Livestock wading in the river

I'm puzzled that so many South Branch farmers reject programs that protect wetlands and riparian zones.  This gives me hope.  - Jim E.

Reposted from the Center for Justice Blog:

State of the Creek

August 15, 2013 in Breaking News

In a ruling with broad ramifications for how effectively Washington can regulate water pollution, the state Supreme Court rules to protect a contaminated waterway from “wallowing” livestock.

Lemire v. Ecology, a case decided earlier today by the Washington Supreme Court, is among the most important state environmental cases in recent years.

At issue, simply, is whether Washington regulators can effectively take action to stop what is known as “nonpoint” water pollution. “Point source” pollution is that which comes out a discharge pipe in to a waterway. “Nonpoint” is basically everything else, including polluted run-off from agricultural operations, or massive shopping mall parking lots. Because of the diversity of sources and investments needed to curtail polluted run-off, getting a handle on nonpoint pollution is often the largest headache in achieving compliance with state and federal water quality standards.

A Lemire cow at Pataha Creek. (Photo Courtesy Washington Department of Ecology.)

In the Lemire case, it was cows. Cattle rancher Joseph Lemire has been allowing his cattle unguarded access to Pataha Creek, a tributary to the Tucannon River not far from where the Tucannon joins the Snake River in the southeast corner of the state. Lemire’s ranch was identified a decade ago by Ecology as having a detrimental effect on Pataha Creek, which flows through the ranch. After trying to work collaboratively with Lemire for six years, the agency finally issued an order to compel the rancher to better protect the creek from the cattle that were trampling the stream banks, “wallowing” in the water, and, as you might expect, defecating into and near the polluted creek.

Lemire lost a challenge to the state’s Pollution Control Hearings Board but then challenged the board’s ruling in Columbia County Superior Court. The superior court judge overruled Ecology and the hearings board, finding that the enforcement action was unwarranted and that it also represented an unconstitutional “takings” of Lemire’s economic rights to use his land.

But in an 8-1 opinion authored by Justice Debra L. Stephens, the state Supreme Court today reversed the lower court’s decision, upholding Ecology’s regulatory authority under state law. In the decision, Justice Stephens wrote that the “plain language” of Washington’s Pollution Control Act “give Ecology the authority to regulate nonpoint source pollution discharge.”

As for Lemire’s contention that his actions do not require a permit under the federal Clean Water Act, Justice Stephens wrote, that “is irrelevant to the question of Ecology’s authority to regulate his activity under state law.

Here, the court cited an amicus brief filed by Waterkeepers Washington (including the Spokane Riverkeeper.)

“As amici Waterkeepers Washington explain,” she wrote, “Lemire’s actions may not be subject to a permit requirement under the Clean Water Act, but his actions are well within the state’s jurisdiction to prevent and control pollution within its borders.”

Today’s decisions got an enthusiastic response from Rick Eichstaedt, the Center’s executive director, who was the lead author on the Waterkeepers Washington amicus brief in the case.”

“This will have giant implications to address pollution across the state of Washington,” Eichstaedt said.
“We think this decision makes sense,” added Spokane Riverkeeper Bart Mihailovich. “We can’t simply place onerous requirements on cities and industries. Everyone needs to share the responsibility for cleaning up our water bodies. Lemire thought he was immune from the law and the Supreme Court rightfully found he was wrong.”

Lemire can appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, Eichstaedt noted. But, Eichstaedt points out, the U.S. Supreme Court would have the discretion of whether to hear the appeal and it usually reserves review to cases involving interpretation of federal law or the Constitution, not matters solely of state law as were involved in this case.

–Tim Connor for the Center for Justice

Webinar - Harmful Algal Blooms and Nutrient Pollution

 

Summer Webcast Series to Build Awareness About Harmful Algal Blooms and Nutrient Pollution

Don Anderson from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Steve Morton from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will continue the series with a discussion of innovative methods for identifying algae and their blooms, and how government and research institutions and even the public can help to monitor their outbreak and spread.

