monday May 14, 2012
Canal Road will be closed to all traffic from Hillside to Tinkers Creek Road beginning Monday, May 14 until early September, 2012, for construction. Although Hillside Road will be open, the recommended route to Canal Visitor Center is from Rockside Road More »
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Ice Box Cave Closed
Ice Box Cave, located in the Ritchie Ledges, is now closed in an effort to slow the spread of a disease to our bat population. More »
Being a Park Scientist
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Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) has many natural resources, including its wildlife, plants, and water. The job of park scientists is to preserve CVNP’s natural resources for future generations. Park scientists do this by keeping a watch on, or monitoring, those natural resources. They track plant and animal populations, see if the Cuyahoga River is getting cleaner, and scientifically study how to best restore habitats. What park scientists learn helps keep CVNP’s wildlife, plants, and water as healthy and natural as possible. 
NPS/TED TOTH Biologist Sonia Bingham examines a wetland plant with a magnifier. Who Are They? Gathering scientific information takes time and people-power. Citizen scientists do a lot of data collecting in CVNP. These nature-loving volunteers count migrating songbirds, butterflies, frogs by their calls, gypsy moth eggs masses, deer pellets, and plants in experimental study plots. 
Kids Asked, We Answered! How many scientist work in the park? What Do They Do? 
NPS Collection Biologist Meg Plona and other scientists study park fish. Some animals are easier to count than others. The kinds and numbers of birds or butterflies in a field are pretty easy to see, identify, and count. Fish aren’t so easy. Park scientists count fish in the Cuyahoga River by shocking them. A mild current from an electro-shocker in the water stuns the fish. They stop swimming and float up to the surface where they can be easily seen. The fish quickly recover from the stun and swim away, so scientists have to count fast! Nocturnal animals can also be hard to see and count—like coyotes. Park scientists track their numbers by playing recorded coyote calls at night. Then they listen—and count—how many coyotes call back.
Kids Asked, We Answered!
What do park scientist do and protect?
What experiments do park scientists do?
nps/ARRYE ROSSER Purple loosestrife What Are Some Environmental Issues in CVNP? Many non-native plants, like garlic mustard and autumn olive have become harmful invasive plants in CVNP. They grow quickly, overtaking native plants that wildlife needs to survive. Citizen scientists are helping control these pest plants. Volunteers adopt areas of the park chosen by park scientists for invasive plant removal. They clear out the problem plants and keep checking back on their adopted area year after year until every invasive plant is gone for good. 
©JERRY JELINEK White-tailed deer Deer are another problem-causing population that scientists at CVNP are keeping an eye on. Park scientists and volunteers track the number of deer in a number of ways. They count fecal pellets, do aerial surveys, and also shine spotlights along park roadways to count deer out at night. As many as 130 deer live in every square mile of CVNP. That’s ten times more than an ecosystem can support without damage. Resource managers are studying how the deer are changing the mix of forest plant species at CVNP. They are seeing fewer seedling trees, wildflowers, and other plants that deer eat. Their findings will be used to help decide how to better manage the deer
Water pollution is another environmental issue that CVNP scientists are working on. The water quality of the Cuyahoga River is continually tested. The good news is that it’s getting better! Park scientists are working with nearby communities to help prevent pollution from ever entering the river. Park scientists are also working with the U.S. Geological Survey to come up with a way to quickly know the levels of water-polluting sewage in the river. Then visitors can be told if the Cuyahoga is safe for boating or swimming that same day.
Volunteers clean up an old dump site on RiverDay.
nps/ted toth
What is the biggest problem in the park? Do park staff change the environment? Does the park control wildlife populations? Have park scientists found new species? Have scientists found any endangered species? What will the park do if there are too many deer? How do scientists avoid counting deer twice?
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Did You Know?
Beaver in Cuyahoga Valley National Park impounded water to create a rich, diverse wetland in an area that was once an automobile junk yard? The area is now home to herons, turtles, amphibians, and many aquatic plants.