N.E.S.T.ed Reporter

Native plant legend and lore

This looks like a fascinating course:

Plant  Lore and Ethnobotany
            Wednesdays: March 26, April  2, April 9, 7 – 9 p.m.            
            Field trip:  Saturday, April 5, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
                Location:   Long Branch   Nature Center
              Cost:   $50 ASNV members; $60 non-members

             

Ethnobotany is the study of how people use indigenous plants. Virginia's plants have a rich history of both real and imagined uses. Learn the legend and lore of our native plants, how they got their names, and how they were (and often still are) used. Natural history and animal associations/interactions will also be covered.

Instructor: Alonso Abugattas is both a Master Gardener and a Naturalist, as well as an instructor for both. He is currently the acting manager of Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington County and is a well known local naturalist and storyteller. He is a former officer for the Virginia Native Plant Society, including past president of the local Potowmack Chapter.

To register or for more information, please call  the ASNV office at (703) 256-6895, check out the web site at http://www.audubonva.org/,  or e-mail info@ audubonva.org.

Drunk Robin

Click the robin to view a larger image. 
Here is a first offering to my own NESTed reporting in 2008, a photo taken on January 11 this year from our living room window in Reston, Virginia.  Each winter after a serious January or February freeze, robins gather and squabble over fermented holly berries, devouring every berry in a short and noisy day or two.  It's good for the holly lifecycle, and one presumes the robins enjoy their annual party as well.  Between feeding frenzies, they sleep it off roosted in the bare limbs of the nearby maples and oaks. 

The American Robin is a common occupant of residential areas during the breeding season.  In Fall and Winter, it can be found in large, somewhat nomadic flocks in areas with lots of fruiting trees.   [USGS]

Common Birds in Fairfax County

Robins in Winter: Six Photo Studies

NEST is back in 2008

In my inbox today, this announcement from Joanna Cornell that an official NVSCWA NEST program is starting up this Spring.

Hello Everyone,      Thank you again for participating in NEST 2006. NEST is happening this spring and you’re welcome to participate again.      This time, you’ll have far more freedom since it’s no longer part of my dissertation. You can sign up for the entire program (lots of new options) or just come out to a few workshops.       Either way, I hope you enjoy your spring and take the time to be outdoors. Below is the announcement about NEST 2008. Feel free to forward to friends and neighbors. Regards, Joanna

EXPLORE YOUR NEST THIS SPRING

Looking for a reason to spend more time outdoors? Want to try something new and meet people?  Do you enjoy science and art? Then participate in the free Neighborhood Ecological Stewardship Training (NEST) program.  Explore your NEST! Adults are invited to learn about natural resources through a series of hands-on workshops and outings that will be held at various locations around Northern Virginia on weekends and some weeknights from April - June, 2008.  These include:

(1) classes about streams, soil, native and invasive plants, history, local foods;

(2) land-based exploration including walks, hikes, and bike rides;

(3) water-based exploration including kayaking, canoeing, and boating;

(4) outdoor arts including photography, music, drawing, and journaling. 

For more information and to register, visit www.exploreyournest.org or contact Joanna Cornell at Joanna@exploreyournest.org or 703-324-1425. 

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is coordinating the NEST program.  More than 50 partners support NEST.

-----------------------

Joanna A. Cornell, Ph.D.

Aquatic and Human Ecologist

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District

12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 905

Fairfax, VA 22035

http://www.exploreyournest.org 

http://www.fairfaxmonitors.org

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/NVSWCD

joanna.cornell@fairfaxcounty.gov or jcornell@gmu.edu 

w: 703.324.1425

f: 703.324.1421

Help! Quick!

Help Ensure the Missouri Breaks Remains Unchanged!  Act by April 26!

Help if you can - it will only take a few minutes of your time. Thanks.

"If you have ever heard about or read about the Missouri Breaks country, you want to go. By foot or by paddle or please God both, you want to go."

