May is Membership Month

You’re going to hope your JRA membership is up-to-date when you read this!

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking fly fishing lessons or rafting down the James with a few of your friends to celebrate a special occasion, here’s your chance. The James River Association is now offering exclusive discounts to help its members get out and enjoy the James.

Your JRA membership (at any level) now entitles you to exclusive discounts of up to 20% at select outfitters and vendors throughout the watershed. And, there are more new vendors and exciting opportunities to come!

JRA  members are an important part of everything this organization is doing to protect the James and your efforts are rewarded by a healthier river… but we wanted to do more to thank you for being a loyal JRA member. All current JRA members in good standing are eligible for the discounts; just show your valid membership card.

But wait there’s more! If you live within the James River Watershed and become one of JRA’s certified River Hero Homes, you’ll also be eligible for additional discounts at local nurseries and garden centers. It’s an easy and effective way to reduce your homes stormwater pollution and protect the James from runoff.

Not currently a valid member? If you used to be a JRA member but let your membership lapse, now is the time to renew! You can do itonline now. If you’re not yet a JRA member, don’t’ wait any longer to join. We have a special limited time membership rate and a gift just for you, because May is Membership Month! Go to our membership page and find out more.

What are you waiting for? It’s a beautiful day to use your new discounts and enjoy your river!

What Bugs Tell Us

What Bugs Tell Us

This spring, find your way to a nearby steam and turn over a large rock from a riffle. The scurrying or clinging little life forms you uncover are called benthic macroinvertebrates by scientists who are trying to tell us that these are the spineless animals that we can see living at the bottom of the creek. Invertebrates, such as mayflies, are critical to the aquatic ecosystem; without them there would be no fish, no heron, and no fisherman. Like earthworms in the soil, they eat dead organic matter like leaves, and themselves become food for larger predators. By bridging death and life, they form an essential link in the nutrient cycle.

Playing in the creek as a boy, I was amazed by the confusing array of different critters I could find. This probably meant I was playing in a healthy stream. As we learn to identify these creatures, we find that cleaner waters support more biodiversity. This general observation has been distilled by science:

"Freshwater invertebrates are used more often than any other group of organisms to assess the health of freshwater environments. Some kinds are very sensitive to stress produced by pollution, habitat modification, or severe natural events, while others are tolerant of some types of stress. Taking samples of freshwater invertebrates and identifying the organisms present can reveal whether a body of water is healthy or ill, and the likely cause of the problem if one exists, much like an examination by a physician." (Voshell, A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America, p. 11)

When we find a diverse array of invertebrates that cannot survive in a polluted stream, we know we have an intact ecosystem. On the other hand, upon pulling a seine net from a stream to find only a homogenous sample of a certain fly larva or snail, we may conclude that this body of water is in distress.

Assessing ecosystem health by sampling the diversity of life it supports, calledbiomonitoring, shows scientists the big picture. While a chemical test of the water may yield precise numbers, it offers only a limited snapshot; recent weather conditions and seasonal variation can easily distort the picture. Biomonitoring, on the other hand, tells a more complete and subtle story of the life and times of the particular stream of interest.

In spring many freshwater invertebrates are getting ready to swim to the surface and undergo metamorphosis, much like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Emerging from their old skin, they forego the swimming, clinging existence of a nymph for the life of a flying adult. These are the dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, crane flies, and even the gnats and mosquitoes. All these creatures are as aquatic as they are airborne. It’s a dramatic season of change, and the perfect time to head for the creek to look under rocks and explore the world below. By learning to identify these fascinating animals, you’ll soon be predicting the health of your local creek.

Learn more:
Online key for freshwater invertebrates. >>The best book to learn to identify and understand freshwater invertebrates. >>

2013 Poster Contest

The results are in from JRA’s third annual poster contest “What a Healthy River Means to Me”!

JRA received nearly 250 entries from across the James River Watershed depicting lots of healthy fish, wildlife and happy river enthusiasts as part of our “What a Healthy River Means to Me” poster contest.  Middle school students in the City of Richmond, City of Lynchburg/James City County and public middle schools in Henrico County and Chesterfield County that are located within 5 miles of the James River were eligible to participate.

Congratulations to the winning students:  First place: Kristen Street, Midlothian Middle School, Chesterfield County; Second place: Joshua Hubbard, Manchester Middle School, Chesterfield County; Third place: Carson Clark, Tomahawk Creek Middle School, Chesterfield County; Fourth place: Grace Chun, Sandusky Middle School, Lynchburg.

The winning artists’ science teachers are: Karen Jaeger, Midlothian Middle School; Deborah Bodsford, Manchester Middle School; Donald Mugford, Tomahawk Creek Middle School; Leah Purvis, Sandusky Middle School.   Both the teachers and the students were awarded cash prizes.

First Place
Kristen Street
 Midlothian Middle School
Chesterfield County

Second Place
Joshua Hubbard
 Manchester Middle School
 Chesterfield County

Third Place
Carson Clark
 Tomahawk Creek Middle School
 Chesterfield County

 

Fourth Place
Grace Chun
 Sandusky Middle School
 Lynchburg

 Honorable mentions in the contest are: Daniel Aultice, Sandusky Middle School, Lynchburg; Justin Bagby, Albert Hill Middle School, Richmond; Christian Slater, Tomahawk Creek Middle School, Chesterfield County; Gia Schiavone, Tomahawk Creek Middle School, Chesterfield County.

Daniel Aultice
 Sandusky Middle School
 Lynchburg

Justin Bagby
 Albert Hill Middle School
 Richmond

Christian Slater
 Tomahawk Creek Middle School
 Chesterfield County

Gia Schiavone
 Tomahawk Creek Middle SchoolChesterfield County

Thank you to all the students and teachers for your participation!