Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Past & Future

            The Hudson Library and Historical Society will host Cuyahoga National Park Superintendent John Debo Jr. on April 29 at 7 p.m.  He will be discussing the history and value of our local national park and its future.

             Debo has been Superintendent of the park since 1988 when it was still a National Recreation Area.  The National Park designation carries with it a higher level of prestige and protection.  Currently, CVNP is among the 10 most visited parks in the National Park system.

            “The park is unique in that it is located in a highly urbanized area between Akron and Cleveland”.  He further explains that the 33,000 acres of the valley park located along 20 miles of the Cuyahoga River is home to one-third of Ohio’s native plant species.  Debo also noted that after an absence 100 years, beavers are now regular residents and last year, the first nesting eagles in 70 years were spotted.  Turkey, coyote and other creatures once missing from the valley have now returned due to the environmental preservation aspects of the national park. It also has among the most number of historic buildings (250) of any park either already designated or eligible to be listed in the National Register for Historic Places.

            Mr. Debo also oversees National Park Service involvement with the Garfield, McKinley, and Harding presidential sites in Ohio, First Ladies National Historic Site, and the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway.