A Green Shrouded Miracle: TOC

A Green Shrouded Miracle
The Administrative History of Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, Ohio

Special History Study

There was a lot of misinformation. Just as one quick example, one owner would come in and say, “I want to sell my property. I really need to do it quickly, but I don’t want anybody to know that.” So we would end up buying their property, their neighbors would think they were forced out.” There was a lot of that kind of misinformation around that ended up reflecling negatively on us. So jf there was a morale problem, it probably related to that kind of atmosphere more than anything.’ ¹

Management Assistant Sheridan S. Steele

Zoning Concerns and Other Matters

The establishment of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (CVNRA) brought change to the lives of Cuyahoga Valley residents. As land acquisition progressed, a myriad of baffling new National Park Service (NPS) policies, came in to play over fee and easement lands. This added level of federal regulation understandably evoked community resentment and cast the otherwise friendly NPS rangers as unwanted interlopers. For many residents, the quality of life decreased as the surrounding residential community declined in number. With neighbors few and far between, vandalism and theft of vacant properties increased. Remaining taxpayers had to absorb the brunt of increased police and fire protection as well as other emergency services. NPS regulations ranging from keeping pets on leashes to getting permission prior to using chemicals on crops or cutting down dead or diseased trees alienated many people.² In short, the reality of living within a national park unit came as a rude awakening to the community, including those who lobbied for CVNRA’s authorization.

Almost immediately, CVNRA Superintendent Bill Birdsell began working with local communities to discourage the proliferation of commercial activities inconsistent with park purposes. Birdsell tackled many brush fires head-on such as timber-cutting, topsoil removal, quarrying for sand and gravel, and oil and gas speculation. Birdsell and his successors enjoyed close, productive relations with local jurisdictions, but a few proved to be openly hostile.

Perhaps the earliest organized community effort to resist the NPS presence came in late 1975 from Boston Township. In October, the zoning commission approved a petition from landowners to rezone 450 acres on Akron-Peninsula Road from residential to business-recreation. Birdsell feared the rezoning, if successful, could set a precedent and encourage a valley-wide escalation in land prices. While the Boston Township trustees denied that particular rezoning request, in January 1976 it asked the zoning commission to look into rezoning more than 8,000 township acres to business-recreation.³ Birdsell’s worst fears appeared to be coming true. He denounced it as a

vain effort, a move which could have no lasting effect at all. I don ‘t understand it. It’s all so futile. If there is a question of whether there should be a park, it’s too late. The whole thing is futile because the National Park Service now has complete responsibility of land use inside park boundaries.²

This is an adverse move and an attempt to thwart the park. But it is a vain one because we are charged by law to develop this park, and we will do just that.⁵

The township’s action came in understandable reaction to the troubled history its citizens experienced with past land acquisition efforts when the traditionally isolated community began being impacted by a number of outside forces. Over a period of several decades and intensifying in the 1960s, the Akron Metropolitan Park District acquired sizeable tracts within Boston Township for park purposes. Utility companies purchased extensive right of way rights throughout the area. Construction of the Ohio Turnpike (Interstate 80) and Interstate 271 necessitated acquisition of considerable township acreage. With the dawning of CVNRA, Boston Township citizens were baffled by a succession of confusing maps, some of the earliest of which omitted the Oak Hill Road neighborhood and Boston Village. The inclusion of these areas of the township into CVNRA, compounded by the aggressive land acquisition program conducted by the Corps of Engineers and backed by Superintendent Birdsell, caused many to believe that “retentions and easements were simply rhetoric, not land protection techniques that were to be practiced.” Faced with the apparent inevitability of fee purchase, many Boston Township citizens lobbied to secure the greatest market value for their properties.⁶

Yielding to widespread public pressure, on February 9, 1976, the zoning commission recommended that all of Boston Township within CVNRA, 8,422 acres, be changed from residential to business-recreation use. Reacting angrily to the trustees’ approval, pro-CVNRA opponents promised to circulate petitions to put it on the ballot. Birdsell, prohibited by law from lobbying in the public political arena, turned to the Cuyahoga Valley Park Federation (CVPF). CVPF subsequently launched a successful campaign to educate voters. When the referendum came in June 1977, the narrow vote was 81 to 70 against the rezoning.⁶

