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The Blade (Toledo, OH)
6-09-00
A month ago, by a proclamation of Governor Taft, the 150-mile strip of river towns and waterway between Fort Wayne, Ind., and Toledo became an official "State Heritage Area."
The fancy certificate and $19,000 matching grant bring a smile to the face of Dick Kudner, president of the 38-year-old Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor group.
But this is only a step toward his final dream: seeing the Maumee named an American Heritage River, a national designation that brings with it full-time staff, federal funding, and attention to the details of Maumee River ecology, geology, history, and industry.
Mr. Kudner explained his goals yesterday to members of the Toledo Historical Task Force when he spoke at the group's monthly meeting.
The federal Heritage River program was announced by President Clinton four years ago in his State of the Union address. He said 10 American rivers would be chosen for their contributions to the country's culture, history, and economy, and federal money would pay to promote them to tourists and scholars.
But planners, ecologists, and historians were taken by surprise, Mr. Kudner said. By the time legislators could create the program and explain it to grass-roots organizations, anti-government activists had grabbed onto the idea and sold it throughout the country as a United Nations plan to seize private property and cede it to wilderness, grizzly bears, and wolverines.
A group from Indiana was especially vocal, he said, and members of the Fort Wayne city council were convinced to oppose the idea. They voted against the plan, effectively killing the Maumee's chances of being named in the first round of 10 rivers.
The Detroit River was chosen, however, and the Cuyahoga was one of four later named to the list.
The Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor can petition for inclusion on other federal programs, but only with approval of the state. So Governor Taft's May announcement was a welcome push, he said.
Meantime, his group of about 200 history buffs is promoting the Maumee every way it can.
Nearly 60 miles of highway along the river have been designated "Ohio Byways" by the Ohio Department of Transportation. From Napoleon to Waterville and Maumee, the winding road crosses the river several times. Drivers can find the way using colorful, flower-logo signs. The Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor group planned the local program.
Congress passed legislation recently recognizing the sites of Fallen Timbers battlefield and Fort Miamis in Maumee as National Historic Sites. The Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor has worked on this project since its inception in 1989.
The corridor group produces a newsletter and flyers, listing area attractions, festivals, and events, for distribution at highway rest stops and hotel lobbies. And now, using state funds and local contributions, the group is gearing up to do a "comprehensive development plan" for the river, identifying all the historical, geological, and recreational resources along its banks.
"Then we'll determine what we can do to interpret, market, and improve them, and name who can do what to get the job done," Mr. Kudner said.
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