| | | You are Invited
FOMR Open House!
Drop in to our first Open House at our new Middle River access site!
Sunday, May 20
2-5 pm
NW Corner of Bald Rock Rd. and U.S. 11 (Lee Hwy), Verona
- Pick up an Authorized User River Access Permit, that facilitates parking for river put-ins and take-outs
- Tour the new access site
- Learn about our summer float trip details
- Meet our Board Members and Watershed Administrator
- Grab a snack and hang out, or just drop in for a quick visit
- We look forward to seeing you!
|
| Win This Kayak!
The 2018 FOMR Raffle Ticket sales season has begun!
3 tickets for $5
Win Top Prizes:
Tarpon 100 Kayak and Paddle
Guided Fly-fishing Trip with Justin Fischbach
$50 Gift Certificate to Wilderness Adventure in Staunton
Tickets on sale now at Wilderness Adventure until the Friends Fest Picnic on September 9th or from any board member, at any of our events or via email at info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
You need not be present at the picnic to win. But of course, we want you to come!
|
|
We
are creating a fine menu of monthly summer float trips on the Middle River for
you, but we do not have all the details ready to announce! (Teaser: we might have some specially themed floats!)
FLOAT TRIP 2018 Kickoff!
When: Saturday, May 26
Section: 6.6 river miles from Lebanon Church Rd. bridge to FOMR Verona access site.
Time: TBD
Interested? Stay tuned or shoot us an email and we'll make sure you get the details of the trip, which are coming very soon! info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
|
| FOMR Film Contest Winners
Fort Defiance High School Envirothon students won a $1000 prize for their film
|
| The check was presented to the students during the Wild and Scenic
Film Festival in Staunton on Sunday evening, April 22. We celebrate
these young river stewards!
Watch the 20 minute winning film right here! |
| | Virginia Save Our Streams (VASOS) Workshop with Trout Unlimited
Sunday, May 6, 9AM-5PM.
2193 Hanky Mountain Hwy, Churchville.
Rescheduled from April 8.
Learn how to assess water quality by collecting and identifying aquatic
macroinvertebrates. The Izaak Walton League is working with Trout
Unlimited and the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative to provide
a workshop for those who want to become certified VASOS Monitors. Free.
Details HERE. |
| Fish School
I am so happy that one of our benthic monitor’s kids tagged
along this month to do some fishing while the crew picked bugs at our River
Ridge site. He was there to fish for smallmouth bass, but in the time I was
there, he was poking around for crawfish bait. Just like the adults kicked up
the rocks to loosen the insects for the benthic monitoring, he kicked and
netted for bait. In his efforts, he caught a small fish in a hand net. Of course, I had no idea what it was. Small. Fish-like.
Definitely fishy. I snapped a picture,
and hoped I would figure it out. I pulled out my new-ish book Freshwater
Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware. This book has a dichotomous key to help me
get into the correct family and pretty decent color photos and range maps.
So, counting fins and checking the positioning
of the mouth, size, checking for lateral lines…I settled on longnose dace, Rhinichthys cataractae READ MORE
About Fish School:
Watershed Administrator Kate here! I am certainly no angler, but want to know
what is under my kayak. I figure there may be other Friends who would benefit
from some beginner fish introductions, too. So I plan to share my learning
journey regularly in FOMR newsletters and Facebook. I may (am likely) to make
mistakes or silly statements about fish along the way so, anglers, feel free to
gently inform me when my scholarship goes astray! Or, if you have a good
picture of a fish you caught in the Middle River—even better if you
are in the picture— send it on to me and I’ll either use it as a basis for a
Fish School article down the line, or I’ll post your picture on our Facebook
page! Send pictures to info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
with Fish School in the subject line. |
| Fishing Tournaments
at Gypsy Hill Park, Lake Tams
Kids’ Fishing Tournament 5-15 yrs. old Sat., May 5, 8 am-11 am On-site registration starts at 7:30 am Prizes! Seniors’ Fishing Tournament 50+ yrs. old Sat., May 19, 8 am-11 am On-site registration starts at 7:30 am
Prizes!
More info at 540-332-3945.
|
|
9th Annual Choose Clean Water Conference
Lancaster, PA
May 22-23
Looks terrific, if you are inclined to travel.
Read and register HERE
|
|
Mark your Calendars!
May
May 15 Headwaters
SWCD meeting
May 19 Seniors' Fishing Tournament
May 20 FOMR Open House, 2-5 pm
May 21 E.
coli water monitoring
May 26 FOMR Float Trip, Details TBD
|
| 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.
|
| | |