To register, visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts

1 1/2 hour Webcast

1 p.m.-2:30 pm Eastern  12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Central     11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Mountain   10 a.m.- 11:30 am Pacific

TACF Recognizes James R. Egenrieder

Even though I'm a graduate of the PSU School of Forestry, it was my dad's involvement with TACF that led to the BC3 generation Chestnut Research at the Wood House Research Farm here in Hampshire County.  

When we were little kids, my dad was frustrated with the chaos of the first day of trout season and for a couple of years he and my uncles stocked Fishing Creek with trout so we could have a more peaceful experience.  Fly fishing is certainly part of my identity, and my youngest brother Tim is a professional, captaining boats up to 50 tons but mostly taking is own boat out into Boston Harbor for enormous Striped bass on light tackle.

Set good examples for your kids and include them in your interests.  You'll be surprised how much they're watching.

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Honoring Jim Egenrieder

This month, we honor Jim Egenrieder (seen above on left) who has generously served as the chapter treasurer for the past 5 years. Jim will be taking on greater responsibilities with the Manada Conservancy and transferring his duties as treasurer to PA-TACF member John Civitts. Jim is just seven decades old and is a life-long resident of the Harrisburg area. He is retired from AMP Incorporated and a career in systems engineering. Jim and his wife, Ann, have four sons- Jim, Rick, Brian, and Tim.

Jim is the manager of the Boyd (chestnut) Orchard at the Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area since 2002, a board member since 2004, and the Chapter’s Treasurer since 2008. He has assisted at other orchards at PSU and in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, and York counties.
In addition to his PA-TACF responsibilities, Jim currently serves as a Penn State Dauphin County Master Gardener, and he also serves as a board member and volunteers on several committees for the Manada Conservancy.

Jim’s current interests are keeping abreast of environmental issues, working (some say he is a workaholic), reverse engineering, thinking beyond the box, landscaping, visiting his grandchildren, and playing sports games with his border collies.

Join us in wishing Jim well in all of his future endeavors. He has made lasting improvements and contributions in his time here and we are grateful for his willingness and dedication. He will be missed!

Tomato Plant Problems

With the unusual rainfall we've had this year, we're likely to see a variety of tomato plant ailments.

A useful perspective on bees and CCD

Reposted from Quartz:

Everyone calm down, there is no “bee-pocalypse”

By Shawn Regan July 10, 2013

Shawn Regan is a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana.

The bees are going to be alright. Reuters/Radu Sigheti

 

The media is abuzz once again with stories about dying bees. According to a new report from the USDA, scientists have been unable to pinpoint the cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD), the mysterious affliction causing honey bees to disappear from their hives. Possible factors include parasites, viruses, and a form of pesticide known as neonicotinoids. Whatever the cause, the results of a recent beekeeper survey suggest that the problem is not going away. For yet another year, nearly one-third of US honey bee colonies did not make it through the winter.

Given the variety of crops that rely on honey bees for pollination, the colony collapse story is an important one. But if you were to rely on media reports alone, you might believe that honey bees are in short supply. NPR recently declared that we may have reached “a crisis point for crops.” Others warned of an impending “beepocalypse” or a “beemageddon.”

In a rush to identify the culprit of the disorder, many journalists have made exaggerated claims about the impacts of CCD. Most have uncritically accepted that continued bee losses would be a disaster for America’s food supply. Others speculate about the coming of a second “silent spring.” Worse yet, many depict beekeepers as passive, unimaginative onlookers that stand idly by as their colonies vanish.
This sensational reporting has confused rather than informed discussions over CCD. Yes, honey bees are dying in above average numbers, and it is important to uncover what’s causing the losses, but it hardly spells disaster for bees or America’s food supply.

