Thursday, June 20, 2013

Wild Times at the Belmead Bioblitz

By Kristina McCullough, James River Master Naturalist

Marbled Salamander
Photo by Gary Sargent
It was a dark and stormy night…but on the morning of May 18 the sun shone brightly on the first inaugural Belmead Bioblitz in Powhatan County. This intensive biological “discovery and documentation” of the property’s plants and animals was organized by co-sponsors Francis-Emma and James River Master Naturalists.  Over 105 volunteers stepped up to register, accept their assignments, and walk or be shuttled to their designated search sectors.  For the next 24 hours historic Belmead mansion was a quiet hum of activity as leaders reported back their findings.  All day and night, packs of roving experts walked, scrambled, waded, or crawled to spot their wildlife quarry.
Grey Phase Eastern Screech Owl
Photo by Julie Kacmarcik

The atmosphere turned festive during the afternoon with public education sessions where enthusiastic teachers and rehabilitators introduced visitors to native wildlife.  When the rain let up, visitors poured down to the creek to watch a team of ichthyologists in full waders scoop electrically shocked fish out of the water for identification.  Fifteen minutes later, the fully recovered fish were swimming in their temporary home while the experts completed their count of 26 species including a surprising American eel and a pre-historic-looking long-nose gar.

Click Beetle
Photo by Julie Kacmarcik
As the long cool day turned into evening, final reports trickled in from the different teams.  The macro-invertebrates group found 15 species of dragonflies, including three county records with colorful names like Appalachian Jewelwing and Carolina Saddlebags.  Ornithologists rushed in from around the property constantly updating the record board until it held fast at a whopping 98 species of birds, including an elegant trio of gray and white Mississippi Kites that put down in the storm.  The botanists stuck it out until late evening identifying a total of 212 unique plants and carefully preserving each in massive presses to create an herbarium to document the diversity.  The foresters were delighted by the huge number of Osage Oranges on the property, a tree that was introduced to the East Coast by Lewis and Clark and was often used as hedgerows between fields and farms. The excitement continued late into the night with naturalists counting nocturnal moths (including 10 rarely, if ever, reported in the state), owls, and mammals. 

Northern Brown Snake
Photo by Gary Sargent
By Sunday morning, peace and quiet had returned to Belmead as the swarms of volunteers returned home for much-needed showers and much-deserved rest.  However, those tired volunteers leave behind some noteworthy achievements: A legacy of teamwork across multiple agencies and organizations; a contagious enthusiasm for the great outdoors; and an encyclopedic accounting of the precious resident plants and animals that make Belmead such a special place.  
Turtle
Photo by Richard Reuse DOF

By the way, it just so happens that I heard more than muddy, tired volunteer exclaim, ere they drove out of sight, “Hey, let’s do another one!” so keep your eyes out for your chance to volunteer or learn at a future Belmead Bioblitz!

The JRA RiverRats have two Sisters on their crew, Sister Jean Ryan and Sister Elena Henderson. They live at Belmead, home to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a beautiful place on the banks of the James River in Powhatan County. Belmead recently held its first Bioblitz and found an amazing array of life out there!


For more information

List of Species found during the Belmead Bioblitz


Visit the Belmead Facebook page to see more photos from the day! https://www.facebook.com/FrancesEmmaBioblitzVirginia

Friday, June 14, 2013

My River Hero (Rental) Home

By Amber Ellis

When looking for my temporary home in Richmond, a garden was a must have! When we moved in two years ago, there was a little bit of grass, a few shrubs, an oak tree, English Ivy along the edges, and…dirt! Over this little bit of time I have transformed our rental home into a River Hero Home oasis. 
My River Hero Flag! With new Chocolate Snakeroot in the foreground and that pesky English Ivy in the background!
The first thing I built was a DIY compost pile. I have 2 piles, one for finished or almost finished compost, and the other for me to add my scraps. Starting this past January I started to take home our compostable items from the JRA office. No, it’s not the most beautiful compost bin, but it was cheap and my little lawn and garden love it!
My DIY 2 Bin Compost Pile
Part of the challenge has been working around existing plants. Not all of them are native, but that’s okay! As long as they aren’t invasive and are in good health, green is good with me. I have added a lot of native plants and it has been an adventure to see what things can survive our unique urban environment.

