July 2000

By Tom Hrach
The Marietta Times
thrach@mariettatimes.com

With all its beauty and history, its rich bounty of wildlife and its recreational opportunities, the Muskingum River is the greatest untapped natural resource in all of Ohio.

The taxpayers of Ohio have pumped close to $11.8 million into repairs and improvements on the Muskingum River Parkway since 1984, yet the number of people using the river or enjoying any of its camping and park areas has not increased in the past 15 years.

It means that millions are being put into repairing a lock and dam system under the pretense of promoting tourism, yet the tourists are not coming in any great numbers.

Estimates from the Muskingum River Parkway office show the number of boaters, anglers, picnickers, visitors and people who attend park events along the river topped a half million in 1983 but was just more than 275,000 in 1999. While those are only estimates, the numbers show a trend -- that fewer people are using or enjoying the Muskingum River.

Some say state government, which operates the Muskingum River Parkway and its lock and dam system, is letting the citizens of southeast Ohio down by failing to adequately promote the area to tourists.
State government officials counter that they cannot do it alone, and the communities along the river have not taken enough action to capitalize on the river's potential.

The future of the Muskingum River could be as a national attraction bringing millions of tourists every year to see living history and take advantage of the recreational opportunities.

It could mean millions of dollars for Ohio's poorest counties. One of the state's own studies projected in 1993 that as much as $21.6 million could be generated every year through recreation alone.

Boaters and people who live along the river complain the state park system has taken actions that discourage people from using the river. Those actions include short-sighted decisions to recoup some of the money being spent and the lack of a coordinated plan to promote the parkway.

Boaters once were allowed to lock through at no charge, but in 1996 the state started charging fees trying to regain some of the costs of operating the system.

At one time, the state staffed the locks every day during boating season, but in 1992 the state cut back the hours to weekends and holidays saying it was costing too much to have staff at the locks during the weekdays.

"It's just the fact that there is so much potential here. If you are going to put that kind of money into a lock system, make it so people can use the river.

What's happening just doesn't make sense," said Laura Smith, owner of the Stockport Mill in Morgan County. Smith has invested more than $2 million in private moneyrenovating the Stockport Mill into a picturesque inn overlooking the roaring waters of the river.

"The state has got to make some kind of big marketing push to make something happen. When my boaters come down the locks are closed and they can't go anywhere. There are times when the lock tenders are not there that I am the one who has to do all of the tour guide stuff.

"I have called people at the state many times. I am not going to give up no matter what I am told,"Smith said.

"We've got to keep working on this problem. I feel as a citizen we've got to fight for it. ... There need to be people who are willing to force the issue.

Locked out
The amount of money generated by charging lock fees is minimal compared to the millions being put into lock and dam repairs.

In 1999, the lock fees generated $13,176 in income. The total cost of operating the parkway every year is $633,224 so the fees represent only a small fraction of the operating costs. The rest is paid by state tax dollars.

Keeping an employee at each of the 10 locks throughout the week would cost the state another $100,000 every year. Dan West, division chief for Ohio's state parks, said if the number of boaters increases and there is a demand for weekday hours, the state would consider expanding the hours.

"I still feel that the people using the Muskingum River are getting a tremendous benefit because we recoup only a tiny fraction of the entire cost of operating those locks," West said. "It is the same thing at other state parks. There are camping fees and shelter house fees. We do not want to shift the burden to the taxpayers of what we consider a special service. We think it's fair."

Again citing costs, in 1995 the state moved the headquarters for the parkway from the lock master's house in Zanesville to Blue Rock State Park, which is not near the river. While only an administrative move to save money, it meant the parkway was abandoning the historic lock master's house in Zanesville, a gesture that said the state was turning away from the river.
"We did not feel it was the best use of taxpayer money to put funds into an office in Zanesville. We don't want to spend money on offices. We want to spend money on the locks and the facilities for the public," West said. "We basically saved operational costs by doing that. That was part of our goal statewide."

