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Published: Monday, December 25, 2006

Retiring director recalls victories

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The biggest changes involve protecting Ohio's water.

By MICHELE C. HLADIK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBUS — Nearly eight years after taking over as director of Ohio's natural resources, Sam Speck hopes to have more time to actually enjoy what Ohio parks offer, while staying active in protecting the state's natural assets.

Speck, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, will leave the job he's loved in early January. He acknowledges he's ready to move on but plans to stay active in natural resource issues while at the same time looking at other avenues.

"It's been an exciting opportunity," he said of the job. "I've really enjoyed it enormously."

Speck said he hasn't decided which career opportunity he will take after he leaves office. He said he has had a number of people express an interest in talking to him, but he prefers to wait until he is no longer employed by the state.

"There are a number of opportunities I'll be looking at," he said.

Speck said he would also like to take more time for things such as boating with his wife, fishing and spending time with his family.

There have been many positive accomplishments throughout his years, according to Speck. He said the largest area of focus and improvements has been with protecting Ohio's water.

"We've made progress on a number of fronts," he said.

Watershed program

One program Speck touts is the Scioto River Watershed Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. He said the program involves 58 Ohio counties and offers grants to those who take steps to stop runoff of soil and keep pesticides out of water.

The department "was really working hard on protecting our water," he said.

Other water areas of success were the Acid Mine Drainage Project, the scenic rivers program and improvements and repairs to the Salt Fork Dam.

He said Clean Ohio Funds really helped protect Ohio waterways including at the Salt Fork Dam project. He said the funds also helped local communities construct more than 220 miles of trails.

Outdoor recreation also saw a number of improvements including in the purchase of land in the Lake Erie area and in boating.

Speck said boaters have really benefited through better boat ramps and access, improved marinas and increased safety measures.

Speck includes on his success list forestry initiatives encouraging best management practices for loggers and a call-before-you-cut program, protection of animal and plant life and the promotion of hunting.

He said the number of youth hunters increased 30 percent in 2006.

Disappointments

However, Speck acknowledges that though there have been a number of successes, the department has also dropped the ball a number of times. He said increased allocations to other important areas such as education and Medicaid meant a tighter budget for the department.

One area attempted to increase funds for the upkeep of state parks was in park entrance fees. The fees were close to fruition when the Ohio Legislature put a stop to them. Speck said the main concern was in making sure the parks were available to all Ohio families from all economic levels.

He said he was also disappointed in cuts to the Civilian Conservation Corps and to recycling programs.

Speck said he hopes the new director will look more closely at the recycling issue.

"Research and development in recycling can bring great revenues to a state," he said.

Monday, December 25, 2006