Decorah, IA Eagle Camera is black online (with an egg)!

The egg was spotted first on February 23.


Live streaming video by Ustream

South Branch and Cacapon reached "Action Level" this week

This is one of the most interesting times of year for phenologists.  Weather is even less predictable than in hurricane season, yet some predictable things like crocuses and daffodils and robins and tree buds are appearing on schedule.

This is the third time recently when the South Branch reached "Action Level", which is when low-lying areas become vulnerable.  Functionally, in a healthy river bed this is when all of the regular expansion areas are full and the river is at risk of expanding onto the flood plains. There is an interesting correlation/causation exploration here.  It's not so much a coincidence of similar precipitation events, but instead it's likely

Meanwhile the Cacapon exceeded it's Action Level and Minor Flooding level near the mouth at Great Cacapon.

It's almost that time...

Perhaps some of you are ready to start things in the greenhouse. (We still need a few weeks to get our act together.)

Forest over a year.

Over 40,000 images from Samuel Orr's East-facing camera contribute to this documentation of the forest's change over a year.

1936 Flood Photo

I learned of this photo through Charlie Walbridge.   Chain Bridge connects the northernmost points of Arlington with the westernmost points of the District of Columbia.  It also happens to be the site (and at the time pictured below) of the highest water velocity recorded in nature.  

Chain Bridge spans the outflow of the Little Falls rapid, one of the few large rapids among those in the Mid-Atlantic affected by tides.

At high tide and summer levels, you can attain up the Virginia side of the rapid and run the Maryland or Virginia channels, and then repeat the process without getting out of your boat.  Of course, at the record level pictured here, you'd be lucky to make it upstream in a jet boat with a racing hull.  Even if you overcame the current, the partially submerged tree trunks speeding by would likely get you. 

Diesel spill along Rt. 50 threatens Mill Creek and the South Branch

Thanks to Anna for alerting us to this for the Times-News.
January 31, 2014

Diesel spill forces Romney water plant shutdown

MARLA PISCIOTTACumberland Times-News

VANDERLIP, W.Va. — The city of Romney pump station ceased pumping water from the South Branch of the Potomac River around 3:15 p.m. due to an accident in Mechanicsburg Gap on U.S. Route 50.

Rick Davis, chief operator of the Romney water plant, said he received a phone call from the 911 center and was told about the accident.

The concern was that either diesel fuel or gasoline was leaking from a tractor-trailer that lost control and went sideways leaning into Mill Creek.

“We stopped pumping when they called. We were about finished for the day anyway,” Davis said.

The pumping station pumps water every day until late morning or early afternoon to fill the tanks.

 Romney Mayor Dan Hileman said, “It sounds like the system worked. 911 called the water plant and they were able to shut down. For today, we’re safe.”

West Virginia State Police closed U.S. 50 while the truck was being removed, according to the Romney Volunteer Fire Company.

Sources said the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was on scene, as was the Romney Rescue Squad.

Hileman said before the city pumps Saturday, “We’ll test to make sure there is nothing in the water supply.

“It’s a bad scene. We’re lucky. This accident makes it very clear what can happen to a water supply. If this were some sort of chemical spill it could have far-reaching health issues.”

It was just this week that Hileman spoke with the Times-News regarding his concern about the city’s water supply.

Hileman said there should be long-term planning in case the city’s water source disappears or becomes contaminated.

Also this week, Sen. Joe Manchin said he was equally concerned and that he would do whatever he could to help keep a potable supply available for residents not only in Hampshire County but across the nation.

Mill Creek flows directly into the South Branch, which is the only water supply to Romney and much of Hampshire County.

Contact Marla Pisciotta at marlapisciotta@frontier.com.

Fawns along the road video.

I don't know where this was filmed. It's a few years old.   -  Jim

Sunrise will get earlier beginning tomorrow!

While the winter solstice (December 21) is the shortest day of the year, sunrise continues to get later until January 8-11.  Starting tomorrow, sunrise will get earlier, initially by less than 1 minute per day, but the change will get more dramatic by March.

You can build customized calendars for your location at http://goo.gl/m2CzhH

Estimating Remaining Daylight

During the late afternoon, you can determine the remaining daylight on your fingers using this simple trick to measure the remaining daylight without a watch. Count the finger widths between the sun and the horizon. Each finger is equivalent to 15 minutes, with each hand totaling an hour.

Source: http://www.pinterest.com/source/groovymatter.com/

Might the cold snap affect invasives?

Excerpted from Minnesota's

MPR News Weather and its underlying science       

Extreme cold may wipe out high percentage emerald ash borer larvae

Paul Huttner January 3, 2014, 1:27 PM 7

Here’s one resident who may welcome the extreme cold wave headed for Minnesota. Your local ash tree.