Marketing is minimal
The parkway does little advertising to tell anyone that southeast Ohio has this historic treasure. The only advertising for the Muskingum River is done through the state park system, and the Muskingum River Parkway is just one of 73 state parks. The parkway has no central place to get information about boating, lock hours or where to fish.
Each of the sites stands alone with no common route or signs directing people where to go. The official state highway map has no mention of the historic Muskingum River lock and dam system.
"I've seen a few brochures on it, but they could really get the word out all around the state of Ohio. (Boaters) come down to Marietta from Akron and Cleveland all the time, but they don't even use the Muskingum," said Charles Alden, a boater from Marietta. "They need to advertise. Let's make it better known to the public. We know about it because we are here in Marietta, but people outside the area sure don't."
With no advertising budget, the parkway relies on local communities to promote the Muskingum River. But the communities along the river are small, have few resources and are located in Ohio's areas of highest unemployment.
Several of the communities along the river have tourist and convention bureaus, which would love to promote the river. But the river is a state park, and people say it's the state's job to do the promotion.
"We need to show the rest of Ohio what we have to offer in southeast Ohio. It's the state of Ohio's job to promote this. They have spent millions repairing the system, and now they have to spend money to promote it," said Kathy Lehotsky, Marietta/ Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau director.
Even the state officials agree the lack of advertising and promotion is hurting.
"About two to three years ago, we did go to a travel show in Pittsburgh, and we got a very good response," said Pat Archer, parkway manager. "But that was at a time when many of our locks were closed so it didn't do us much good. It's time to do some real good public relations."
Beautiful, but deteriorating
Closed locks have also hurt attendance. The last time all 10 locks on the system were open at the same time was during a one-month period in 1997. As of now, one of the locks is closed. Locks are closed for safety concerns, but they also are closed for repairs, which is exactly what the state says people want.
The issue for boaters is that since the state took over the system again in 1958, it has been neglected and allowed to deteriorate. A push to make repairs started in the mid-1980s and continues.
But a major lock repair takes months or even years. For example, the $2.5 million renovation of the McConnelsville lock took almost a full year, and the lock was completely closed to boats for two years.
Boaters say there is nothing more beautiful than a trip on the Muskingum from Marietta to Zanesville, if only it could be accomplished.
"If the lock system were put in good order and the river was dredged, I'd love to do it. A lot of us would do a lot more traveling along the Muskingum River. There is a boat club in Zanesville, and we would love to work something out with them," said Fred Hanson, commodore of the Marietta Boat Club. "But right now, it's just too risky. There's nothing in my mind that would be a more beautiful trip, but it's really risky."
The river is not just beautiful for boaters. The 10 lock sites are scenic locations along the river offering campsites right along the water's edge, picnic areas under huge sycamore trees and demonstrations of how the old lock system operated 160 years ago. But the lock sites, which are supposed to attract picnickers and anglers, have few amenities other than the basic picnic tables and rusty grills.
The entire parkway system has just one flush toilet. Some of those sites where history could be coming alive have boarded up buildings, crumbling stairs and no running water. They look primitive compared to many other state parks.
Political banter
While politicians are taking credit for putting money into lock repairs, some people believe southeast Ohio's sparse population and lack of political clout is hurting the effort.
The Muskingum River Advisory Board, a 27-member committee appointed to make recommendations to the state, was allowed to lapse by the Legislature. The group, set in 1986 is supposed to meet quarterly, but it has not met since September. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Zanesville.
"We know they are pretty pressed, and we of course are never satisfied. We need to make the state more aware of what the problems are," said Jim Stephens, the Marietta representative on the new board. "We're down here in the empty corner of the state. The state has a great number of parks, and to them the Muskingum River is just another park. They don't realize it's one of the greatest assets the state has. I guess they are as responsive as you would expect them to be. Let's face it, we have very, very little clout."
Responding to the criticism, West said the citizens of the Muskingum River Valley should not look solely to Columbus, but instead to Marietta, Zanesville and McConnelsville. He said there are not enough local attractions along the river.
What the Muskingum River Valley needs are attractions sponsored by private individuals and local communities. The state park system should be just one part of an overall strategy to make the Muskingum River Valley a national attraction, West said.
"I don't think we should be the only culprit. We have put millions into the locks. We put millions into the operations. The state is not the only player in this. The public has a role too. There are 73 state parks remember," West said. "We have put more money into capital improvements into the Muskingum River than any other single state park."
The Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism reports in a 1997 study that tourism is a $14.4 billion annual industry in Ohio yet only 6.7 percent of that goes to southeast Ohio.
The division is conducting a new study this summer to determine tourism's impact on Ohio, but it is not expected to show that southeast Ohio in general, or the Muskingum River in particular, is a top tourist destination. The 1997 study showed the top three Ohio tourist attractions are Lake Erie, theme parks and Amish country.
"I can tell you from the most recent study we did in 1997, southeast Ohio was not the most visited region of the state, but that does not mean that could not be changed," said Colleen May, research manager for the Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism. "I know there is so much potential for tourism in southeast Ohio, especially eco-tourism, which is something southeast Ohio can offer. The Muskingum River is a great resource for Ohio."