Salem Township is one of the twelve townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Ottawa County

Ottawa County, Ohio

Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,428. Its county seat is Port Clinton and is named either for the Ottawa Indians who lived there, or for an Indian word meaning "trader"....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 5,517 people in the township, 2,676 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Carroll Township
  Carroll Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Carroll Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,913 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county along Lake Erie, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - north
• Erie Township
  Erie Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Erie Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,328 people in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast
• Bay Township
  Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Bay Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,294 people in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - east
• Rice Township, Sandusky County
  Rice Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Rice Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 1,437 people lived in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county along Sandusky Bay, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Washington Township, Sandusky County
  Washington Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Washington Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 2,396 people lived in the township, 1,769 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest corner
• Harris Township
  Harris Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Harris Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,009 people in the township, 1,583 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west
• Benton Township
  Benton Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Benton Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,621 people in the township, 2,232 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest

The village of Oak Harbor

Oak Harbor, Ohio

Oak Harbor is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. Oak Harbor is 30 miles east of Toledo. The population was 2,841 at the 2000 census...

 is located in the township's northwest.

The Portage River

Portage River (Ohio)

Approximately in length, the Portage River meanders across Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood counties in northwest Ohio before it empties into Lake Erie at Port Clinton...

 runs from west to east through Salem Township before emptying into Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.