The National Park Service’s failure to adopt any nationwide, systematic approach to zoning has proven to be a detriment in the Cuyahoga Valley. The 1974 CVNRA act instructs NPS to provide technical assistance to local communities in developing compatible zoning ordinances. Unfortunately, because of a lack of funding and staff, the CVN7RA has been unable to fulfill this requirement and is forced to respond to adverse developments in a reactive, rather than a proactive, manner. An appeal to the NPS Washington Office revealed that there were no models of good zoning ordinances to follow because of varying circumstances throughout the country.⁸

When CVNRA managers cannot rely on local laws to stop adverse development inside or adjacent to the park, they have been adept at working behind the scenes, away from the scrutiny of the media. Efforts aimed at zoning commissions and city governments have stopped many projects at the proposal stage, including a proposed racetrack near Boston Heights Village in 1975 and a penal institution at the park’s northern gateway at Canal and Rockside roads in 1984.⁹

Despite an aggressive public education campaign, rampant misinformation about the land acquisition program fueled the public controversy. Individual cases became legendary. The Szalay family came under NPS scrutiny because, in addition to selling their own sweet corn and other produce at their open-air market, they sold a diverse variety of fruits and vegetables from outside the valley as well. NPS policies required that the Szalay’s commercial enterprise apply for a permit and go through the bidding process like any other concession. Birdsell’s philosophy was to purchase agricultural land in order to control land usage and treatment. With the slowdown in the acquisition program in the early 1980s, Superintendent Lewis S. Albert changed course and determined that NPS would not buy agricultural land. Szalay sweet corn, a Cuyahoga Valley tradition, remains in private ownership.¹⁰

Other examples which contributed to public confusion and mistrust can be found in the fallout of the acquisition program itself. In one instance, in 1977 NPS paid $108,900 for a house, only to have the former owner purchase the salvage rights for $4,500 and move it across Oak Hill Road. Corps of Engineers, township, and county officials allegedly neglected to inform the family that the new homesite was still within CVNRA. NPS secured an immediate declaration of taking and purchased the house again for $57,700. Henceforth, officials ensured that all salvage contracts specified that homes were removed from CVNRA.¹¹

NPS also faced problems from unscrupulous real estate speculators and profiteers who subdivided land for development, with the clear knowledge that the land was within CVNRA. The problem was particularly acute in Sagamore Hills Township where officials routinely approved building permits for tracts within CVNRA. The action resulted in a June 1977 letter circulated to all local and county officials signed by Representatives John Seiberling, Charles Vanik, and Ronald Mottl warning that NPS had unrestricted authority to eliminate all construction initiated inside the park after December 31, 1974.¹²

One acquisition which generated considerable controversy involved Greenwood Village. Launched in 1967 as one of the largest housing developments in northeast Ohio, Greenwood Village developers envisioned 4,000 units ranging from single-family homes to large high-rise apartments on 900 acres near Ohio 82 and 8 in Sagamore Hills Township. After 718 housing units accommodating 1,800 people were built, chronic financial problems led to bankruptcy in 1973. In 1981, a settlement resulted in the prospect of renewed development activity. Determined that it would not become another Towpath Village, Superintendent Albert moved Greenwood Village to the top of CVNRA’s acquisition priority list and in June 1983, filed a declaration of taking at an estimated price of $1.5 million for six undeveloped tracts adjacent to the Greenwood Village developed area. In 1984, NPS negotiated a cooperative agreement with Summit County to remove the Greenwood Village sewage treatment plant.¹³

The high-cost buy outs of Towpath and Greenwood villages caused the residents of another unwanted CVNRA residential development, the 104-unit Valley Trailer Park on Riverview Road in Northampton Township, to cry foul when it could not garner a similar purchase agreement. Charges that the government accommodated the wealthy and ignored the middle- to low-income proliferated when purchase negotiations bogged down and the Corps of Engineers wanted to push it down on the priority list. Superintendent Birdsell stopped the move and pressed ahead with fee acquisition of the eyesore, but no settlement in the course of two years could be reached with the trailer park’s owners.¹⁴

