Conservation Tips- Your flowerbed might be a BayScape

by Judith C. Warrington, JRA's Communications Coordinator

If you have not yet done a stormwater runoff assessment of your home, fall is the perfect time to do a little river-friendly yardwork and become a certified River Hero Home. 

In fact, you may find that you have some of the landscape elements already in place. Let me give you an example. I had a BayScape in my yard and didn’t even know it! A BayScape is one of those watershed restoration terms you hear used in conjunction with rain garden and rain barrel, swale and buffer. It’s technically a “Best Management Practice” or BMP.

My BMP is a large flowerbed that conveniently catches most of the water flowing from a downspout at the corner of my house.  As a result of losing a tree in that spot last summer, my shade garden became a whole lot sunnier, so I completely re-dug the bed to a depth of about 8 to 10 inches, filled in with a mixture of soil, sand and humus to lighten the soil and planted a variety of sun-loving native plants such as black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), butterfly weed (Asclepias), and coneflowers (Echinacea). All of which have been flourishing, despite a fairly dry summer!  The other day it occurred to me that this was no mere flowerbed; this was actually a BayScape.

That’s how everyone needs to think about JRA’s River Hero Home program. You don’t necessarily have to do a total makeover of your yard to make it more river-friendly. Do an assessment. You may be closer to certification than you think! www.jamesriverhero.org 

Hats Off to JRA’s Newest RiverRats!

On Saturday, August 18, a beautiful and abnormally mild day in late summer, 15 river lovers gathered at Henricus Historical Park for JRA’s RiverRats training. These newest volunteers will be patrolling areas all across the watershed including the stretch from Howardsville to Hatton Ferry, Beaverdam Creek near Mechanicsville, and on the other end of the watershed one couple from Isle of Wight will be patrolling Chuckatuck Creek.

The James River now has 85 RiverRats to serve as its eyes and ears and they cover 68% of the main stem of the James River and over 370 miles of the James River and its tributaries. If you see someone with a RiverRat hat on next time you are out on the water, thank them for keeping their eyes out for the James River.

For more information on the RiverRats program visit:

http://www.jrava.org/get-involved/volunteer/riverrats

Exciting workshops at the University of Richmond

Explore “The James River: Past, Present and Future”

Wednesday, September 19, 2012, University of Richmond, 6:00-8:30 p.m.  

Join JRA for a new perspective on the James River. In a fast-paced, interactive workshop you’ll explore how the James River has shaped Virginia’s history, the challenges it faces, the impact of the 1972 Clean Water Act, and how people are working to protect and restore the river to full health. The workshop fee is $40.

Build your own Rain Barrel Workshop

Wednesday, September 26, 2012, University of Richmond

6:30-8:00 p.m.

Learn the benefits of using a rain barrel and build your own barrel to take home during this hands-on workshop conducted by JRA.  All materials and tools will be provided.  Cost of workshop, including rain barrel, is $74.

Both workshops are offered by JRA and the University of Richmond- School of Professional and Continuing Studies and will be held at the Gottwald Science Center, Room A205, University of Richmond. To register go to http://spcs.richmond.edu/professional/landscape-design/workshops.html

Wildlife of the James - River Otters

River Otters on the James
Lontra canadensis

By Gabe Silver
JRA Environmental Educator

As our canoe cuts through the placid waters of the James in the long slow pool just downriver of Scottsville, VA, a chattering sound catches our ears. Looking toward the south bank, I spot three heads bobbing in the water. Suddenly the numb toes and other grievances of a paddle through the winter dawn are all worth it, for here are the otters we had hoped to see. You will know when you see a river otter, for it moves unlike any other mammal on the James. You hear the chatter and watch the otter stretch its head high out of the water to inspect you before it disappears, followed by a brief flash of otter rump and then nothing but the occasional bubble rising to the surface. Then the head re-surfaces and again the chattering reaches your ears, as if you are being chided or teased. If you are very lucky, you may see a family of otter before they see you. If this is the case, you may be witness to the very definition of the word ‘playful.’