~ from a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club discussion board

Here's the scoop: 

The Missouri Breaks, designated as national monument in 2001 and part of the National Landscape Conservation System, represents a unique landscape and one of the few remaining places today where Americans can enjoy a rugged, nonmotorized, wild experience on the northern Great Plains.  Largely unchanged in the nearly 200 years since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark traveled through it, the Missouri Breaks National Monument contains sweeping vistas, the “most viable" elk herd in Montana and one of the premier bighorn sheep herds in the continental United States.

The BLM, which oversees the Monument, has released for public comment a draft plan that will determine how the 377,000-acre Monument is managed for decades ahead. Unfortunately, the draft plan won’t safeguard the very wildlife, scenic, historical and biological resources that Monument status was intended to preserve. You can help change this by supporting conservation- based stewardship that will protect the integrity of the Monument and the values for which it was designated: unparalleled scenery, cultural and historical artifacts and locales, opportunities to view wildlife, hunt and fish, and to enjoy solitude and recreation such as hiking.

You don’t have to live or recreate around the corner from Upper Missouri River Breaks to care about the enormous natural and recreational resources there. As an American interested in providing great natural areas and hiking opportunities for your children, your voice is important, whether you live in West, the East or anywhere else people value our nation’s natural heritage. Add your comments and make your voice heard!

~ American Hiking Society

You can read more about

• Missouri River Breaks National Monument.
• What's at Stake
• BLM Draft Resource Management Plan

All you have to do is send a letter to the Bureau of Land Management.  There is a letter posted which you can edit or replace and send from the web page with just a few minutes of your time.  Or send your comments to:

• E-mail: monumentrmp@blm.gov
• Regular mail: Monument RMP Team, BLM Lewistown Field Office, P.O. Box 1160, Lewistown, MT 59457

Think global, act local

Japan scientists unveil world's oldest ice block

18 Apr 2006 07:47:59 GMT
Source: Reuters

TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - A million-year-old ice sample drilled from 3 kilometres under the Antarctic and unveiled in Tokyo on Tuesday could yield vital clues on climate change, Japanese scientists said.

Researchers, showing off the cylindrical samples of what they said was the oldest ice ever to be retrieved, said studying air trapped inside "core" samples taken from various depths under ground could also help predict how the Earth's weather patterns will change in the future.

So many bald eagles...

"The dramatic aerial battle this month between two bald eagles contending for territory on the Potomac River south of Washington is a sign that their population rebound has been so successful they are running out of habitat.

The number of breeding pairs of eagles in the Chesapeake Bay region grew from fewer than 100 in the late 1970s to about 1,000 this year. Eagles are crowding together more closely, and a growing number of birds are being treated for injuries suffered in turf battles...

"In prime habitats such as those along the Potomac River, eagles are "packing in denser" than biologists had thought possible, occupying nests every mile or two. In the 1930s, Therres said, biologists recorded that eagle nests were generally three miles apart. This trend "may be an indication that we are getting close to carrying capacity," he said."

Source

So Many Bald Eagles, So Little Room Left to Nest. By D'Vera Cohn, Washington Post Staff Writer. Monday, April 17, 2006; Page A06

Related info

In Fairfax County, bald eagles can be spotted soaring over the fields of Frying Pan Park’s Kidwell Farm, hunting the marshes of Little Hunting Creek or swooping down from the trees at Riverbend Park to explore the shoreline of the Potomac.

~ Wildlife (Fairfax County Stewardship brochure)

Bald Eagles - FCPA ResOURces Online.  "While courting, bald eagles perform breathtaking aerial displays including rapid dives and turns. Sometimes, where two bald eagles grasp talons in mid-air, they plummet in spiraling cartwheels to within a few feet of the ground before releasing talons..."

Some excellent bald eagle photos taken by Paula Sullivan at Dyke Marsh/Hunting Creek in Fairfax County. Also, Photos of bald eagles spotted in Reston.

Eagle cams!  Two web-enabled video cameras show a Washington state bald eagle nest with live video. The Kent EagleCam features two different views of the nest.

Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1969 for the protection of nesting, feeding, and roosting habitat for the Bald eagles. It was the first federal refuge established specifically for the (then endangered) Bald eagle. The refuge is part of the Potomac River NWR Complex.  Eagles use the mature forests for shelter and nesting sites and the marshes, bays, and river for foraging and hunting. Seven Bald eagle nests occur on or adjacent to the refuge along with an eagle roost and a wintering population of 50-60 birds.

ResOURces Online

Today's Good Egg award goes to ResOURces Newsletter, a publication of the Resource Management Division (RMD) of the Fairfax County Park Authority, and its associated website. This newsletter promotes natural and cultural resource protection by publishing nature, history, and horticulture articles along with links to FCPA news, parks, and programs.  Don't miss info on Fairfax County's new stewardship initiatives, or wonderful links to free publications and resources on the "Nature Pages". 

Scheduling Explorations

I am a serious procrastinator.  Working within a framework of painless obligations like this helps me to plan and organize my outdoor explorations this quarter.  I am also concerned to be available to my father after his cardiac surgery late in May, so will try to schedule events sooner than later. 

The NEST Series
II	Stream Valley Ecology: Watersheds, Streams, Plants (Joanna Cornell, NVSCWD)
III	Stream Valley Ecology: Soil and Native and Invasive Plants (Danielle McCallum, NVRPA)
Electives
IV	Land-based exploration: walk, hike, or bike ride
V	Water-based exploration: kayaking, canoeing, or boating
VI	Outdoor arts: music, photography, creative writing/journaling, or meditation

Here are my preferences with regard to elective workshop commitments:

IV. Land-based Exploration

April 21 (Friday) 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Geology and Wildflower Hike: Difficult Run to Riverbend Park
Riverbend Visitor Center, Great Falls

The geology and botany of the Potomac Gorge are two reasons why The Nature Conservancy named the area "one of the most significant natural areas in the eastern United States." Along this 4-mile hike look at some defining geologic features and enjoy the abundance of common and unusual spring ephemerals. 

V. Water-based Exploration

May 13 (Saturday) 8:45 a.m.
Discover the Potomac (Potomac Paddlesports)
Pennyfield Lock, C&O Canal National Historic Park, Potomac, MD.

Four-hour guided trip of a scenic section of the Potomac River. Professional instructors/guides teach you all about flatwater kayaks, how to paddle with correct technique, and help you discover the flora and fauna and learn the rich history of the C & O canal. Catch a glimpse of heron, kingfisher, white-tailed deer, and painted turtles, and see and learn about the many other wild inhabitants of our river ecosystem.

VI. Outdoor Arts

May 20 (Saturday) Time should be set this week! (Raindate: May 21, 2006)
Art in the woods: Andy Goldsworthy Methods and Philosophy
Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, Clifton

This workshop develops creativity and a personal sense of connection with nature by exploring the artwork of landscape artist Andy Goldsworthy. Instructor Eric Celarier holds a master degree in fine arts from the University Cincinnati. He currently teaches art for Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College. His personal body of work portrays the theme of biological evolution as it is affected by environment and human interaction.

The Old Millstream

Saturday morning, we're driving down Browns Mill Road east of Hunter Mill Road, when George spots a county project sign and pulls over past the bridge, where space for two cars is unoccupied.   It's a Difficult Run stream restoration project funded by Fairfax County Park Authority bonds, the sign explains.  The object is to stabilize non-tidal stream channels along Difficult Run, according to an attached permit, and to install pedestrian/equestrian trail fords.  The newly-completed Cross-County Trail crosses Browns Mill Road here, headed downstream to Route 7 and the Potomac. I unsheath a camera and start snapping pictures of the stabilization measures under way at the bridge.

Winding on a northeast bearing for 14 miles towards the PotomacRiver from its headwaters at Fairfax County's Government Center complex (the Herrity building pond, to be specific), Difficult Run is at its widest here.  The stream valley is wide and shallow here, flanked with bottom land bogs.  There's a nice pond on the south side, teeming with frogs.  I vow to come back with neighborhood boys. 