Meanwhile, trailer park residents lived in limbo, uncertain about their future. While negotiations continued, those who wished to move could not receive relocation benefits. Even if NPS began condemnation proceedings, residents would be kept waiting for years. Sympathetic to their plight, Birdsell drafted a letter for Senator Howard Metzenbaum’ s (Democrat-Ohio) signature to NPS Director William Whalen asking for a declaration of taking to speed up the process. The letter also pointed out the unfairness of compensating residents only for relocation expenses; rather, NPS should determine the trailers themselves, many of which were too old or fragile to be moved, as real, not personal, property, and buy them outright. The effort proved fruitless, however, and the stalemate continued.¹⁵

Congressman Seiberling intervened to change government policy by giving mobile home owners the same rights as real property owners, including rights of retained use and occupancy. To this end, in May 1980, Seiberling inserted a provision in what became the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1980, only to see it quietly removed, without Seiberling’s knowledge, by Representative Phil Burton (Democrat-California). The issue remains unresolved, but the property is a long-range goal for acquisition and eventual removal.¹⁶

Former Management Assistant Bob Holmes succinctly stated the primary complaints of landowners as follows: “They weren’t told when their land was to be purchased. They weren’t paid enough. They weren’t informed of their options. The ‘big wheels’ got all the attention and their land was not purchased. They were told different things at different offices.”¹⁷

Many residents tried to go political and pull Congressman Seiberling into their particular acquisition negotiation, but to no avail. Birdsell maintained continuous contact with Seiberling’s local district office, and even drafted a letter for Seiberling’ s signature to send to constituents elaborating the congressman’s laissez-faire policy in regard to CVNRA land acquisition matters.¹⁸

By the mid-1980s, much of the rancor had diminished because of the various forms of community outreach in which NPS engaged. As Superintendent Albert commented:

We’re going to be 20 years and maybe longer before the conflicts die down. Maybe it’s going to be generations before we have learned all the things we need to know about what the local resident needs and they begin to understand that we don ‘t necessarily march to the local drummer, that we have broader responsibilities. We’ll learn to love each other. It’s going to take time.¹⁹

Because much of the public relations dilemma involves misunderstanding, few residents can fully comprehend what living within a national park unit means.

Cuyahoga Valley Communities Council

Maintaining clear, regular communication with the seventeen political subdivisions contiguous with CVNRA was a nagging problem in the park’s infancy. Bill Birdsell needed to make local officials aware of NI’S concerns as well as to be informed of their concerns relating to CVN7RA’s development. For his first six months on duty, Birdsell found himself attending local governmental public meetings practically every night, including weekends. With conflicting times, it was impossible to attend every meeting in which NI’S representation would be helpful. Birdsell tried working through the two regional planning commissions, Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA, serving Cuyahoga County), and Northeastern Four County Area-wide Planning Agency (NEFCO, serving Summit County), but the rivalry between the two was too intense. At Birdsell’s request, on October 27, 1975, the congressional delegation (Seiberling, Mottl, and Vanik) hosted a meeting which resulted in agreement by county officials to form an organization to oversee CVNRA development in partnership with NI’S.

The first organizational meeting of the Cuyahoga Valley Communities Council (CVCC) came on December 3 at Boston Elementary School in Peninsula. Chaired by the presidents of both county commissions, the group discussed the importance of land use planning on the periphery of a national park. Birdsell compared slides of the crass commercialism in and around Gettysburg National Military Park to scenes of the Cuyahoga Valley and stressed that, indeed, “It can happen here! “²⁰

In 1976, CVCC expanded its membership to include school districts, and in December 1977, it reorganized as a non-profit corporation. Membership included representatives from municipalities and townships, school districts, NI’S, and the Cuyahoga and Summit county boards of commissioners.²¹ A year later, CVCC received its Section 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service and became a recipient of Cleveland and George Gund Foundation grants to open an office and hire a part-time executive director, full-time administrative assistant as well as retain technical support services. Peter Henderson was the first and continuing director of the Communities Council.

