James River Expedition Highlight on Virginia Currents

We’re still talking about how much fun we had during our James River Expedition last summer. Students from across Virginia were able to learn about how important our river is, thanks to a generous grant from the Dominion Foundation. Tune into Virginia Currents on PBS tonight at 8 p.m. to watch a segment on the project!

Virginia Currents
The James River Expedition

RiverRats Raft-Up

On October 15^th the James River Association (JRA) held their 1^st Annual RiverRats Raft-Up, a volunteer appreciation event.  The RiverRats patrol the James River and its tributaries and to take action to protect and restore the watershed. They are a huge support to the two James River Riverkeepers, Pat Calvert and Chuck Frederickson, by having more eyes on the river.



Pat Calvert, Upper James Riverkeeper



The group gathered at Flower Camp, located near Howardsville in the foothills of Virginia. The day started off with a keynote speech from Jeff Corbin, Senior Advisor to U.S. EPA Administrator for the Chesapeake Bay and the Anacostia River that stressed the importance of citizen science. Then Bill Street, the Executive Director for the JRA, gave an update on the state of the James River. Calvert and Frederickson led hands on training on benthic invertebrates and underwater grasses.

After lunch, some of the group went on a short float from Flower Camp to Howardsville while others hiked around Flower Camp. That evening the group watched a slideshow by Will Daniel, author of James River Reflections, and listened to a talk by Bob Deans, author of The River Where America Began.  Several RiverRats were given awards for going above and beyond the call of duty.  The day ended with talks around the bonfire.

Some stayed through Sunday and joined Calvert on a float from the James River WMA down to Flower Camp.  Overall it was a great weekend filled with education, inspiration, and pure fun with a group of people sharing a love of the James River.  Thank you RiverRats!

Boys and Girls Club Camping Trip

By Jessica Templeton, JRA’s Ecology School Manager

This past weekend a group of eleven 6th through 9th graders and a courageous adult leader from the Hopewell Boys and Girls Club joined the James River Association for a couple of beautiful fall days of camping (many for the first time!) at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County. Saturday was a busy day spent enjoying the outdoors and learning new skills: how to set up a tent, how to fish, and how to paddle a canoe.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries donated a dozen fishing poles and supplies to the fishing experience through their tackle loaner program. The weather was a bit windy, but sunny and warm. The group introduced themselves to the volunteers leading the fishing experience, in which names were associated with an animal. This is when it was discovered that Paco is the Penguin because he is “cool”. Following introductions, the whole group met at Swift Creek to grab some bait and see what fish were out there. Turns out there wasn’t much out that day besides smiles and laughter, but with the sun beaming down and a cool wind blowing; it was just as pleasant an experience as reeling in a school of fish.

As with any good camping trip, our evening was capped with a campfire and s’mores. Despite initial hesitations from some of the campers about roasting sticks pulled from the ground, “how do you know the stick isn’t dirty?,” campers didn’t hesitate to go back for two or three more before putting out our campfire for the night.

Sunday morning our very sleepy and slightly shivering group braved a hike with the sunrise on one of Pocahontas’ many hiking trails. A few of us were lucky enough to catch a majestic looking Great Blue Heron fly across Swift Creek Lake while the lake was still misting from the cool morning air. It was a peaceful and inspiring moment. This camping program was developed to connect youth with nature and inspire feelings of comfort and confidence in the outdoors. When asked who would like to go camping again, it was less than a second before every hand went up in the air. Even though this was a first camping trip for many, it certainly looks like it won’t be their last!

Conservation Tips: Fall Gardening for Wildlife

by Amber Ellis, JRA's Watershed Restoration Associate/Volunteer Coordinator

Here’s a tip that will actually save you time and energy! While you are out in your garden this fall cleaning up, don’t cut everything back or rake every leaf up! By being a little less tidy, you can do your part in providing valuable habitat for our critters in the James River watershed.

Many perennials and ornamental grasses provide homes and food for wildlife throughout the winter. For example, birds love the seedheads on Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), so leave some of them uncut and you just might see a Goldfinch come to feed on the seeds. Then in late winter/early spring trim them back to allow for new growth to come up. You may find that your garden takes on a special beauty during the winter, now that there is some structure left behind.

Before you pull out the blower and the rake, find some areas that you wouldn’t mind having some leaves on the ground. By leaving layers of leaves in your flower beds, they will provide your plants with nutrients and will protect their roots from the cold winter. You can then cover them up in the spring with mulch. Many critters call leaf litter their home like salamanders, frogs, various eggs of butterflies and other insects.

For more information:
http://www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com/autumn-cleanup-wildlife-garden.html
http://www.northcoastgardening.com/2010/11/fall-leaf-raking/
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/untidy-wildlife-gardens/
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/step-away-from-that-leaf-blower/
http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/life-in-the-leaf-litter-dont-throw-a-good-thing-away.html

A Tire-some Venture

RiverRat, John Mays sent this report about a cleanup in the Upper James:

How many river tires can fit into a 30-yard dumpster? Well at least 190. That is the final count of tires collected from a river cleanup effort on the Upper James River that was held on October 8, 2011.

Members of the Upper James River Water Trail committee organized a river clean up and covered a 15-mile stretch of river in search of any and all trash that could be removed. The big culprit this year was tires that have been deposited along different stretches of the Upper James River by floods over the years.

This was the third year of river cleanup efforts lead by Twin River Outfitters, with the logistical help of the Botetourt County Parks and Recreation & Landfill departments, who help with properly disposing of the collected river trash. We got more tires this year than the last two years combined. This year we collected 190 tires, and 2 small dump truck beds of trash. Notable items included several chairs, a barrel, 2 bikes, air conditioner, clothing items, and a fiberglass Jon boat with lots of holes in it. The volunteer group concentrated its cleanup efforts over a stretch of the James River from the Springwood boat landing to Alpine.