In Fairfax County, Difficult Run was the old millstream.  Even the local Indians were farmers, clearing land and harnessing the stream for grist mills.  Colonists established several grain mills along Difficult Run, and mills established in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are remembered in county street names today -  Hunter’s Mill, Waple’s Mill, Fox’s Mill, Brown’s Mill, Keene's Mill, Towlston.   Brown's (Walter's) Mill stood a half mile away on Wolf Trap Run, a tributary of Difficult Run, where Beulah Road and Browns Mill Road meet.  Speaking of changes, compare the site today.

Here where the CCT and Difficult Run cross Browns Mill Road,the County Parks Authority just finished installing a "fair weather crossing", consisting of stepping stones for hikers and a parallel, hard cobbled streambed surface for equestrians.  Fair weather crossings are generally used when the stream banks are gently sloped, the normal flow of water volume is light, and the impact on trees in the area is minimal. These crossings are designed to allow maintenance vehicles to cross, as well as all trail users. 

The designer is Williamsburg Environmental Group, Inc. (WEG), which specializes in stream restoration and identifying "opportunities for restoration/stabilization via instream habitat improvements, channel realignments, bank stabilization techniques, and buffer restoration
measures".  WEG completed close to 440 miles of stream habitat assessment and resource inventory work for Fairfax County prior to beginning site-specific stream restoration and riparian corridor enhancement activities.  Centennial Contractors Enterprises, Inc., of Vienna, Virginia, is performing the work in this location, which also includes stabilizing "rock vortex weir structures, two (2) scour pools, riprap revetments and bank toe stabilization, three (3) rock vane structures ... for stream stabilization and erosion control."  Much of this is new vocabulary for us.

Connections

• Difficult Run Riparian Project: A Guide for Riparian  Restoration Projects (Virginia Department of Forestry) - This web page is a guide for the development of riparian buffer projects that focus on land use in watersheds. It uses Difficult Run as a model for project development and management...


• The Cross County Trail...All About Connections (FCPA): Hundreds of volunteers give irreplaceable time and talent to county non profits, fire stations, schoolrooms and the Park Authority...And sometimes, citizens blaze trails.  Download for printing: Cross-County Trail: Dulles Toll Rd. to Route 7 (PDF Map)
   
• Guide to Trail Management (FCPA): This Guide to Trail Management is designed to provide insight to the community and guidance to the Park staff on how trails are planned, developed, managed and maintained on Fairfax County parkland.

Paving Paradise

"Th[e] problem is pavement, and the way it has changed the ancient relationship between streams and rain. For most of human history, rain fell onto meadows, fields and forests, and sank slowly into the ground. In fact, most of the rain was intercepted by plants and tree leaves before it ever hit ground, and evaporated back into the air, eventually returning as rain again. (This is still the case in undeveloped areas -- a forest after heavy rainfall is a remarkably dry place.) The small amount of rain that did reach the ground sank slowly down through layers of soil and rock until it reached the underground water table. From there it flowed laterally and downhill, still underground, toward streams, where it seeped into the streambeds and recharged the waterways from below. During a heavy storm, some rainwater might flow downhill on the ground's surface, but that was the exception, not the rule.

"Pavement has changed all that. Now, every time it rains, water that once would have been slowly absorbed into meadow or forest floor courses off roads and parking lots and roofs and into curb gutters and storm drains, which funnel it directly to the local creek, at a speed and a volume that, before development, a stream saw only during spectacular storms, the kind that occur once or twice a century. These storm-water surges, as they are called, work as giant routers, scouring out streambeds and banks, flushing away the dirt around the roots of trees along the stream banks, and washing away the small creatures that cling to stream rocks. Under this regular, relentless scouring, stream life is swept away, and the stream becomes little more than a biologically dead sluiceway."

~ Mary Battiata, "Silent Streams", Washington Post, Sunday, November 27, 2005; W10.