Corey Sedmac of Franklin Soil and Water spotlights county waterways, volunteer monitoring and history

Corey Sedmac, public outreach coordinator for the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, briefed county commissioners on the history and ongoing protection of Franklin County’s waterways and urged residents to join local volunteer monitoring and watershed groups.

Sedmac traced stewardship of the county’s rivers to Indigenous use, noting original names for waterways including the Scioto River and Big Darby Creek and describing how landscape management shifted after Native Americans were removed in the 1830s. He said development and industrial-era changes later led to severe soil erosion and local environmental stresses by the 1940s.

The presentation placed local conservation work in a national policy context, citing federal programs that arose during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and later federal laws such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act as turning points for how pollution is managed. "Our work is focused on creating relationships with people and businesses where they're at and giving them resources to prevent water pollution and soil erosion," Sedmac said.

Sedmac described partnerships with local watershed nonprofits — he said every watershed in the county except Big Walnut has a nonprofit partner — and highlighted the newly incorporated Scioto Watershed Action Group (SWAG), which the district helped form. He invited residents to volunteer: SWAG will host a stream-quality monitoring session on Saturday, July 25, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Holton Community Center on Eureka Avenue; the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will lead a wildlife and heritage hike on June 13 at the Alum Creek New Galena boat ramp; and a mussel field trip is scheduled for June 20 at 9 a.m. at Alum Creek Park North.

A commissioner praised the district as "unsung heroes of quality of life in central Ohio" and asked if Sedmac could share a copy of his remarks with the commission. The same speaker also raised a question about the historical pronunciation of the Scioto River’s Indigenous name; commissioners and Sedmac exchanged informal comments about local pronunciations and history sources.

Another commissioner recommended the Great Council State Park in Xenia as a local resource documenting Native American history and pointed listeners to a public-radio podcast, "Ohio Country," for additional context.

Sedmac closed by stressing that as the county develops, protecting water resources should remain a top priority and that the district will continue to work with residents on conservation efforts. The commission thanked Sedmac for the presentation. The district’s annual meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17 at the new Bankrun Metro Park to celebrate the Big Walnut watershed and to discuss forming a Big Walnut watershed group.