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Regardless
of how you feel about this so-called winter coming to an end, river season
is right around the corner. FOMR has been busy planning ways for you
to have fun and rewarding river experiences in the coming months. We hope you make
the river part of your plans this year! |
| | | Three Events to Attend
Three Opportunities to Volunteer
Earth Day turns 50 this year, and FOMR will be at all of these local events! Come visit, or better yet, volunteer! April is always the "all hands on deck" month for FOMR. Volunteers will help set up tables and
displays, interact with participants, provide information related to
FOMR activities, provide education related to the Middle River, etc.,
and then help with tear-down and clean up. (At Kites & Critters, volunteers may also be asked to help with parking, flying kites, or any other activity that may need assistance.)
Gypsy
Hill Park Bandstand, Staunton, 10am-2pm
272 Bells Lane, Staunton, 1-5pm
Constitution
Park, Waynesboro, 10am-4:30pm
To volunteer for Riverfest, contact Kate at fomr.guenther@gmail.com or 540-609-8267.
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| Spring Benthic Monitoring
Our spring benthic stream
monitoring will be held
on various days at all nine of our monitoring sites in the
first two weeks of
April.
On Sunday, April 26 at 3:30 pm
we will also be
having a benthic monitoring session for anyone who is unable to
participate in our regular monitoring as well as anyone who
would like to learn what we do, gain
more experience or just practice stream bug identification.
It’s fun and
you get to hang out with a great group of folks.
We will meet
behind the Churchville
Fire Dept. in a field by Jennings branch.There is parking
between the auto
parts store and the Fire House and it may be possible to park
on the western
side of the Fire House if it is not under construction. Please
contact Pete Cooper
(pfcoop@verizion.net)
if you can come. |
| Radioactive Brine?
by Wayne F. Nolde, PE, CCM, M.Asce
Large quantities of salt water brine are produced in the process of fracking
oil and gas wells and recovering the oil or gas. The produced brine has been
around for a long time, but the quantity of brine produced has risen
dramatically in recent years as fracking has increased. The regulation of the
radioactive brine is somewhat clouded by the fact that the material is
considered a "naturally occurring radioactive material." A recent
article in Rolling Stone magazine detailed many of the issues associated with
the unethical disposal of some of the brine, including using it on winter roads.
In response to a recent inquiry to Friends of
the Middle River concerning the Rolling Stone article about radioactive salt
brine.... READ MORE... |
| | A Middle River Snapshot VA Department of Environmental Quality's Bio-blitz
In October 2018 the Virginia DEQ comprehensively assessed a section of the Middle
River near mile marker 39 near Shutterlee Mill Road—taking a health checkup of one section of Middle
River. This was part of their yearly analysis of river health throughout
the state of Virginia. They inventoried insect and fish populations along with
performing chemical analyses, which when added together reflect the health of
the river. What did they find?
Of the 15 orders of insects represented in this
stretch, the insects that reflect good water quality (mayflies, caddisflies,
stoneflies) were... Read more HERE. |
| PCBs In Lewis Creek
You
can view the maps and surf the powerpoints of the past two Virginia Department
of Environmental Quality meetings about PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in
Lewis Creek. PCBs are a legacy contaminant that dates back to the 1970s. PCBs
are found in transformers, capacitors, hydraulic fluids, circuit breakers,
PVC products, carbonless copy paper, caulking material, paints and other
industrial processes. PCBs are persistent in the environment and bioaccumulate in
fish tissues. VDEQ collected fish tissue data between 2001 and 2017
and plans to do additional fish tissue monitoring in the summer 2020.
Fish consumption is typically the pathway for human exposure to PCBs. Read more and surf the powerpoints HERE.
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| | | Cattle Exclusion Mandate Bills
Virginia House Bill 1422 Virginia Senate Bill 704
Bobby Whitescarver has a nice blog that lays out the proposed bills mandating that cattle be excluded from perennial streams by July 2026. Read the bills, see endorsements, read the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses of the bills HERE.
Update from Bobby: The bill was signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the
Senate yesterday and is headed to the governor’s desk to sign into law.
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| E.coli Report
February’s
results look very good with the exception of two sites on Christians
Creek and one site on Middle River which had elevated E. coli levels.
See our latest monitoring results HERE!
FOMR
is currently supervising students from the Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
with an environmental research project. The project investigates the relationship between macro-invertebrate insect populations and levels of E. coli bacteria from various sites in Augusta County waterways. |
| | Spring Cleanup Week
Augusta County Regional Landfill Cleanup Week accepts tires and appliances so that citizens don't have to throw them over the bank and into the creek! Saturday, April 18 through Saturday, April 25, households can turn in up to 6 TIRES for NO FEE FOR DISPOSAL. Tires from businesses may not be disposed of for free. Fees will not be waived for tractor trailer tires. Tires on split rims will not be accepted.
Plus HERE you can get the complete disposal guide to tell you how to handle all the odd-ball things like antifreeze, air conditioners, mercury, dead animals, fluorescent tubes and transmission fluids, just to name a few!
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| Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP)
Thinking about doing some property improvement to make your yard more conservation-friendly? Consider whether VCAP might be able to help fund your project! From the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District's website:
The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) is
an urban cost-share program that provides financial incentives and
technical and educational assistance to property owners installing
eligible Best Management Practices (BMPs).
These practices can be installed in areas of your yard where problems
like erosion, poor drainage, or poor vegetation occur. Qualified sites
shall be used for residential, commercial, or recreational purposes with
a proposed practice that addresses a need.
Most practices are eligible for 75% cost-share and some practices provide a flat incentive payment up to the installation cost.
- Conservation Landscaping
- Impervious Surface Removal
- Permeable Pavement Installation
- Dry Wells
- Rainwater Harvesting
- Vegetated Conveyance System
- Constructed Wetlands
- Bioretention
- Rain Gardens
- Infiltration
- Green Roofs
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| | An example of permeable pavers in cross section. Photo by Beldon Brick. |
| Save Our Streams
Annual Report
Interested in seeing how FOMR plugs into the larger data set regarding benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring and SaltWatch road salt monitoring? Take a read of the Izaac Walton League of America's (IWLA) Save Our Streams 2019 annual report (which includes our data) HERE.
Also, there is an active IWLA local chapter. You can get in touch via:
Samantha Armstrong Staunton-Augusta IWLA
342 Haskins Lane Churchville, VA 24421 Email: samiam1824@comcast.net
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| Video Corner
How to Select a Stand Up Paddleboard 5 minutes
3 Golden Rules of Kayaking
(Torso rotation, location and re-entry after capsize) 3 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT67YPFkqqY&feature=youtu.be
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| FOMR Website Poll
We
are discussing improving or replacing our website, and we would love to
know your experience using the current FOMR website. Even if you rarely
or never use our website, that info can help us. Please give us your
thoughts HERE!
Thank you to those of you who have already taken the survey! |
| | Upcoming March
16 E. coli
monitoring
24 FOMR Board Meeting
April
19 Valley Conservation Council’s Kites & Critters, 272 Bells
Lane, Staunton, 1-5pm 20 E. coli
monitoring 25 Riverfest, Constitution
Park, 215 McElroy St, Waynesboro, VA 10am-4:30pm 26 Bug School Streamside, Churchville Fire House, 3829 Churchville Ave, Churchville, 3:30pm
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FOMR is a Paddle America Club member
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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 540-609-8267
FOMR is a 501(c)(3) organization.
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