The extreme temperatures moving in with Sunday’s arctic blast may kill off a significant percentage of emerald ash borer larvae, according to one of the premier forestry experts in Minnesota.

         

South Branch reaches 11.24 feet downstream

And in the end, the level exceeded the predictions:

WV Funding Priorities Survey

   SURVEY LINK:  Click here  

2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Funding Priorities Survey

In anticipation of the 2014 round of Specialty Crop Block Grant Program-Farm Bill (SCBGP-FB) funding, we would like to request assistance from the agriculture community to determine funding priorities. The funding agency, USDA, provides general priorities but allows states to add their own topics based on needs as long as the selected projects meet the criteria of solely enhancing specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, horticultural products, honey, maple syrup and value added products manufactured in the state that contain at least 51% of eligible specialty crops. For a complete list, visit here.

South Branch still rising downstream

The Moorefield gage shows the South Branch crested overnight, but river levels continue to rise downstream at Springfield and on the main stem of the Potomac at Paw Paw.  The original prediction of 8 feet for Springfield was reduced to 7 feet yesterday and then 6 feet overnight, but the actual level may approach 7 feet.  The river will only reach the Action Level downstream at Little Falls, where special gates are raised to protect riverfront restaurants in Georgetown.

Moorefield (South Branch)

Springfield (South Branch)

Paw Paw (main stem of the Potomac)

Little Falls (Washington D.C. / Arlington, VA)

Pilgrim's Pride and Localities Cooperate to Protect the South Branch

from the WV Chesapeake Bay Update:

Pilgrim's Pride, Localities Unite to Build Wastewater Plant

Reprinted from the Bay Journal

written by Rona Cobell on Oct. 23, 2013

The Moorefield wastewater treatment plant became operational in October of this year.

Moorefield, WV, is a small town that faced a problem many small towns encounter: How to pay for a new, expensive wastewater treatment system when residents' wallets are already stretched by high taxes and low salaries.

But the way it solved its problem makes Moorefield unique. The town of 5,000 residents partnered with a company, Pilgrim's Pride, and two other nearby systems, all of which needed to improve their waste treatment.

Together they built a $40 million treatment system that will reduce total nitrogen loads by 90,000 pounds a year and total phosphorus by 93,000 pounds a year. The system will compost much of its own waste and sell the products, as well as reuse some of its water to save money.

The system prepares to go online this month, after 13 long years in the making. West Virginia environmental officials say it is the first enhanced nutrient removal system in the state. Another is likely coming to Martinsburg in the next few years. Many environmental activists say, it's long overdue.

 To read full article and visit the Bay Journal website, 

click here.

Water Through the Lens of Faith

Join us for Living Waters: An Interfaith Summit Nov. 19!

Photo by Krista Schlyer/iLCP.

Living Waters: An Interfaith Summit: celebrating our environment, community, and faith.

At this Interfaith Summit you will join others from the faith and conservation communities to examine water through the lens of faith.

What: Living Waters: An Interfaith Summit

Throughout the day, people will reconnect with the wonder of water and continue their journey of faith while helping to restore and protect Virginia's rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. It will be a day of learning and collaborative discussion to develop "next steps" to improve water quality in our communities through the coming year. 

When: Tuesday, November 19, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 

Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA

Opequon Creek Project Team is Watershed Assn of the Year

This group is supported by our own Alana Hartman of WV DEP.

Watershed Association of the Year

The 2013 Watershed Association of the Year was awarded to Opequon Creek Project Team.  This is a group that is out and about and very busy.  They sponsor Make It Shine stream clean ups that provide improved recreational experience for the local residents who use the creek to canoe, kayak, wade, and fish.

Fun Floats are a part of their community education program to introduce residents to the beauty of the Creek and part of the effort to increase membership. Education Hollis Oak brings extra money and the knowledge of the importance of buffers to stakeholders throughout the watershed during the “Hollis Oak” tree sale.  They also have found value in presentations. At every buffer planting the president, briefs the participants on the value of the creek, the watershed, and organization’s mission. Members also have used the Project WET program to educate the young people attending events.

