TOLEDO, Ohio — Under the watch of bald eagles soaring overhead, it was hard to miss what 20 years of the Western Lake Erie Basin Partnership has done for the Maumee River. Here, everyday recreation and a century of shipping and industry converge in the heart of one of the Great Lakes’ most troubled watersheds.
The partnership, formed in the mid‑2000s, is a collaborative effort that brings together agencies, universities, farm groups and conservation organizations. It pools money and research to carry out projects that reduce phosphorus pollution and restore wetlands and wildlife habitat in the Maumee River watershed and western Lake Erie.
The Aug. 12 river tour capped a day‑long gathering at Toledo Metroparks’ Glass City Pavilion, drawing the partnership out onto the Maumee, a waterway they’ve spent decades trying to fix…