CLEVELAND, Ohio — Steel has always been a hot commodity in Cleveland, with many of its byproducts contributing to the near-killing of the Cuyahoga River.
That was then; this is now.
Kendra Wecker, chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, brought a new kind of steel to downtown Cleveland on Thursday: steelhead trout.
"These 7 to 9-inch yearling fish will swim to Lake Erie where they will grow to adulthood in two to three years," Wecker said, "and then return to the tributaries during fall and spring to provide a remarkable fishery."
The feisty fish will contribute even more to the $5.5 billion reeled in by Ohio's sportfishing economy.
"When you talk of over 30-plus miles of public water access to be explored," said Jeff Liskay, owner of Great Lakes Flyfishing, "It's an amazing story and it's nice to call Cleveland home. It really is."
When the crooked river last burned in 1969, it set into motion historic change.
"It's amazing in that 50-year span, how much progress has been made to clean the river and get it back to where it should be," said Michael Ferry, managing director of The Foundry Community Rowing & Sailing Center.
A new chapter begins on the Cuyahoga. But definitely not the last.