| September River News 2018
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| | Friends Fest, Rescheduled!
New Date: Sunday, September 23rd.
Please RSVP HERE so we can order enough BBQ for everyone! Please bring 1) a potluck dish 2) chair or blanket 3) your favorite beverage (adult beverages OK).
Please leave Fido at home for this event. If the weather does not cooperate again (imagine that), we will have a backup indoor venue plan to fall back on. So, come rain or shine, on September 23rd we will be giving away our raffle prizes!
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| | Season Finale FLOAT TRIP
Saturday, October 6
* We are putting together an end-of- season float trip on Middle River led by Roger!
* Exact time and river stretch is still being determined, but we will start late morning and be on lower Middle River.
* No particular theme to this float trip, but this will NOT be a trip for fishing.
* Fee will be $10 per person which covers your trip insurance.
Note: This replaces the previously scheduled Sept. 23rd float trip.
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Fall Benthic Monitoring
Begins!
Friends of the
Middle River will monitor our benthic sites in late September and
early October. We always welcome any new or returning volunteers who want to pitch in and pick
and count critters or just see what we do and how we go about assessing stream
health. (The species and quantity of aquatic insects indicated stream
health or lack thereof). This is always a
fluid process (no pun intended) since we are dependent on the weather, stream flows, and the schedules of our certified
monitors. It usually takes
1.5 to 2 hours to monitor a site. You don't have to get wet, but dress
appropriately, bring a camp chair, sun screen, insect repellent. If you have
questions or want to help, send an email to info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
Sep. 16 at 1 pm, Cline
Lane- (unless Hurricane Florence decides differently)
Sep. 21 at 9 am, River
Ridge
Sep. 22 at 9 am, Summerdean
Sep. 22 at 2 pm, Cattleman’s
Rd.
Sep. 23 at 1 pm, Damtown
Sep. 30 at 1 pm, Honeysuckle
Hill
Sep. 30 at 1:30
pm, Eastwood
Oct. 7 at 12:30
pm, Greenhills
TBD, Dogback
TBD, Verona Access Site
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Watershed Steward Class!
VoiCeS in the Valley 2018
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is offering a local, 6-week class in Augusta County! Thursdays, Oct. 11- Nov.15, 6-8:30 pm.
You'll learn from speakers about the health of the rivers in the valley and the Chesapeake Bay. You'll hear from farmers, pipeline advocates, local land and water conservation leaders, elected officials, landscape designers, fresh water mussel scientists and more! Includes two field trips!
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| Click HERE for Class Flyer |
| Click HEREfor Class Press Release |
| Click HERE for Class Draft Syllabus |
| E. coli Measuring Process
How does FOMR measure E. coli levels in the river?
We:
1. take a water sample from the river
2. mix 3 milliliters (ml) of the water sample
with Coliscan
3. pour the mixture into a Petri dish
4. incubate the Petri dish for 24 hours to allow the bacteria to grow
5. read the number of bacteria colonies that have grown
6. take the number of colonies counted in the mixture and multiply
by 33.33 to get the number of colonies that would be in a 100ml water
sample
The
resulting number is called “Colony Forming Units” or CFU, and since
it’s from 100ml of water sample, it’s called “# CFU/100ml”. The
current Virginia standard for recreational use is 235 CFU/100ml. Any
number greater than that is not safe for swimming, etc. The state
standard for drinking water is 0 CFU/100ml.
So how is the water? Read the results of the August 2018 report HERE
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| | Fish School
American Eel .
One of the most amazing fish in Middle River is an endurance
athlete: the American Eel. No other fish in the Middle River has the complex
life stages and migration behavior of Anguilla
rostrata. This past May, after days of heavy rain made the Middle River run
high and mocha-colored, a fisherman fished an American Eel right out of the
creek in Verona. This had to be an unusual catch, as eels are most often
captured using baited, fine mesh pots, similar to crab pots.
So let’s imagine the life of that eel recently in Middle
River:
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| | Business Sponsors
ACE Hardware, Verona
Altenergy, Inc. Appomattox River Company Augusta Aluminum Gutterworks Augusta Bird Club Black Swan Books and Music
The Blacksmith Shop, Inc. Conservation Services, Inc. Cranberry's Grocery and Eatery Katherine Crow CRPC, CLTC Private Wealth Advisor Seth Liskey, CFP, Edward Jones Mike Lund Food & Lundch MidValley Press Modern Boy Woodshop Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Shop Peason Financial Group. Inc. Riverbend Bluff Enterprises Shenandoah Valley Campground Stony Hill Farm Valley Trust Insurance Group Virginia Eagle Distributing
Company Whitescarver Natural Resources Management Wilderness Adventure
Zach's Country Store |
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| Individual and Family Sponsors
Karen Andersen Mark Battin Laurie Berman Jack Bookhultz Paul and Ruth Bugas Rick Chittum Pete and Faye Cooper Carolyn Ford and Lewis Moore David and Cindy Fuller Bruce and Olimpia Dorries
Victoria and Rod Granberry Ken Hearst and Kate Guenther Dave and Jan Mangun Joe and Liz McCue Whit and Jane Morriss Joe Thompson and Kathy Belcher Bobby Whitescarver and Jeanne Hoffman
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| Mark your Calendars!
Sep. and Oct.
Sep. 16 Benthic: Cline Lane
Sep. 21 Benthic: River Ridge
Sep. 22 Benthic: Summerdean and Cattlemans Sep. 23 RESCHEDULED Friends Fest
Sep. 23 Benthic: Damtown
Sep. 30 Benthic: Honeysuckle Hill and Eastwood Oct. 6 Season Finale Float Trip
Oct. 7 Benthic: Greenhills |
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FOMR is a Paddle America Club
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| Read more about Friends of the Middle River at our website HERE.
And follow us on Facebook!
P.O. Box 131, Verona VA, 24482
FOMR is a 501(c)(3) organization. |
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