CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Since 1812, the City of Cuyahoga Falls has called this section of the Cuyahoga River home.
As the city grew, so did industries that damaged the Crooked River. That early history is chronicled at the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society and Museum.
Society President Douglas McGivern sets the scene. "If you look at old photographs...It was completely packed with industrial plants. They were all emitting all sorts of horrible things into the river."
Those days of indiscriminate dumping into the river are long gone, and it's taken time to improve.
This river habitat is so good, in fact, it's attracted something that hasn't been seen here in well over a hundred years. River otters.
Don Howdyshell captured video of the mammal. "All the credit goes to my dog. Molly saw the otter first so she's been nicknamed the otter spotter."
The sleek, swimming mammals have made a comeback in Ohio.
They have been seen all along the Cuyahoga River, just not between busy Route 8 and The Riverfront Sheraton.
They can be seen in the river's headwaters all the way into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
It's more good news for the city's leaders. Mayor Don Walters said, "When we found that there's river otters, we know that the environment is getting better to support that, so we're very excited."
Environmentally conscious businesses are rejoicing the otter's return. HiHo Brewing's Sustainability Officer Jamie Sipp explains what's so otter-friendly about the Cuyahoga here. "It's really a protected environment. Not a lot of people are going down where it's steep on the sides so they have a lot of seclusion and safety from people down there."
So keep your eyes peeled. You never know what you might see along this ecologically diverse section of the Cuyahoga River. Don Howdyshell has seen, "Otters, mink, beavers, great blue herons, bald eagles. Yeah, it's great!"