A partial list of river cleanup volunteers included: Roger Sillmon, Susan Sillmon, Tyler Kern, Sam Baker, Kendal Moyer, John Besher, Karen Busher, Byron Busher, Kayla Beckner, Joseph Obeshai, John Mays, Dan Mays, Michael Denton, James Manuel and Mathew Fischer.

This was truly a team effort. Special thanks to all those that helped advertise this clean up event, coordinated the removal of the debris to local land fills, and those that did the river removal work.

Thanks again to all those that helped keep our river looking great. Interested in helping out next year? We have already set next year's river clean up date for Saturday October 6, 2012. To volunteer, contact John and Dan Mays of Twin River Outfitters, 653 Lowe Street, Buchanan, Virginia, 24066. Email tro@canoevirginia.net or phone the office at 540-261-7334.

Wildlife of the James - The Virginia Big-Eared Bat

by Angie Williams, JRA's Events and Development Assistant

As Halloween grows near and people search out for ghosts and ghouls, one favorite fluttering treat is the occasional sight of a bat in the evening. Despite Hollywood’s attempt to create a fearsome façade there is nothing to fear from any of Virginia’s native bat species, unless, of course, you are a moth.

The Virginia Big-eared bat is Virginia’s state bat, and is considered federally and state endangered. Ranging from pale to dark brown this medium sized bat is native to southwestern Virginia as they prefer caves in Karst regions (areas with limestone bedrock) and hibernate in tight cluster near the entrances of caves that are well ventilated. They get their namesake from their characteristic ears, generally more than an inch long, which are large compared to their 3 to 4 inch body. Adding to their unique gothic appearance they have large glands on each side of their muzzle.

Human disturbance is one of the largest factors contributing to the demise of these bats. Disturbing bats during hibernation can cause them to lose fat reserves, drop their young and after repeated disturbances, even death. Another threat to this already endangered animal is the poorly understood White-Nose Syndrome. This is identified by a characteristic white fungus that forms around the muzzle of many species of bats, and causes erratic behavior. Already having killed over one million bats in the United States, this syndrome is considered “worst wildlife health crisis in memory”.

Virginia Big Eared Bat:
http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats/vabigearbat.htm
Virginia’s State Bat

White Nose Syndrome:
http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/about.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nose_syndrome

Meet a RiverRat: David Bernard

The James River Association’s RiverRats are helping our Riverkeepers keep watch over the James River and its tributaries. Meet some of the RiverRats through a monthly highlight on JRA’s blog. Their dedication, passion, and local knowledge are crucial in creating a healthier James River.

David Bernard is a semi-retired plumbing contractor who grew up playing in a tributary of the Appomattox River called Lieutenant Run. An active canoeist, he learned to paddle at Balcony Falls and loves to canoe the downtown stretch of the James.

David became a RiverRat in order to learn how to help keep the river he loves clean. His patrol section is Bernard’s Creek, a small tributary that runs along the Chesterfield/Powhatan County border. The name of the creek intrigued him, although he doesn’t believe there is a family tie. Bernard’s Creek is considered impaired once it enters the James and David wanted to know why. On his patrol he discovered that cattle from a large farm have access to the creek.

David said, “I launched my canoe on March 11 at Huguenot Springs Road bridge after a big rain. Bernard’s Creek is about fifteen feet wide there. Later I went back with Upper James Riverkeeper, Pat Calvert, by paddling upstream from Robius Landing. Patrolling a small stream requires frequent carries over logs. I had to lift the canoe over logs 18 times on the March 11 trip! Pat and I had to carry over logs at least twice just exploring the lower part.”

According to David, the best part of being a RiverRat is learning how to look for and report pollution while adventuring on a stream or river. He would encourage anyone who loves the river to become a River Rat because, “the James River and tribs need all the help they can get and you will have fun exploring your own section.”

For more information on the RiverRats program visit http://jrava.org/get-involved/volunteer/riverrats or contact volunteer@jrava.org.

Top 5 LID Projects in the James River Watershed

by Amber Ellis, JRA's Watershed Restoration Associate/Volunteer Coordinator

First off, what is LID? It stands for Low Impact Development, which is an approach to development that uses innovative stormwater management techniques and works with the existing hydrology and conditions, as much as possible, so that it will have little impact on the site. You may be thinking this doesn’t sound like the most interesting topic, but take a look at some of these top examples that have been incorporated into landscapes across the James River watershed and you may be singing a different tune. Make a trip to visit some of these sites and come home inspired with a new way to view the landscape and water around you.

1. John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia: Throughout the parking area and around the building you will see biofiltration areas that capture and filter the stormwater.

2. ‘Green Street’ along Capitol Street at Capitol Square, Richmond: Take a walk along the sidewalk and you will see rain gardens along the street that capture and filter stormwater.

3. Riverfront Park and Jefferson Street, Lynchburg: There is a variety of LID practices throughout this site. Take a look at the permeable pavers in the parking area and the series of rain gardens within the parking islands that capture the stormwater. There is also a large linear rain garden that you can walk over along the pedestrian bridges.

4. RiverBluff Conservation Community, Charlottesville: This neighborhood incorporates a series of rains gardens that collect and filter the stormwater. Many of the homes also have rainwater harvesting systems.

5. Conservation Garden at the Virginia Living Museum: Here you can see green roofs in action and take a walk through the garden to see the use of native plantings. The building incorporates rain barrels and cisterns to collect stormwater.

For more information about LID:

http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/index.html

http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/lid/