CVCC went a long way toward combating the spread of public misinformation. Bimonthly meetings were covered by the media and citizens had an opportunity to ask questions of Superintendent Birdsell during the public forum. An offshoot group, the Cuyahoga Valley Roundtable, incorporated staff members of public and private organizations to meet and discuss each other’s activities, avoid duplicating efforts, and generate ideas to solve area concerns.²²

CVCC proved effective in addressing collective issues related to CVNRA operation and development. Of principal concern to communities was the loss of tax revenue as land passed into federal ownership, particularly on tracts for which owners retained use and occupancy. It was not equitable to have those citizens continue to benefit from community services free of charge. Birdsell worked with the CVCC to research other NI’S areas, namely Cape Cod National Seashore and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, where state laws were changed to end tax- free retained occupancies.²³ Upon CVCC’s initiation, a 1978 bill sailed through the Ohio General Assembly designed to tax reserved occupancy residents during their period of retention.²⁴

The Communities Council played a key role in instituting the provisions of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976. John Seiberling had CVNRA foremost in his mind when he authored the legislation which provided payments over five years of up to one percent of appraised value to local governments to offset the temporary loss of tax revenues caused by federal acquisition. A CVCC-sponsored study revealed that potential tax shortfalls within CVNRA were minimal except for in Boston Township and the Woodridge School District with a loss of 10.5 and 14.9 percent respectively. The total amount of compensation in 1977, the first year of the program, was $24,564 valleywide²⁵

CVCC facilitated improvement of community and park services. In 1979, the Council helped NI’S negotiate agreements with local fire districts to continue providing service within CVNRA. In law enforcement, it lobbied the U.S. attorney to end the logjam NI’S faced in prosecuting misdemeanors in federal court by establishing a collateral bond system whereby violators could waive a court appearance by acknowledging guilt and paying the ranger-issued fines. Concerned by traffic congestion from increased visitation, the Communities Council played a key role in the NI’S’ transportation planning effort as well as produced its own study to encourage orderly development along CVNRA’ s periphery. CVCC’ s school curriculum committee assisted NI’S in promoting the environmental, historic, and other educational resources of the park by sponsoring a needs assessment survey of area school districts for the Oak Hill Center for Environmental Studies.²⁶

In 1980, Congress viewed CVCC’s activities so significant to CVNRA’s development that it included $10,000 as an annual line item appropriation in the NPS budget.²⁷ CVCC has been an important ally in supporting NI’S positions such as an alcohol prohibition regulation, controlling development along State Route 8, opposing the haydite sanitary landfill, and providing input in parkwide trail and land protection plans. In 1984, the Council called on Congress to share costs with local governments for road improvements and maintenance within CVNRA, something NI’S could not voluntarily do because park roads are not federally owned)²⁸

If the Communities Council has had shortcomings, it lies in key officials failing to recognize CVCC’s importance and not appointing high-level, motivated representatives to serve. Some have designated the first person to express an interest, not who was best qualified. Some members have had their own personal agendas to promote. Nonetheless, the Communities Council continues to act as a forum for public officials and citizens as well as providing a direct line of communication with NPS²⁹

The Metropolitan Park Districts

Prior to CVNRA’s establishment, the metropolitan park districts of Cleveland (CMPD) and Akron (AMPD) engaged in their own land acquisition programs in advance of the proposed federal park (see Chapter 4). While AMPD’s Cuyahoga Valley program halted in the early 1970s, CMPD’s continued up to 1977, focusing primarily on the area between its Brecksville and Bedford reservations.³⁰

While CMPD bought land with every intention of donating it to NI’S, AMPD unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to purchase its new acquisitions. In addition, several wealthy private landowners promised to donate large tracts to the CVNRA. To date, no donations have either been requested by NI’S or made by these parties.³¹

