Professor reflects on Blanchard conservation work

OTTAWA — For Bob Connour, his love of the outdoors started during childhood in Knoxville, Illinois. After completing his bachelor’s and master’s in biology, Connour began to teach biology at Owens Community College. Around 2005, he and a few other locals created the Blanchard Watershed Partnership, an organization dedicated to educating communities about the importance of the Blanchard River and protecting it and the clean water it provides to Northwest Ohio. He later served as president of the Blanchard Watershed Partnership. Connor said the water in the Blanchard starts in Kenton, passes through Bluffton — the southern part of the watershed — and through Arrowhead Park in Ottawa. That water eventually flows to the Maumee River and Lake Erie. “Clean water is a very valuable resource,” Connour said. “A lot of the world doesn’t have access to that, and so it’s important that we maintain that resource not just for our local residents but, you know, nationwide.” Earlier this year, the Fed