2016 General Assembly Priorities

The 2016 General Assembly Session kicked off last week in Richmond. The James River Association is working hard to protect our river and watershed, but we need your help! 

Below are our key priorities for this session. Join our Action Network to stay up-to-date and involved in the coming weeks.

In order to reach the James River Association’s goals for a fully healthy James River and fulfill Virginia’s constitutional commitment to protect our waterways, we urge your support of the following critical actions:

Support Water Quality and Land Conservation Funding
Virginia has made significant investments in water quality and land conservation over the last two decades resulting in major pollution reductions and improvements to local water quality. In order to keep Virginia on track with meeting restoration goals for the James, continued investment is necessary. Therefore, we will be strongly supporting Water Quality and Land Conservation funding.

Support Proper Coal Ash Pond Closure (Senate Bill 537)

The James River watershed is home to coal ash ponds capable of holding five billion gallons of coal ash. Each pond in the watershed is bordering the river or one of its tributaries. Coal ash, which is a waste product of the electricity generation process, contains toxics such as arsenic, lead and mercury. Simply capping coal ash ponds in place without a liner, as currently proposed, does not stop the potential of groundwater contamination or pollution leaking in to surface waters. Every North Carolina pond that has been tested has been shown to be contaminating the surrounding groundwater. Despite this track record of contamination, Virginia’s code does not require lining, capping and long-term monitoring for these facilities. Senate Bill 537 would require that a liner be installed which will stop the potential for groundwater contamination and provide protection to Virginia’s waterways.  The bill also allows power generating companies to recover the costs for the safe closure of coal ash ponds.

Support Swifter Spill Notification (Senate Bill 581 & House Bill 977)

Current law requires the spill of a dangerous substance be reported within 24 hours to the Department of Environmental Quality. We believe that this timeline leaves our waterways, citizens and economy at risk. This bill accelerates that timeline to 12 hours which we believe enhances public notification and better protects us all.   

Support Proper Menhaden Management (Senate Bill 98 & House Bill 150)

Menhaden have been called "the most important fish in the sea." Menhaden are both filter feeders and a primary food source for striped bass (rockfish), bluefish, sharks, ospreys, brown pelicans, and dolphin. Beyond its ecological importance, the menhaden fishery is very important economically to the Commonwealth, supporting hundreds of jobs. The menhaden fishery is also the only fishery in the Commonwealth that is currently managed by the General Assembly – all others are managed by experienced fishery professionals at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC).  We support this bill because it transfers management of the menhaden fishery from the General Assembly to the fishery professionals at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). 

2015 was a huge success!

The James River had a great year in 2015. For the first time in decades, the river’s health received a grade of B- in the State of the James report.

We couldn’t have reached this milestone without the help of our incredible volunteers. Thank you for your hard work and dedication last year. We look forward to making 2016 the best year yet!

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Ben Hawkins at bhawkins@jrava.org.

Give the Gift of a Healthy River this Holiday Season

Thinking of the perfect gift can be a tough task during the holiday season. Here are a few gift ideas that also benefit the James River Association. By giving these gifts, you are helping us continue to reach toward our goal of a healthy James River.

• James River Association Membership  - Members also receive discounts of up to 20% at outfitters throughout the watershed.
• James River Blend Coffee from Blanchard’s Coffee – Clean water makes great coffee. The James River Blend is a perfect coffee to complement cool, crisp mornings on the river.
• Great Return from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery – This West Coast style IPA is a great gift for beer lovers.
• Tycoon Tackle fishing rod – Custom built fly fishing and spinning rods specifically designed for fishing the mighty James from a world renowned outfitter.
• James River art series – These posters, fine art prints, t-shirts and notecards are perfect for Richmonders who love the James.
• Amazon Smile – Use Amazon Smile when making your Amazon purchases. Make sure to designate the James River Association as your charity of choice.

For more gift ideas, visit our online Gift Shop. We hope you have a happy holiday!

Volunteering for the James

We are so thankful for our volunteers. People just like you give their precious time to help us create a cleaner, healthier watershed.

Meet Jose Espinoza a 24 year old IT professional originally from Stafford, VA. His love for the James led him to clean up trash in the Richmond region, as well as translating river information to Spanish to bring awareness to the Latino population.  Here’s what Jose had to say about his experience volunteering:

I moved to Richmond about 6 years ago to attend Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated in 2013. Like many VCU students, I had my first encounter with the James River by hanging out at Belle Isle. Every time I went to the river, it gifted me and my friends with new experiences and great quality time. Belle Isle brings so many people together but people also take it for granted. 

 After seeing so many people at Belle Isle throw trash on the ground and sometimes in the river, I decided to do something about it. I initially reached out to James River Association to volunteer in their self-directed trash cleanup program and have picked up trash along the Pipeline Trail. The James River Association also tapped into my cultural background to help them bring river awareness to the growing Latino population in the Richmond area. I helped them in translating pamphlets and newsletter that will educate Spanish speakers about the conservation of natural resources, good habits for the river and even volunteering opportunities. I really enjoyed this aspect of my volunteering experience because it helped the organization reach a different audience they wouldn’t have reached without my help 

I would highly encourage Richmond residents to volunteer with the James River Association because it feels good to give back to the river that has given so much to you in one way or another.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Ben Hawkins, Volunteer Coordinator, at bhawkins@jrava.org. 

Thank You

On this Thanksgiving, the James River Association wants to express our gratitude to all of our members and supporters. We couldn’t carry out our mission to protect and restore the health of the James River without…

• Our volunteers throughout Virginia who generously donate their time to help better the watershed. This past year you have helped plant over 1,700 trees and collect over 15,000 pounds of trash.
• RiverRats who patrol over 800 miles of the James and its tributaries. These dedicated volunteers keep watch over the river and complete action projects that better their communities and the health of their waterways.
• The members of our Action Network who make their opinions heard and strengthen our voice, the voice for the river. And the River Hero Homes who proudly take action to reduce pollution at home.
  
• Our members who help provide education programs for students at the James River Ecology School, who support our events celebrating the river, and who helped us reach a score of B- in the 2015 State of the James report. 

Your dedication to the James has strengthened this organization. We couldn’t do the work we do without people like you.

As we look back on 2015, we are proud of the accomplishments and the progress we have made over the past year. The James River Association thanks you. And more importantly, the river thanks you.

Volunteering for the James

We love our RiverRat volunteers! They act as the James River’s first line of citizen defense by assisting our Riverkeepers as the eyes and ears of the river and its tributaries. RiverRats come from all over the watershed, are all ages and have many different backgrounds. You don’t need to be a scientist or skilled paddler to become a RiverRat.

Meet Fred Kelly and Will Maddox, Lower James RiverRats. Fred is a retired mental health professional who currently lives in Dinwiddie County. His family has owned a cabin on the James River for five generations. This is where his father taught him to paddle and introduced him to the joys of being on the river. However, it was at that time a river in trouble. In those days the James was a dumping ground and it was not uncommon to find the shore lined with dead fish due to this pollution. There were fewer ducks, geese, osprey and virtually no eagles.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act and the efforts of local organizations like the James River Association, the river and its wildlife have bounced back. It is once again a place for recreation and creating memories. Fred shares his experiences on the James with his grandson Will. Fred says “Becoming a River Rat has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of being on the river by allowing me to become a protector of it as well. I only wish that I could have been doing this since I began paddling in the mid 1950s. I am especially pleased that my 15 year old grandson, Will, who took the River Rat training with me, will be in place to continue monitoring the river that he has grown to love long after I am no longer able to do so. I strongly encourage anyone who enjoys being on the river to get the training for becoming a River Rat. This is an opportunity that has been a long time coming. Don't miss it. Your river needs you.”

Here is what Fred had to say about his first RiverRat patrol with his grandson this past October:

Will and I have been paddling the James all of our lives and feel a need to preserve and protect this beautiful river. So when we heard about the River Rat program we were excited to get involved.

On October 23^rd, we went on our first official River Rat patrol with the mission of shore clean-up. Hurricane Joaquin had produced flooding which carried lots of plastic, glass and other debris onto the shoreline. Our goal was to begin dealing with this problem by cleaning the shore on Tar Bay, part of our designated patrol area. After gathering and bagging trash from about 100 yards of shoreline, we headed out in our boat to collect a very large piece of debris that a previous storm had deposited on a tree nearby. It had been an eye-sore for months and we had talked about removing it all summer. This was the day. How good it was to see that pink, plastic car in our boat rather than on that tree! 

Next, we decided to make a run around Coggins Point and up Powells Creek to check out its status after the hurricane. Powells Creek is beautiful any time of year with its mixture of hardwoods and marsh but this day was exceptional. We motored up about a mile or more into an area where few people venture and stopped to take pictures. The first thing Will spotted as he stepped out of the boat was a very lively crayfish. He had learned earlier this year while on a James River Expedition that crayfish are a good indicator of pollution-free water. So we are happy to report the good water conditions in that part of the creek. We also found no trash to clean up. How lucky we are to have such a pristine area to enjoy, and now, to help watch over.

Assisting the RiverKeepers on the James makes a recreational outing on the river very gratifying. It lets us give back to the river that has always given us so much pleasure.

Need another excuse to get out on the water? Want to make a difference while enjoying your time outdoors? Email Ben Hawkins at bhawkins@jrava.org to learn more about the RiverRats program or other volunteer opportunities. 

Clean water means good fishing in the James

Tim O’Brien, president of Tycoon Tackle, Inc., has a passion for the waters he fishes. And he fishes a lot. After all, he came by his passion as honestly as a fisherman could- through his father. In 1935, Frank O’Brien founded Tycoon Tackle in Miami, gear for the era’s renowned sportsmen; sportsmen like Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway.

“My dad just happened to come on the scene about that time and he developed these fishing rods that…were not breaking, and they started catching these giant fish,” Tim O’Brien said.

Frank O’Brien’s passion was startlingly interrupted in World War II, forcing the company to retool production to stay in business. Making fishing gear took a backseat to making aircraft landing gear. The company resumed making fishing gear after the war with a steady decline over the years due to the advent of mass produced fishing rods.

 All that changed close to a decade ago when Tim O’Brien led the rebirth of a once legendary tackle company producing bamboo, glass and graphite fly rods, and spinning and trolling rods. Armed with a sincere love of the sport and a doctoral degree in fisheries policy from Virginia Commonwealth University, O’Brien is poised to bring history to life. And his goal is to support organizations as passionate as he is about clean water.

In 2014 Tim O’Brien and Pat Calvert, the Upper James RiverKeeper for the James River Association decided to collaborate on a series of James River rods that would benefit the mission of preserving and protecting the health of America’s Founding River.

“Any business that relies on healthy, clean water is a good business in our opinion,” Calvert said.

This October we are proud to see the release of four rods, two spinning rods and two fly rods, specifically designed for use in the historic James River. Proceeds from each sale benefit our mission to preserve and protect the river for future generations. The rods will be custom, built-to-order, co-branded and appropriate for fishing sections of the James River. They will be available online at Tycoon Tackle and in finer outfitters throughout the watershed.