Of the two districts, NI’S relations with AMPD have been more constant and close. An agreement to relinquish management of Virginia Kendall State Park to NI’S took effect on January 1, 1978. When AMPD removed all portable property from Virginia Kendall prior to this date for use in other areas, the move caught CVN7RA off-guard when such items as litter containers were not available. Apparently, such mundane matters were overlooked during the course of negotiating the transfer.³²

In the mid-1980s, the AMPD board voted to donate two small tracts of land to accommodate NI’S’ reconstruction of the Everett Road Covered Bridge,namely, to improve access and provide visitor parking. Mandatory review of the decision by the Summit County Probate Court revealed no provision in Ohio law to permit disposition of land by donating it to CVNRA. NPS subsequently worked with Ohio Representative Vein Cook to get the appropriate legislation passed in Columbus. Unfortunately, the bill did not progress and Cook subsequently died. Unwilling to let the long-delayed bridge reconstruction project languish further, NI’S requested and received an easement on the tracts.³³

The Everett Road case was part of a broader understanding designed to lead to an eventual transfer of lands in order to rationalize land management between AMPD and NI’S. AMPD owned isolated parcels throughout the valley and as much as 500 acres adjacent to the Virginia Kendall Unit which logically should come under NI’S administration. Similarly, AMPD units such as Furnace Run, Hampton Hills, and O’Neil Woods could be expanded for improved operations. Superintendent Albert explored the possibility with vigor from 1985-87, but was discouraged by a negative reaction from the department’s regional solicitor in Denver. His successor, John P. Debo, Jr., continued to search for an equitable transfer arrangement, including state and federal authorization. Transfers remain a real possibility with both park districts.³⁴

Relations with CMPD were extremely close during CVNRA’s first five years (1975- 1980), but when district management changed from Harold Schick to Lou Tsipis, the association soured. In a November 18, 1981, letter to Congressman Ron Mottl, Tsipis asked that all 2,600 acres of NI’S land in Cuyahoga County be “deeded over” or leased to CMPD and that NI’S withdraw its Canal Visitor Center to Summit County. Tsipis contended that NI’S and CMPD were duplicating services and federal activities sapped the vitality of his agency. The Tsipis “run” on CVNRA brought an angry rebuke from the eight local congressmen who earlier in the year nixed a “deauthorization” plan devised by subordinates of Interior Secretary James Watt.³⁵

The affair, dubbed by the media as “park wars” and a “turf grab,” apparently came about with the fall 1981 installation of CVNRA entrance signs and the opening of the visitor center on Canal Road in Valley View. These meager symbols of NI’S development in Cuyahoga County were viewed as a threat by Tsipis and the CMPD board. Attending a December 9, 1981, board meeting, Superintendent Albert listened to the CMPD proposal and responded that NI’S was not a threat to CMPD’s existence, that NI’S would not abandon its congressional mandate, and that CVNRA would continue to develop visitor facilities in Cuyahoga County.³⁶

The CVNRA Advisory Commission roundly denounced the Tsipis plan. By the mid-1980s, relations between the two agencies improved substantially to a state of peaceful coexistence.

FOOTNOTES:
1. Sheridan S. Steele interview, 28 June 1989.

2. Susan Smith, “The Rangers vs. the Settlers,” Akron Beacon-Journal, 24 February 1985.

3. Cuyahoga Valley Park Federation Advisory Board meeting minutes, 23 October and 9 December 1975.

4. Don Winbush, “Boston Trustees Flip Stand on Park Land,” Akron Beacon Journal, 27 January 1976.

5. Pauline Thoma, “Valley Park Hassle Feared,” The Plain Dealer, 2 February 1976.

6. Review comments of Randolph S. Bergdorf, Boston Township Trustees vice-chairman, letter to author, 29 August 1991.

7. “Rezoning Scheme in Boston is under Heavy Attack,” The Voice, February 1976, CVPF files; and Birdsell to files, 7 June 1977 with undated postscript, L14.

