Once a Wasteland: From Toxic Dump to National Park

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection.

This is a story of a happy ending. But it didn’t start that way. The place? The Krejci salvage yard, in the Cuyahoga River valley between the Ohio cities of Cleveland and Akron. The problem? Pollution--and lots of it!

After decades of companies dumping industrial waste products in the salvage yard, the area had become so contaminated that nothing could live there. Wildlife died and people got sick. The Cuyahoga River was so polluted with toxic waste that it even caught fire! What could be done? The United States government stepped in, enforcing a full-scale cleanup of the dump that included the removal of nearly 400,000 tons of tainted soil. And then it was time to give the land a fresh start. New soil was brought in, and seeds were planted.

After 25 years, the land was healed. Now the area where once nothing could live is part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Not only does the park provide a vibrant home to thriving diverse wildlife, it also serves as an example of how once-devastated environments can change, heal, and become places of beauty for all.