Assignment

For this assignment you will answer the questions listed below.

Your assignment is to be word processed, double spaced, and grammar and spell checked! You may submit in hard copy or via email to the instructor. Early submissions are encouraged.

Websites are listed below each question to get you started in finding your answers. Some material that relates to the questions may be found within your book, some will not. You are free to use other sources as well. However, Wikipedia is NOT to be used. (Wikipedia is an open source site. Changes can be made that may make information posted there incorrect.) You must cite your work appropriately and enclose a reference page. Be sure to list even the sites that I have provided you if you use them to answer the question.

Do NOT do a laundry list of "question asked" and "answer" in your answer. While I have provided you with questions to answer, please answer them in paragraph form. Your answers should read as a narrative that covers all of the items raised by my questions.

I prefer that you paraphrase the material that you find for your answers rather than doing copy and paste. Do NOT copy and paste material without putting it in quotation marks and appropriately citing it if you feel a need to do your paper this way. Do not use more than 3 quotations if you feel the need to quote directly. (Copying and pasting without quotations and appropriate citations is plagiarism and will result in a grade of 40 (F) for the total assignment. Citations are also required for paraphrased material as well.) If you are unsure just what plagiarism is or how to cite correctly please go to the writing center website and click on the link to the right. The writing center is at http://www.csuohio.edu/academic/writingcenter/

If you go to the Writing Center, please be sure to note the date and time and who helped you there when turning in your paper. I do take into account the extra steps you were willing to take to improve your writing when I grade your assignment.

If you are unsure how to do citations, you can go to: http://library.csuohio.edu/research/vrd/citations.html

http://citationmachine.net

The links to the guides there are very good. If you are not required to use a specific format by your major discipline, I suggest using APA.

You can contact me via email or ask questions in class if you are unsure about your assignment.

The assignment:

We are fortunate to live next to one of the major freshwater sources in the world. However we rarely think about what feeds that water source and what might threaten it. These questions will help you to explore those sources with a focus on the local northwest Ohio area.

What is a watershed? What are some of the benefits of a watershed? Do they just deal with providing a way for water to reach a stream, river or lake or do they provide other benefits? What are those benefits? Do you think that these rise to the level where legislation is needed to protect a watershed? Defend your answer.

How large is the Lake Erie watershed area? What is the population of this area? How is the land currently used?

How many square miles does the watershed cover? What is the population of this area? How is the land currently used? A number of local rivers and creeks are a part of this watershed including the Cuyahoga River Watershed.

How many square miles are in the Cuyahoga watershed area? What formed the river? Where does the river begin? What is the shape of the river? How did it contribute to the development of the Cleveland Akron area? The river is often referred to as a "burning river". How did this come about? What happened to make the river "burn"?

What happened after the river "burned"?

The river is now serviced by a number of organizations that work to bring it back to life. What is the Cuyahoga River Restoration? One of its programs is "Habitats for Hard Places". What does this program focus on? Do you believe that they can be successful? Why or why not? The organization also provides a number of educational resources. Please review one of these and tell me if you found it helpful in understanding how to address issues that relate to the river. Why or why not did you find it helpful?

http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/whatis.cfm

https://www.epa.gov/hwp/learn-about-healthy-watersheds-their-assessment-and- protection

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25604.html

http://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/

http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CR9

http://www.cuyahogariver.org/

http://www.cuyahogariver.org/habitat-for-hard-places.html

http://www.cuyahogariver.org/educationresources.html