8. Acting NPS Director Bill Briggle to Sheridan S. Steele, CVPF, letter, 17 November 1976, A22. NPS has also been reluctant to provide this assistance because it does not wish to “dictate” standards to or usurp the authority of local governments. See John Kawamoto interview, 27 July 1989.

9. CVPF Advisory Board meeting minutes, 9 December 1975, CVPF files; and Superintendent Lewis S. Albert to Ronald Bernstein, city of Valley View, letter, 29 June 1984, L32.

10. John Seiberling interview, 7-8 September 1989; Ron Thoman interview, 26 May 1989; and Barbara Mudrak, “Valley Farm Gets a Break: Park Land-Buying Halted; Corn Still Grows,” Akron Beacon Journal, 12 May 1981.

11. Charles L.ally, “U.S. May Pay Twice for House,” 18 June 1977, and “Double Dip: Second Purchase Costs U.S. $57,700,” 14 January 1978, both in Akron Beacon Journal.

12. Sheridan S. Steele interview, 28 June 1989; and David Hess, “Congressmen Warn Park Homebuilders,” Akron Beacon Journal, 13 June 1972. One realty company adopted the name “Cuyahoga National Park Realty” and used an arrowhead on its realty signs, inferring an official relationship with NPS and CVNRA. After it generated numerous telephone inquiries from confused citizens, a letter outlining why the practice was prohibited by Title 18, USC Section 701 solved the problem. See Birdsell to Cuyahoga National Park Realty, Hudson, Ohio, letter, 18 December 1979, W1823.

13. CVNRA Advisory Commission meeting minutes of 29 January and 26 March 1981, and 28 January 1982; “Greenwood Suit Attacks Sagamore Zoning,” Akron Beacon Journal, 26 February 1981, and “U.S. Seizing 519 Acres for Valley Park,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 22 June 1983; and Superintendent’s Report for 1984.

14. Assistant Chief, Operations, Land Acquisition Division, William E. Weidenhamer to Chief, Land Acquisition Division, Washington Office, “Overview of Land Acquisition Program, CVNRA,” 27 December 1976, L1425-640; and Mark Fans, “Anxiety Invades the Happy Valley,” Akron Beacon Journal, 30 November 1977.

15. Metzenbaum to Whalen, letter, 23 March 1978, L1425 LAn attached note from “Nancy” of Metzenbaum’s staff read: “Bill, This is the copy of the letter sent over to Park Service on behalf of the Trailer Park residents. You write a great letter!! “]; and Acting Associate Director Robert Stanton to Metzenbaum, letter, 3 April 1978.

16. Janet Hutchison, CVNRA Legislative History, Part II: Report on H.R. 7279, 6 May 1980, and House report 96-1024, 16 May 1980, 96th Congress, 2d Sess.; John Seiberling interview, 7-8 September 1989; and John P. Debo, Jr., interview, 25 May 1989. Debo intends to resolve the issue during his tenure by seeking a phase-out of the trailer park over a 10- to 20-year period.

17. Robert F. Holmes letter to author, 20 November 1989.

18. Birdsell to files, notes on phone conversation with John Seiberling, 17 December 1976; and Birdsell to Regional Director (hereafter cited as RD), 23 December 1976; Corps of Engineers/NPS acquisition files.

19. Susan Smith, “The Rangers vs. the Settlers,” Akron Beacon Journal, 24 February 1985.

20. Birdsell to Regional Director, 8 December 1975, A3815. Earliest references to CVCC utilized “Park” in the middle of the title. Birdsell also used “Committee” instead of “Council.”

21. Birdsell to files, telephone call with John Seiberling, 12 October 1976, A38; CVPF Advisory Board meeting,18 October 1976, CVPF files; Hutchison, Legislative History, Vol. 1; and “CVNRA Briefing Book,” 4 November 1986.

