Section 1517.01 - Division of natural areas and preserves definitionsAs used in this chapter:
(A) "Natural area" means an area of land or water which either retains to some degree or has re-established its natural character, although it need not be completely undisturbed, or has unusual flora, fauna, geological, archeological, scenic, or similar features of scientific or educational interest.(B) "Nature preserve" means an area which is formally dedicated under section 1517.05 of the Revised Code.(C) "Recreational river" means a watercourse declared a recreational river by the director of natural resources under section 1517.14 of the Revised Code and includes those watercourses or sections of watercourses that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past.(D) "Scenic river" means a watercourse or a section of watercourse declared a scenic river by the director under section 1517.14 of the Revised Code to which both of the following apply: (1) It is free of impoundments constructed by humans for at least seventy-five per cent of the length of the watercourse or section of the watercourse or it is combined with another section of a watercourse that has been designated a wild river.(2) It has shorelines or watersheds that are largely primitive and undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads.(E) "Scenic river lands" means any area of land or water within a wild, scenic, or recreational river watershed that is owned by the department of natural resources and administered by the division of natural areas and preserves for the purpose of protecting the natural character and water quality of a wild, scenic, or recreational river.(F) "Watercourse" means a substantially natural channel that is at least five miles in length with recognized banks and a bottom in which the flow of water occurs.(G) "Wild river" means a watercourse declared a wild river by the director under section 1517.14 of the Revised Code and includes those watercourses or sections of watercourses that are free of impoundments constructed by humans and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted, representing vestiges of primitive America.Amended by 135th General Assembly,SB 156,§1, eff. 10/24/2024.Effective Date: 8/31/1970.