Our front garden was empty when we moved in except for two shrubs and has now become a sunny meadow with natives such as Switchgrass, Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan, Phlox, and a few others. I have also saved a little room in the front for my vegetables and a native Blueberry bush. The only challenge there is getting to the blueberries before the birds do!
 Native Blueberry Bush
Black-Eyed Susan and Switchgrass
Native Meadow and Vegetable Garden
Our back garden has some lawn for us to lounge on, but is surrounded with natives like Red Twig Dogwood, a native Flame Azalea, various ferns, Solomon ’s seal, Oakleaf Hydrangea (my favorite!), and Green and Gold. I have enjoyed watching our backyard become a haven for songbirds that now gather around the bird bath in the afternoon.
Oakleaf Hydrangea and Solomon’s seal doing great in their shady corner.   
Green and Gold and the Native Flame Azalea

But it’s not always easy being green! I am in a constant battle with English Ivy. It’s a slow process, but I have slowly removed some of the ivy and replaced it with native plants. But the house to the left has a whole garden of it, so it will always be a challenge. 


It’s going to be tough when I have to leave my little garden. Many people have asked me why I waste my energy and money on a space that I don’t own, but I love to garden and knowing that I left this place greener than I found it makes me happy. Now I admit…I may take a few of my favorites with me, but most will stay.  


“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson 

Monday, June 3, 2013

An Urgent Message from Your James Riverkeepers

Your Help is Needed to Protect Virginia Rivers and Streams from Construction Site Pollution.  Please Send Your Comments Before June 7th!

Construction sites can make a mess of local streams and contribute to water quality problems of the James River. Developers are required to have stormwater pollution plans to prevent erosion and sediment pollution.  But citizen access to those water quality protection plans and related permits afforded to construction sites will soon end without YOUR input.

Here’s the scoop:
You’ve likely seen how local streams and rivers run dirty after significant rainfall.  This sediment clogs streams, suffocates and stresses river life and literally buries riverbed habitat with silt. Mismanaged construction sites frequently contribute to these unhealthy conditions.  For the past three years permitted construction sites in Virginia have been required to make publicly accessible Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPP), a working document of construction site water quality assurances and strategies. Agency inspectors cannot be everywhere so informed citizens play a critical role in making sure SWPP’s are followed.  The general permit for construction in Virginia is now up for scheduled renewal and the state is under pressure to permanently extinguish the public’s right to access to these plans.  JRA believes that disabling the public’s ability to know and respond appropriately to water quality threats in their own community is not in the best interested of improved James River water quality. 

What you can do to help:
The Virginia Soil & Water Conservation Board is now receiving public comments on this permit, but only until June 7.  Please follow the below guidelines and be heard today.  Board members have stated their intent to follow its advising agency’s recommendation to remove public SWPP accessibility from the permit unless persuaded to reconsider concerns from the public.  Now is your opportunity!  In your comments, the Soil & Water Conservation Board should be encouraged to maintain its earlier decision to “require public accessibility of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans from construction sites upon request,” and should further be encouraged to “re-instate this requirement into the pending construction general permit.”  Any personal accounts of construction site effects on stream water quality would be helpful.

1)      Send an email to “Regulatory Coordinator”regcord@dcr.virginia.gov
cc: pcalvert@jrava.org)
Subject Line: Please send your email with the subject line “Comment on Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) Permit Regulations (4VAC50-60)”

2)      Send a letter to:
Regulatory Coordinator
Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation
203 Governor Street, Suite 302
Richmond, VA 23219

Rivers cannot defend themselves.  Please speak on behalf of your local streams and rivers and prevent the concealment of pollution requirements from the public.

Thank you for safeguarding Virginia waterways,


Pat Calvert                                                          Jamie Brunkow
Upper James Riverkeeper                           Lower James Riverkeeper