Consider the following facts about honey bees and CCD.
For starters, US honey bee colony numbers are stable, and they have been since before CCD hit the scene in 2006. In fact, colony numbers were higher in 2010 than any year since 1999. How can this be? Commercial beekeepers, far from being passive victims, have actively rebuilt their colonies in response to increased mortality from CCD. Although average winter mortality rates have increased from around 15% before 2006 to more than 30%, beekeepers have been able to adapt to these changes and maintain colony numbers.

Source: USDA NASS Honey Production Report

Rebuilding colonies is a routine part of modern beekeeping. The most common method involves splitting healthy colonies into multiple hives. The new hives, known as “nucs,” require a new queen bee, which can be purchased readily from commercial queen breeders for about $15-$25 each. Many beekeepers split their hives late in the year in anticipation of winter losses. The new hives quickly produce a new brood and often replace more bees than are lost over the winter. Other methods of rebuilding colonies include buying packaged bees (about $55 for 12,000 worker bees and a fertilized queen) or replacing the queen to improve the health of the hive.

“The state of the honey bee population—numbers, vitality, and economic output—are the products of not just the impact of disease but also the economic decisions made by beekeepers and farmers,” economists Randal Rucker and Walter Thurman write in a summary of their working paper on the impacts of CCD. Searching through a number of economic measures, the researchers came to a surprising conclusion: CCD has had almost no discernible economic impact.

But you don’t need to rely on their study to see that CCD has had little economic effect. Data on colonies and honey production are publicly available from the USDA. Like honey bee numbers, US honey production has shown no pattern of decline since CCD was first detected. In 2010, honey production was 14% greater than it was in 2006. (To be clear, US honey production and colony numbers are lower today than they were 30 years ago, but as Rucker and Thurman explain, this gradual decline happened prior to 2006 and cannot be attributed to CCD).

Source: USDA NASS Honey Production Report

What about the prices of queen bees and packaged bees? Because of higher winter losses, beekeepers are forced to purchase more packaged queen and worker bees to rebuild their lost hives. Yet even these prices seem unaffected. Commercial queen breeders are able to rear large numbers of queen bees quickly, often in less than a month, putting little to no upward pressure on bee prices following CCD.

And what about the prices consumers pay for crops pollinated by honey bees? Are these skyrocketing along with fears of the beepocalypse? Rucker and Thurman find that the cost of CCD on almonds, one of the most important crops from a honey bee pollinating perspective, is trivial. The implied increase in the shelf price of a pound of Smokehouse Almonds is a mere 2.8 cents, and the researchers consider that to be an upper-bound estimate of the impact on fruits and vegetables.

There is, however, one measure that has been significantly affected by CCD—and that’s the pollination fees beekeepers charge almond producers. These fees have more than doubled in recent years, though the fees began rising a few years before CCD was reported. Rucker and Thurman attribute a portion of this increase to the onset of CCD. But even this impact has a bright side: For many beekeepers, the increase in almond pollination fees has more than offset the costs they have incurred rebuilding their lost colonies.

Overcoming CCD is not without its challenges, but beekeepers have thus far proven themselves adept at navigating such changing conditions. Honey bees have long been afflicted with a variety of diseases. The Varroa mite, a blood-thirsty bee parasite, has been a scourge of beekeepers since the 1980s. While CCD has resulted in larger and more mysterious losses, the resourcefulness of beekeepers remains.

Hannah Nordhaus, author of The Beekeeper’s Lament, warned that the scare stories evoked by CCD should serve as a cautionary tale to environmental journalists. “By engaging in simplistic and sometimes misleading environmental narratives—by exaggerating the stakes and brushing over the inconvenient facts that stand in the way of foregone conclusions­­—we do our field, and our subjects, a disservice,” she wrote in her 2011 essay “An Environmental Journalist’s Lament.”

“The overblown response to CCD in the media stems from a failure to appreciate the resilience of markets in accommodating shocks of various sorts,” write Rucker and Thurman. The ability of beekeepers and other market forces to adapt has kept food on the shelves, honey in the cupboard, and honey bees buzzing. Properly understood, the story of CCD is not one of doom and gloom, but one of the triumph and perseverance of beekeepers.

