The folks behind the family-run Morgan's Canoe and Outdoor Adventure business are hanging up the paddles at their Warren County operation along the Little Miami River. The family will continue to operate its Whitewater River location in Brookville, Ind.
"I think myself and my brothers looked in the mirror one day and said, 'you know, guys, we're not getting any younger, '" Dirk Morgan, vice president and co-owner, tells WVXU, noting it felt too difficult to try to pass the business along to a third generation. "I think my brothers and I are in agreement that it really won't hit us until next spring, when it's time to to open up the doors at Fort Ancient on the Little Miami, and we don't have to."
For six decades, people have flocked to the canoe livery for canoeing, kayaking, camping and more. The family says preservation and conservation have always been part of their mission. Now the Morgan's properties have been transferred to the Little Miami Conservancy for conservation.
The family announced the closure Wednesday and say the outpouring of support has been amazing.
"I think my parents, Bob and June Morgan — who started this business and, you know, we worked it on our backs — I think they're smiling somewhere right now. To know how many people that we've touched ... looking through social media just in the short time that it's been announced is almost a little overwhelming to know how much we meant to people and being a fabric of their families' lives and memories," Dirk Morgan says. "I guess in that respect our legacy will live on forever."
RELATED: USDA, state incentivize farmers to protect Great and Little Miami watersheds
The Little Miami Conservancy used a grant from the Susanne Geier Peters Foundation to acquire the properties.
"We are honored to continue this legacy of conservation, ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy and appreciate the Little Miami River for decades to come," says Jason Brownknight, executive director of the Little Miami Conservancy.
Five properties totaling around 26 acres along the river between Oregonia and Morrow, Ohio will likely be transferred to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for long-term management and stewardship. Brownknight says ODNR's plans for the properties haven't been finalized. However, the conservancy knows what it would like to see.
"In our initials conversations, what we'd like to do is to still keep the headquarters — where the canoe livery is — still keep that building active as maybe a future visitor center, to the bike trail and to the river down the road, and it would be managed and operated by ODNR as an education center with access to the river and the bike trail," he says. "We've also talked with them about ... leaving a section of that campground property open as a primitive campground ... and then the river access that already exists there, that that access would remain open."
He says some of the other properties will likely be restored to natural habitat. The conservancy is still working with ODNR on finalizing a transfer agreement. Brownknight says he hopes that will happen later this year, followed by some kind of grand opening event to highlight the state agency's plans.
RELATED: Study suggests recreation on the Little Miami River generates $10+ million a year
ODNR confirms its Division of Natural Areas and Preserves is working with the Little Miami Conservancy and referred all questions to the conservancy.
"More information regarding ODNR's involvement with the property and future plans will be shared at a later date," a spokesperson said in a statement to WVXU.
How it almost didn't happen
Dirk Morgan says the family had been looking to scale back for a few years but hadn't found the right offer — they didn't want to sell to a random canoe company that might not care about preserving the river and nature. That's always been important to the family, he notes. His father, Bob Morgan, was an early member of Little Miami Inc., which was created to restore, protect and preserve the Little Miami River, and served as its first president. The nonprofit later became the Little Miami Conservancy.
During a canoe trip, Dick Geier, founder of the Susanne Geier Peters Foundation, heard how a previous attempt to acquire the Morgan's properties for preservation fell through and thought his newly created foundation could help. As Morgan recalls, Geier himself had fond memories of participating in a canoe trip led by Bob Morgan.
A mutual friend then reached out to the Morgan family asking, " 'Hey, have you guys listed your properties yet?' And we said, No, we were getting ready to tomorrow with a commercial realtor," Morgan says. "It was kind of like a 'stop the presses!' moment."
Morgan says the Little Miami Conservancy then stepped in to be the conduit to make the deal happen and protect the properties for future generations.
"It really is a serendipitous story that without a couple coincidences might not have ever happened. Here's a gentleman that 60 years ago, knew of us and experienced the outdoors [with us], and then had an opportunity and the wherewithal and the means to be able to make it happen."
The Morgan family say they're hopeful this ending will inspire others to do what they can to protect and preserve the Little Miami River.
"We want people to see what's been done here, other people that have the wherewithal, that have property, that have money that they could donate to organizations like Little Miami Conservancy or the Isaac Walton League and any number of others that can pick up the flame and continue to carry it," he says with passion, "in order to keep this river from becoming an urbanized ditch."
