Inventory & Monitoring at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Wetlands at Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Wetlands at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

NPS

Located in northeastern Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses over 32,800 acres of relatively undeveloped open space between the metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Akron within the Cuyahoga Valley. The park was established as a National Recreation Area in 1974 and was re-designated as Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2000. The Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998.
The park protects a complex of fluvial landforms, including a 22-mile corridor of the Cuyahoga River, its floodplain, and adjacent ravines that contain nearly 200 miles of perennial tributaries. The park has identified nearly 1,490 wetlands of varying size within its boundaries, encompassing approximately 1,900 acres. The four, most-common types of wetlands are wet meadow, marsh, scrub/shrub and forest. CUVA supports a variety of habitats, but forest dominates vegetation cover. Mixed forests cover approximately 27,000 acres (80 percent) with the oak-hickory association being the most common. The forests can be broadly categorized as upland or bottomland, based on landscape position. In upland forests, the dominant vegetation is a mix of hardwood trees, mainly oaks, hickories (Carya spp.), maples (Acer spp.), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). Bottomland forests typically support an overstory of ashes (Fraxinus spp.), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), box elder (Acer negundo), Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and red maple.

Natural Resource Updates

Showing results 1-8 of 8

  • The Columbia Sensitive Resource Zone: Balancing Conservation and Visitor Experience at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Natural Resource Condition Assessment Program
    View down a wooded hillside with sunlight filtering through green leaves.

    The Columbia Sensitive Resource Zone in Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a case study in trying to find a sustainable balance between resource conservation and recreation. Learn more about the sensitive resource zone and how park visitors can engage in shared stewardship.

  • Stream by Stream: Researching and Protecting Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Vital Waterways

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division
    A small stream flowing through an area with trees and dense vegetation.

    At Cuyahoga Valley National Park, an inventory of streams and their inhabitants is helping park managers understand and protect these vital waterways. The study revealed that most streams in the park are in good condition with minimal habitat damage. For the few streams facing challenges, conservation and restoration initiatives will help restore them to high ecological quality.

  • Discovering Hidden Treasures: A Rare Plant Inventory at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division
    A yellow lady

    At Cuyahoga Valley National Park (NP), a rare plant inventory funded by the Inventory & Monitoring Division is helping park managers understand and protect the park’s hidden ecological gems. Researchers identified 98 rare plant species during this inventory.

  • NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    river and trees

    Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.

  • Sentinel Wetlands Monitoring at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A National Park Service scientist standing an area with wetland plants and trees in the distance.

    Cuyahoga Valley National Park has over 1,500 wetlands. Wetlands are unique natural features and vital components of the landscape. They are extremely productive, provide habitat for thousands of plant and animal species, protect water quality, reduce erosion, and provide flood protection. The Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network monitors wetlands at the park to understand how they may be changing over time.

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    Invasive, Non-native Plant Monitoring at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    Garlic Mustard along a stream at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

    In this study, we found 61 non-native, invasive plants. These are plants that have not historically grown in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Human activity brought these plants to the park from other locations, including other continents.

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    Wetland Bird Study at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    Yellow Warblers at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

    This study provides baseline information about birds inhabiting wetland areas in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    Amphibian Study at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    • Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    Frog near a road at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

    If you remember the 1980’s arcade game “Frogger”, the goal was to move your frog through busy traffic across a road. The game reflected real life – frogs and other animals are challenged to deal with roads and traffic.

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 3507 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Source: Data Store Collection 4260 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.


Attention Citizen Scientists - Help document the park's biodiversity using iNaturalist.
iNaturalist is a mobile and web-based tool where people can document the plants, animals, and other species they see and the iNaturalist community works together to identify what was observed.

Check out the links below for other interesting science information about your park:

Air Quality in Parks
Learn about the air quality at your park and how it has changed over time.

NPS Geodiversity Atlas
An interactive map to explore the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in your park.

NPSpecies
Find out what plants and animals are present in your park or other parks.

NPS Datastore
Search the NPS DataStore for more information about the park.

Last updated: December 12, 2018

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