TROUT UNLIMITED AmeriCorps Position: Water Quality Monitoring

TROUT UNLIMITED
AmeriCorps Position: Water Quality Monitoring Program Coordinator
September 2013 – August 2014
Location: Thomas, WV

HOW TO APPLY
Trout Unlimited is partnering with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Association and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition to offer this AmeriCorps position opportunity. To find out more about the project position, the AmeriCorps program, and for instructions on how to apply for the position, please visit the Appalachian Forest Heritage Association website. Please note: the application process for the TU position closes August 9, 2013.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
Trout Unlimited’s (TU) mission it to conserve, protect, and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Founded in 1959 in Grayling, Michigan by a group of anglers who successfully sought to change the state’s reliance on hatchery production of trout into a program that focused on protecting and restoring fish habitat, today TU is the nation’s largest grassroots coldwater fishery organization. TU’s vision is to ensure, by the next generation, that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish once again thrive within their North American range, so that our children can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters.

To accomplish this vision, TU employs a comprehensive strategy to protect the highest quality trout and salmon habitat, reconnect high quality habitats with restored areas downstream through the augmentation of instream flows and barrier removals, restore degraded habitats so that they again support healthy trout and salmon populations, and sustain progress by educating and motivating a future generation of environmental stewards. TU works on a local, state, and national level through an extensive volunteer network and dedicated staff. TU has approximately 150,000 members organized into more than 400 local chapters across the country. The AmeriCorps member will be located at our Thomas, West Virginia office.

PROJECT SUMMARY
Monitoring potential gas development impacts in coldwater trout streams is paramount for measuring the overall health of Appalachia’s water sources in West Virginia and Virginia. This is because many of these trout streams are the headwaters of the region’s major rivers, the rivers that supply millions of people with

Open Space Institute Focuses on the South Branch and Cacapon Watersheds

June 22, 2013

Conservation group target's state's Potomac headwaters region for protection as habitat for climate change transition

By Rick Steelhammer

CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- A million-acre section of the Potomac River's headwaters region along the West Virginia-Virginia border is being targeted for protection through a $6 million initiative funded through a private conservation initiative.

The land is considered one of the four top climate change-resilient landscapes to be found in a 13-state segment of the eastern United States, according to an analysis of data from a Nature Conservancy study by the Open Space Institute.

Each of the four areas, chosen from among dozens evaluated by the Open Space Institute, is eligible to receive at least $500,000 from the OSI, plus an additional share of $5.5 million in grants for land conservation.

"These are places with landforms that support a wide range of biodiversity due to the complexity of the landscape," said Peter Howell, OSI's executive vice president.  "They are also fairly unfragmented and undeveloped."

West Virginia land being targeted for protection through the OSI initiative includes portions of the Cacapon/Lost River watersheds in the Eastern Panhandle and the South Branch of the Potomac watershed, including Smoke Hole Canyon.

Algae monitored in the Cacapon and South Branch

Reposted from the Cumberland Times-News

Algae being monitored on two local rivers
It’s not toxic, but a hindrance to recreationists

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

 CUMBERLAND — Filamentous algae — its presence, location and cause — is being monitored in the South Branch of the Potomac and Cacapon rivers this summer in response to complaints by those who recreate in and on those waterways.

 “We have contracted with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin to do the field work,” said Kevin Coyne, director of the Water Quality Standards program for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

 Field work by the commission’s Adam Griggs began this month and will continue into October, according to Coyne.

 “On the South Branch we are monitoring from Moorefield downstream to a location below The Trough,” Coyne said. The upstream boundary is in Hardy County, W.Va., and the downstream in Hampshire.

 There are eight monitoring stations throughout the Cacapon River drainage.

 Filamentous algae, also called string algae, isn’t toxic, but hinders water activities such as fishing, swimming and canoeing, according to Coyne. DEP began monitoring the algae in 2006 in the Greenbrier River drainage and is expanding the investigation to other parts of the Mountain State, including the Shenandoah River in Jefferson County.