21. By 1983, CVCC’s membership list was as follows: Cities: Akron, Bedford, Brecksville, Cuyalioga Falls, Fairlawn, Independence, Stow; Villages: Boston Heights, Hudson, Peninsula, Richfield, Valley View, Walton Hills; Townships: Bath, Boston, Hudson, Northampton, Northfield Center, Richfield, Sagamore Hills; School Districts: Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, Hudson, Independence, Nordoma Hills, Revere, Woodridge, Cuyahoga Valley Joint Vocational School; and Counties: Cuyahoga and Summit. 22. 1978-79 Annual Report of the Cuyahoga Valley Communities Council, Inc.

23. Birdsell to Regional Director Beal, 1 February 1977, L14.

24. Birdsell to Beal, 1 February 1977 and 4 December 1978, L14 and W34.

25. 1978-79 Annual Report of the CVCC, Inc.; “Impact Studies Show Tax Loss to Communities to be Small,” The Voice, March 1977; “Area to Get Park Money,” Akron Beacon Journal, 20 September 1977; and Superintendent Albert to public affairs officer, Midwest Region, 27 March 1986, P4415. Loretta Neumann of Seiberling’s staff helped draft the bill which she said had been around for twenty years until they generated the necessary data to convince Congress of its merits. See Neumann interview, 27 June 1989.

26. Ibid.; and “Communities Council Backs Orderly Development,” The Voice, September 1980, CVPF Files.

27. Superintendent Albert to Regional Director, 3 January 1983, A22.

28. Superintendent’s Reports for 1982, 1983, and 1984.

29. Sheridan S. Steele interview, 25 March 1982; and Lewis S. Albert interview, 13 July 1989.

30. CMPD Executive Director Harold Schick to ODNR Director Teater, letter, 18 August 1975, Box 50, Director’s Files, Records of the Department of Natural Resources, State of Ohio Archives, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Following CVNRA’s establishment, Schick requested a reprogramming of $2.8 million in Land and Water Conservation Fund monies to other CMPD areas, while retaining only $500,000 for the Cuyahoga Valley. Schick stated the move would “act as a buffer from the citizens groups in the valley, as well as the ‘Feds,’ in order to prevent the attitude of pulling out of the valley entirely.” The land would be turned over to NPS, and CMPD staff would help the agency “until they get into full swing.”

31. 31. Bill Birdsell interview by Ron Thoman and Susan Garland, 14 August 1980; and James S. Jackson interview by Susan V. Garland and Nicholas Scrattjsh, 16 July 1980. Both metropolitan park district boards told Birdsell that as soon as NPS had the appropriations to take these areas over, they would be transferred to CVNRA. With AMPD, a phased plan to acquire existing metroparks was as follows: Deep Lock Quarry, O’Neil Woods, Hampton Hills, and Furnace Run.

32. John Daily interview, 22 May 1989; John Kawamoto interview, 27 July 1989; Merrill D. Beal letter to author, 4 October 1989.

33. John Daily interview, 22 May 1989; and Robert P. Martin interview addendum, 18 May 1989.

34. John Daily interview, 22 May 1989; Daily to Superintendent Albert, letter, 6 May 1985; Albert to RegionalDirector Odegaard, 15 August 1986, L32; Superintendent John Debo to Regional Director Don Castleberry, 12 October, 1988, L32; and John P. Debo, Jr., interview, 25 May 1989. Transferring the extreme south end of CVNRA to AMPD from Steels Corners and Ira roads has been proposed.

35. Bill Sloat, “Proposal for Valley Park Takeover Draws Fire,” Akron Beacon Journal, 22 December 1981; and Thomas Offutt interview, 25 May 1989. Congressmen opposed to the Tsipis plan were John Seiberling, Louis Stokes, Donald J. Pease, Ron Mottl, Dennis E. Eckart, Mary Rose Oakar, J. William Stanton, and Ralph Regula.

36. CVNRA Advisory Conimission meeting minutes, 28 January 1982; Lewis S. Albert interview, 13 July 1989; Ron Thoman interview, 26 May 1989; and Jerry Masek, “Park Wars: Cuyahoga Valley, Metroparks Square Off over 2,600 Acres,” 31 December 1981, and “Metroparks Anger Citizens Panel,” 29 January 1982, The Cleveland Press.

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