March 28, 2024
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Group hopes to keep Union River pristine Canoe trip reveals West Branch’s beauty

MARIAVILLE – Ken Cline settled into a woven seat near the back of his canoe and dipped a long-handled paddle into the cool amber water of the Union River, sending ripples through the glassy reflection of a cloudless summer sky.

Behind him, boaters fanned out in the river’s lower West Branch, a serene place that feels a million miles away from the hustle and bustle on a recent workday.

The tributary is perhaps most notable for what’s not there. There are no waterfront homes, no camps or subdivisions. There are no hastily built roads endangering the wilderness waterway.

“I was surprised the first time I came down here,” said Cline, an environmental law professor who has paddled the area at least 25 times. “I thought it would be more developed.”

The Thursday-morning canoe trip was the first of the season by the Union River Watershed Coalition, an organization that formed in 1999 to raise awareness about the river and its value to the environment. The watershed spans 500 square miles and includes 25 towns in three counties.

The West Branch, particularly from Tannery Falls to Goodwin’s Bridge, is one of the few spots in the watershed undisturbed by development. Still, residential pressures and poor forestry practices are the two biggest threats to this stretch of the river, said Cline, an active watershed coalition member.

“It’s beautiful and it’s remote and there is nothing that says it is going to stay that way,” he said.

The seven-mile trip begins on Tannery Road just north of Route 9 in Amherst. The river follows the road for a bit but soon meanders into a verdant stretch bordered by maples, ferns and wildflowers.

Most of the West Branch is in Mariaville, a town of about 400 residents. The water is the color of tea, tinted by tannins from nearby cedar trees. Bullfrogs croak from the river banks and birds sing from the spruces. Beavers, osprey and moose are typical sights along the way. More observant paddlers might find wild iris and jack-in-the-pulpit, a rare but toxic woodland flower.

About three miles downstream, there is an oxbow, or a U-shaped bend in the river. Just beyond lies Mariaville Falls, which in the 19th century was the location of saw and grist mills and home to about 100 residents. Most boaters portage around the falls, where there are significant ledges and rocks.

Thirteen people participated in the watershed coalition’s canoe trip, including Eric Dodge, an economics professor at Hanover College. The Ohio school recently received an $11 million grant to establish the Rivers Institute, a resource for study and collaboration on river-related ecosystems, economics and cultures.

Dodge said he hopes the group can work with the watershed coalition on future projects.

“We could use their expertise on local things, and they could use our expertise on local things,” he said.

Lawrence DeMilner, a retired economist from Hancock, also made the trip. A first-time paddler on the west branch, he said the river is one of the most spectacular places he has canoed.

“This is easily the nicest,” he said. “It is just superb.”

Coalition coordinator Travis Hussey said these canoe trips are important to get people out into the watershed – to learn about it as well as enjoy it. Also, he said, the experience may motivate them to get involved in the watershed in other ways. The group is always looking for volunteers to help with water quality studies, community outreach projects, education programs and fund-raising.

“Some people might not be aware that there is an undeveloped river corridor that’s very easy to paddle right in their backyards,” Hussey said. “And from that enjoyment comes a desire to keep it that way.”

Correction: A caption on Monday’s State page accompanying a photo on a Union River canoe trip contained the incorrect name for the falls. Travis Hussey lined the canoe down the Mariaville Falls. Also, Hanover College is located on the Ohio River in Indiana.

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