 “It’s that green substance you see on the water’s surface,” Coyne said. “We also get complaints from home owners who have waterfront acreage.”

 Background about the algae, as well as Coyne’s contact information, is available online at http://www.dep.wv.gov.

 Coyne said there are also some drinking water quality concerns because of the algae. Some suppliers have had to modify treatment to improve taste and smell.

 The commission reports that high, muddy flows have prevented Griggs from finding much algae during the early portion of the study.

 Water chemistry sampling continues, though, and can point to sources of nutrients, according to the commission.

 The presence or absence of algae in a given area can be hard to understand, Griggs noted.

 Some river segments hold algae for part of the year and aquatic vegetation at other times. Other segments can hold high nutrient loads but still not foster excessive algal growth, he reported.

 Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.

Mostly wind, little rain

Yesterday's storm provided less than 0.2 inches of rain in our area, and the same was true downstream, although the winds became tornadoes in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.

Photo from the Washington Post.

WV Scholar Finalists - Please vote

It turns out I know two of the 10 finalists for the West Virginia Wesleyan WV Scholar Competition.  Both are uncommonly wonderful people.  And most importantly, both aspire to be biologists!

Please  VOTE  for either (one vote per email address):

 Rachel Elaine Fulks
    Parents' Interview >>     Video >>

Rachel Fulks is a junior at Bridgeport High School, where she maintains a 4.125 GPA and is a member of the varsity cross country team, varsity track team, National Honor Society, and the online newspaper staff; she will be co-editor of the 2013-14 yearbook. Her favorite subjects in school are Chemistry and Biology, but she also enjoys creative writing. Rachel is a member of Bridgeport United Methodist Church, where she serves as youth representative on the Executive Board and is a member of the youth planning team and the youth group. She is actively involved in the United Methodist Conference and serves as vice president on the West Virginia Conference Council on Youth Ministries. She has a passion for participating in service projects. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading, playing the piano, running, and working as a sales associate at The Gap. In the future, Rachel plans to major in pre-medicine and later become a pediatrician as a reflection of her love for helping others.

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Cayla Leann Collett
    Parents' Interview >>     Video >>

Cayla Collett is a 16 year old junior at Elkins High School. She resides in Elkins, WV on her family farm with her parents, Alan and Tricia Collett, and her three sisters, Alayna, Jeyna, and Sydney. She is active in school, where she is a part of the Cross Country team, Student Council, Class Council, National Honors Society, and a tutor for elementary school students. Outside of school, this young lady is a 12 year member of 4-H and a lifelong member of Degree of Honor through which she spends many hours volunteering her time to the community. In Degree of Honor alone, Cayla organizes the annual collection of Christmas gifts and person care items for the Salvation Army. Trough the Ronald McDonald house, Cayla actively collects pop tabs and organizes fund raisers. For many years, she has participated in the Walk for Women, bringing awareness to breast cancer. Her dream is to see a cure for breast cancer in her lifetime. Because of her commitment to community service, she was the recipient of the Teen Volunteer of the Year award in 2013. As a member of the 4-H teen leaders Organization, Cayla has been a camp counselor, served as an officer, and involved in other community activities with the club. Cayla's long term aspirations are to continue professional dancing, and pursue a degree in chemistry and biology, with a goal in becoming a Molecular Cellular Biologist.     

Oak Leaves, Lilacs and Morels

Joel Sampson shows you when and where to find morels. At just over an ounce, and @ $15 per pound, it's like hunting for dollar bills in the woods.

Another free Homesteading book

Free right now on Amazon.

FREE for Kindle at time of posting----> http://amzn.to/14R4r1a

If you don't have a Kindle or other tablet (e.g., iPad), you can download a free app for your PC

Audubon’s New Online Bird Guide Now Available

from Audubon Magazine:

By Emma Bryce
05/15/2013

 Photo by Katey Nicosia / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

For the days when hauling around a tome for identifying birds just won’t do, Audubon comes to the rescue with its new online guide to North American birds, available for $2.99 on the iPhone, Android, iPad, NOOK or Kindle through the Audubon Birds app. One screen pretty much holds it all, displaying information about birding, conservation, even avian anatomy. The guide categorizes more than 800 species by family, common name, or general shape, allowing users to pick the most appropriate identification route.