Eastern Panhandle Regional Farm Gathering

per Steve M.:

You're Invited! to the...  Eastern Panhandle  Regional Farm Gathering     ,  We are excited to extend an invitation to you to take part in the upcoming Eastern Panhandle Regional Farm Gathering, to be held at the South Branch Inn on December 4th, 2013 from 9:00AM - 3:30 PM!    At this event, you will have a chance to network with peers, meet service providers, and have training opportunities in, marketing, post-harvest handling, getting started with farmers market vending and more! Qualifying WV farmers will also have the opportunity to win a high tunnel package, while qualifying WV farmers markets or farm to school programs will have the opportunity to win a marketing/promotion package courtesy of Change the Future and the WVDE.  This event is hosted by the WV Farmers Market Association and Change the Future WV with support from the WVDE's Farm-to-School program and in partnership with WVU Extension Services.  The registration deadline is November 25th, and spots are limited, so be sure to respond quickly!  Register here today!  Workshops Offered:In addition to the group activities we will be doing, we will also offer the opportunity for some training during our break-out sessions.  These

Supporting Potomac RiverKeeper

SpeakeasyDC’s Swimming Upstream: Stories about going against the current

GET TICKETS $15

SpeakeasyDC returns to Patagonia Georgetown on Thursday, November 7, 2013  with six humorous, heartfelt, and personal true stories on the night’s theme – Swimming Upstream: Stories about going against the current. 50% of proceeds go to support  Potomac Riverkeeper and SpeakeasyDC.

GET TICKETS $15 

8PM @ Patgonia Georgetown
1048 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
$15

Updated – Register for Watershed Academy Webcast on the “National Stormwater Calculator”

--Webcast rescheduled due to Government Shutdown

              Join us for a Watershed Academy Webcast on Oct. 23, 2013 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm Eastern on the new “National Stormwater Calculator.”  This new calculator is designed for anyone interested in reducing runoff from a property including: site developers, landscape architects, urban planners, homeowners and others.  It can help users decide which stormwater management practices to install such as a rain garden or a green roof.  This calculator is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States (including Puerto Rico). Estimates are based on local soil conditions, land cover, and historic rainfall records.

                The Webcast presentation slides are posted on the Website and archives of the Webcast will be available after the Webcast for those that cannot attend the live Webcast.

You can download the Stormwater Calculator at www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wq/models/swc/


Register for the Webcast at  www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts

Heirloom Seed Suppliers

 Here's a List of Over 100 Heirloom Seed Suppliers

Natural Cures Not Medicine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/naturalcuresnotmedicine

Image: Raw For Beauty

Here is a useful list of 100+ companies supplying heirloom / non-GMO / organic seeds. If health is wealth, then this page is solid gold! Please share this important information. If you have any additions or corrections for this list, please let us know! We welcome genuine suppliers based anywhere in the world. Let’s make the biggest and best list we can!

 Click "read more" to see the list (it's and image, so it may load slow):

Measuring Chestnuts on Mine Reclamation Sites

from the West Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation:

As part of our Conservation Innovation Grant to plant American chestnut and other mixed hardwoods on reclaimed mine lands, WV Chapter members and students from Glenville State College planted 625 chestnuts on each of two sites this past spring for a total of 1,250 seeds in the ground!  These plantings serve the purpose of reclaiming an altered ecosystem to benefit water quality and wildlife, act as a cornerstone for restoration of the American chestnut, and help evaluate the genetic lines that were used on site to improve the quality of trees being bred at our research farms in Meadowview, VA.

Now we need YOUR HELP to get back to the two sites to check on the success of each planting. I will be providing a brief, classroom based training that will review the background of the plantings and go over how to take various measurements within a TACF progeny planting.  Aspects of mine land planting, what to look for regarding general tree health, and chestnut specific issues will also be covered. There will be plenty of time for questions and participants of any knowledge or experience level are encouraged to attend. We will then visit each site on separate dates to assess the plantings. Attendance at the training is not required to participate in measurements, but it is encouraged. Actual time spent measuring in the field should be two hours or less.

Here are the details for the training and the two measurement work parties:

TRAINING: September 18:

Room 234 at the new GSC Waco Center on Mineral Road in Glenville from 1-3pm. Please RSVP to help with planning, though anyone can “walk-in” for this training. RSVP to matt@acf.org or 434-906-9312

Measure site 1: September 25.

A group will be leaving Glenville at 8am to arrive at the mine entrance gate by 9:30 am. You can meet us in Glenville or at the mine entrance. The mine entrance is just a few miles from Cowen, WV. RSVP to matt@acf.org or 434-906-9312 if interested in participating and further instructions will be provided.

Measure site 2: TBA

I need a few motivated volunteers to join me on the mountain. This will be a great opportunity to see mine reclamation on an active surface mine site (don’t worry, we will not be working within an active part of the mine!). The site is roughly 15 miles West of Oak Hill as the crow flies. I will be giving away a Restoration Chestnut 1.0 B3F3 containerized seedling to the first 5 individuals who sign up and make it out to measure with me. Contact me with interest and we will figure out a date and time – matt@acf.org or 434-906-9312.