River otters are active hunters at night and can sometimes be spotted at dusk and dawn slipping into the water where they are indeed most at home. Otters, the largest member of the weasel family, are athletic and opportunistic predators, generally preferring fish but also consuming crayfish, amphibians, insects, birds, and small mammals. Protected from wet and cold by the densest of fur, otters swim happily even in frigid waters.

In the winter or early spring after a long and variable gestation period, the female otter will give birth to one to six pups in an abandoned den or hollow log. The otter pup starts life blind and helpless but in two months time will be roughhousing with its siblings in the shallows near the den. They will be weaned at three months and can go on to live over ten years. Some river otter live in small social groups and others appear to prefer solitude.

River otter were found in abundance throughout North America when the English landed at Jamestown. By the 1900s overharvesting, water pollution, and riparian habitat destruction had rendered the otter locally extinct in many areas and greatly reduced throughout much of its range. As a fish-eater at the top of the food chain, otter are susceptible to mercury and pesticide pollution that collects in fish tissue. In fact, scientists sometimes study the chemical content of otter tissue to determine the toxicity of the waters in which they live and hunt. The river otter is making a comeback throughout much of its range in the east, and our efforts to improve water quality and restore riparian habitat contribute greatly to their ongoing success.  One thing we can all do to help the otters of the James is never to litter and clean up any litter we find, especially fishing line and other potential entanglements a curious otter might find interesting.

We want to know about your experience seeing otters on the James. Tell us about where you have seen otters and what they were up to.

Learn more:

River Otter Facts, Photos and Video from National Geographic http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/River-otter

University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lontra_canadensis.html

Conservation Tips: Living Shorelines

by Anna Salzburg, JRA Intern

Residents of the James River watershed and those visiting the James River typically do so because they want to reach the water, dip their toes in it, and see the wildlife embracing their natural habitat.  Unfortunately, artificial shoreline armor used to protect against shoreline degradation and stream bank destabilization resulting from ever-rising sea levels and increased stormwater flushes, prevents citizens from enjoying our water resources to their fullest.

What this conservation tip is really addressing is erosion and installing a “living shoreline” to resolve issues that result from erosion.  Open, linear shorelines receive the full impact of a wave, thereby increasing erosion.  A living shoreline incorporates an irregular shoreline design that causes waves to diverge, spread the energy out, and decrease erosion.  The Upper James River watershed experiences erosion, but with much smaller bank widths/depths and lower fetch factors (open water distance) that increase the potential for erosion.  Still, in these areas storm surges can overwhelm even the best management practices installed, resulting in pollution and erosion issues.  The living shoreline in the upper reaches of the James requires planting native species on an approximately 2:1 slope within the riparian buffer area to prevent land loss due to erosion.  JRA strongly recommends consulting with a professional in both streambank and shoreline restoration before conducting any activities in or near ANY body of water.  Even wetlands, streams, and creeks that appear dry most of the year are still regulated by the local, state, and federal agencies as jurisdictional areas. 

Jamestown 4-H Educational Center living shoreline project

A living shoreline results in many positive functions, which are similar to those of a wetland or any natural buffer abutting a water resource.  These positive functions include trapping sediment pollution, filtering pollution, providing habitat and food for wildlife, improving water quality, and decreasing the amount of nutrient pollution.  Materials used on a living shoreline include marsh plantings, shrubs, trees and a variety of structural and organic materials; including wetland plants, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), oyster reefs, and coir fiber logs.  Artificial shoreline armor products include riprap, bulkheads, and flood walls.  Unfortunately, artificial armor does nothing to increase the natural habitat and actually increases the rate of coastal erosion (NOAA). 

An example of a successful living shoreline project on the James River is the Jamestown 4-H Educational Center.  This project involved 400 feet of shoreline eroding at 18 inches a year.  A group of volunteers laid out the planting grid, drilled in the plant holes, fertilized the holes, and planted.  Stone sills are sometimes used at the base of a living shoreline to protect the plants, especially while they grow strong enough to withstand storm erosion.  A video of this project is located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyR249Af_FE  

References: http://web.vims.edu/physical/research/shoreline/docs/LS_Design_final_v1.2.pdf

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/livingshorelines.html