The third display option is particularly innovative. This category directs users to the quick guide, offering the ability to search the stout, slim, long-legged, and sleek-beaked contours of many birds. It presents a gallery of shapes: There are duck-like birds (think ducks, grebes, loons, pelicans, and swans), perching birds (groups like larks, flycatchers, thrushes, and wrens), or my favorite, chicken-like marsh birds (encompassing rails, coots, jacanas, and gallinules). Others include those cut like sandpipers, birds with the arrow-like anatomy of swallows, and those that feature the same, watchful upright stance as a hawk.

Angling for Healthier Rivers - Smallmouth Bass Concerns

The Link Between Smallmouth Bass Mortality and Disease and the Need to Reduce Water Pollution in Chesapeake Bay Tributaries

Click here to read the full 2013 smallmouth bass report

Read the 2013 smallmouth bass report Download the PDF

Summary

Over the last decade, one of the most prized freshwater sport-fish species—smallmouth bass—has suffered fish kills and perplexing illnesses in several Bay tributaries. These tributary rivers include the South Branch of the Potomac River in West Virginia, the Shenandoah and Cowpasture Rivers in Virginia, the Monocacy River in Maryland, and the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. In the Susquehanna River, smallmouth bass populations have plummeted, with catch rates of adults falling 80 percent between 2001 and 2005 in some areas. According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the population has not recovered.

Smallmouth bass do not tolerate pollution well. Thus, they are an indicator of water quality. While the specific causes of the deaths and illnesses  among smallmouth bass remain unclear, leading fisheries biologists studying the problem believe that a "perfect storm" of contributing factors has overwhelmed a sensitive species.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) compiledthis report by interviewing five leading smallmouth bass experts and examining peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as reports from federal and state agencies. Some conclusions include:

• Fishing for the species is responsible for $630 million annually in sales in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, the four Bay states where fish kills and diseases have occurred. Sales of boats, fishing rods, and more contribute to that figure. Additionally, smallmouth bass are responsible for $193 million annually in salaries and wages for about 5,700 people employed in fishing-related jobs and $41 million in state and local tax revenues. 
• Phosphorus and nitrogen pollution levels are high in many of the river segments where fish have died or become sick.In the Susquehanna River and tributaries, average phosphorus pollution levels in 12 of 24 sites monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey between 2007 and 2011 were among the worst in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. And 11 of these 24 sites had total nitrogen pollution levels that were among the worst in the region. ("Worst" is defined as ranking in the top third for levels of these pollutants among 65 sites studied in the Bay watershed). Some monitoring sites along the Monocacy River and the Potomac River and its tributaries also registered high levels of these pollutants. 
• Scientists believe that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution may be contributing to fish deaths and diseases in two ways. The first is by spurring the growth of parasites (myxozoans and trematoads) and their hosts (worms and snails). The second is by feeding algal blooms that raise pH levels and lower oxygen concentrations, stressing young smallmouth bass. 

River crests at 16.79 feet in Springfield

May 9 Update:  The actual crest was later (around midnight) and almost a foot higher than predicted by the normally conservative graphs.  At this level, most camps along the river remain above the water, but only by  a few feet.

May 8:  The river crested in Moorefield this afternoon around 1pm in the Action Stage (8.5 feet on that gauge).  For updates, click on the South Branch Springfield link on the right menu.  Current predictions have the river cresting around 7pm.

Free gardening books

from http://refreshingthehome.com

Free for Kindle at Time of Posting:

By Scarlett, on May 2nd, 2013

Various Books Free for kindle at time of posting. Get them while they are still free.
Click here for a Free Kindle App so you can read on your PC and other devices. 

Here is a site that will show you how to convert Kindle books to other readers like Nook:
http://www.teleread.com/drm/the-abcs-of-format-conversion-for-the-kindle-sony-and-nook-plus-some-calibre-tips/
Note: These books have not been reviewed by us unless specified.

Links to books:

• Cabbages and Cauliflowers: How to Grow Them A Practical Treatise, Giving Full Details On Every Point, Including Keeping And Marketing The Crop

• Clovers and How to Grow Them

• Container Gardening: How To Grow Food, Flowers and Fun At Home (Gardening Guidebooks)

• How To Create Your Own Vibrant Vegetable Garden – A Quick Guide To Successful Vegetable Gardening

• Mushrooms: how to grow them a practical treatise on mushroom culture for profit and pleasure

• Farm Gardening with Hints on Cheap Manuring Quick Cash Crops and How to Grow Them

Stoneycreek Rendezvous May 17-19

For those in the Northern part of Hampshire County:

2013 Stonycreek Rendezvous May 17-19: Freestyle Rodeo & BoaterCross

29 April 2013 

This years Rendezvous is the weekend of Friday May 17 through Sunday May 19 at Greenhouse Park on Tirehill Road, in Johnstown, PA. There will be full 500 CFS whitewater releases all three days GUARANTEEING GOOD FLOWS for the entire weekend. For those that haven’t paddled the river with just the release, 500 CFS brings the river up to about 3ft. on the put-in bridge gauge which makes for a great playboating level and dozens of playspots all down the run.

The weekends paddling events include :
Friday May 17th – Class II – III Downriver Race : Starts at Carpenter Park ( take-out for Stony Canyon Run ) and ends at the Playpark/Festival site. Registration starts at 5:00 race starts at 6:30. Follow this link to pre-register.

Saturday May 18th – Class I Downriver Race : The Saturday River Race from Greenhouse Park to the Inclined Plane in Johnstown. This is a 7 mile race on a class I section (One Class 2 ) of the Stonycreek River. Particpants can utilize any craft they choose with classes for both doubles and singles. Registration 11:30 – 12:30 Race starts promptly at 1:00 pm. This is a fun family oriented race. Follow this link to pre-register.

Team "CR" representin'

Saturday May 18th – Freestyle Rodeo : Classes for all craft will be made based on # of participants. This is a fun, friendly event, and as a World Kayak HomeTown ThrowDown, we encourage anyone who’s take a spin in a hole to come out, compete, and most importantly have fun. The Stonycreek Rock Trophies are up for grabs as well as ton’s of schwagg from the generous World Kayak sponsors. Registration starts at 1:00 event starts promptly ( in kayak time ) at 2:00. Pre-registration is APPRECIATED. Pre-register Here
Saturday May 18th – PlayBoaterX Cross Race : Our 6th year for this fun spectator friendly event. This event will start right after the Rodeo. Paddlers will be grouped into heats and navigate from the top of the playpark through a set course with a finish line just beyond the main playpark wave. All paddlers will get at least 2 runs in the attempt to make it to the championship bracket. Stonycreek River Rock Trophies are up for grabs as well as TONS o’ Schwagg from the generous World Kayak sponsors. Pre-registration is APPRECIATED. Pre-register here.

Stonycreek Rendezvous Playboater X race

Camping is available at the festival site and food, beer, and gear vendors will be on site all weekend.
For more details and information check out Benscreek Canoe Club’s Site / or on FaceBook at World Kayak Western PA Region
If those don’t help :
Jason Rigby
jay@stonyboater.com
or
412-610-2303
Hope to see you on the RIVER!!!!

New WV Rivers bumper stickers

West Virginia Rivers Coalition

Or send a self addressed stamped envelope to
WVRC
329 Davis Ave Suite 7
Elkins, WV 26241

and they will hook you up!

Photos from the Springfield-Green Spring Elementary Tree-Planting

Lyrid viewing overnight (best at pre-dawn)

For those who wake up early for work on Mondays: