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Don Chernoff

Volunteer

• Meet Other River Lovers! - Ongoing
• Donate Your Time and Artistic Talent
• Potomac Conservancy Internships

Events & Trips

• Get Out! The Benefits of Getting Outdoors - February 6
• Woodland Options for Virginia Landowners Workshop - February 8
• The Gaia Theory: Science of Our Living Planet - March 6
• Growing Native Tree Plantings - March 24, April 14 and 21

Speak Up!

• Virginia Residents -- Support the $250 Million Clean Water Bond Initiative

News & Notes

• Congressman Van Hollen Declares C&O Canal Task Force a Success
• Potomac's Intersex Fish Blamed on Personal Care Products and Other Endocrine Disrupting Compounds
• Another Victory for Land Preservation 
• Make Way for the Eels
• One Family Keeps River Vigil
• Cause of Alexandria Flood Detected
• They Paved Paradise and Killed the Fish
• Water is Key Focus for Clarke’s Future
• City's Water Sources Still Under Negotiation

Good Neighbor Conservation Tips

• Recycle Your Fireplace Ashes

Support the Conservancy Today

• Buy Online at Potomac Conservancy's River Bookstore!
  

Donate Your Time and Artistic Talent!
Are you an artist who would like to use your talent for a good cause? Here is the opportunity you’re looking for. Potomac Conservancy needs an artist who can draw plants and other natural landscapes for the Growing Native Curriculum. If you are interested, please contact the Growing Native Project Director at 301.608.1188, ext. 211 or langan@potomac.org.

Potomac Conservancy Internships
Potomac Conservancy seeks highly motivated individuals interested in interning for a professional conservation organization in spring 2007. Opportunities are available in Communications, Policy, Finance, and Restoration.

Interns will work directly with Conservancy staff and will assume independent responsibility for substantive projects. Applicants should demonstrate maturity, strong verbal and written communication skills, an ability to work independently, a high degree of organization, and a commitment to the Potomac Conservancy's mission.

The duration and time requirements for each internship opportunity vary. A minimum commitment of 16 hours per week for 8-10 weeks is preferred. Limited stipends may be available on a competitive basis.

To apply for a Potomac Conservancy internship, send a resume and cover letter describing your interest and experience to info@potomac.org.

Get Out! The Benefits of Getting Outdoors to Individuals and Society
Tuesday, February 6, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Potomac Overlook Regional Park, Alexandria, Virginia

It is increasingly recognized that outdoor experiences and recreation have health, educational, and environmental benefits. Potomac Overlook Regional Park will kick off its 2007 activities with a lecture by Bob Stanton. Mr. Stanton served as National Park Service Director from 1997 to 2000. His talk will be followed by a panel discussion involving the audience and four local professional educators.

This is the first in a five-part Lyceum Science Series. Series co-sponsors include the Alexandria Lyceum, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, Capital Region Earth Force, and REI.

To RSVP, or for more information, please call 703-528-5406.

Woodland Options for Virginia Landowners Workshop
Saturday, February 8, 6:30-9:30 pm; Fee, $40
Allison H. Smith Special Events Center, Lord Fairfax Community College, Middletown, Virginia

Woodland Options for Landowners, a workshop sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program, is a great place for landowners to start learning about their forest resource so that they can make informed decisions. Topics to be covered include:

• Principles of Sustainable Forestry
• Tools for Assessing Your Resources (Boundary Lines, Deeds, Maps, Aerial Photos & Soil Surveys)
• Establishing Goals & Objectives
• Pine & Hardwood Forest Ecology & Management
• Wildlife Management

February 15 will be reserved as a make up date in the event inclement weather precludes meeting on one of the aforementioned dates. A registration fee of $40 per household includes workshop participation, a comprehensive student notebook containing practical information on forest management, and refreshments.

For more information or to register, contact Matthew Yancey with Virginia Cooperative Extension at 540.564.3080 or yancey@vt.edu.

The Gaia Theory: Science of Our Living Planet
Tuesday, March 6, 7:00 pm
Alexandria Lyceum, 201 S. Washington, Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
This is the second of a five-part science lecture series at the Alexandria Lyceum. Martin Ogle, Chief Naturalist for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Potomac Overlook Regional Park will give a hands-on presentation about the Gaia Theory – a most beautiful and compelling scientific idea of our Earth as a living system.

Come learn about the many faces of our living planet. Fun and fascinating for scientists and non-scientists, alike, and suitable for adults and youth age 12 and older. Please RSVP by calling 703-528-5406.

Growing Native Tree Plantings
We need your help to plant trees this spring. Here are three public planting events:

April 14, Waterford Park in Frederick, Md.: Growing Native volunteers in coordination with The Friends of Waterford Park and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will plant 200 tree seedlings at Waterford Park in Frederick, Md. The event will take place on from 9:30 am-12:30 pm.

April 21, Utica Park in Thurmont, Md.: Growing Native volunteers along with Frederick County Division of Public Works and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are planting along a stream trees at Utica Park in Thurmont, Maryland, followed by a park opening ceremony. The event will take place from 7:00 am-9:00 am.

For more information on these events, contact Colleen Langan, Growing Native Project Director, langan@potomac.org; 301.608.1188, x211; www.growingnative.org.

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Virginia Residents – Support the $250 Million Clean Water Bond Initiative

Legislation has been introduced in the Virginia State Assembly to authorize $250 million in bonds to upgrade sewage treatment plants throughout Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay watershed. These bonds would provide critical funding for wastewater treatment technologies. These upgrades to the infrastructure will help to reduce nutrients discharged into Virginia waters, allowing Virginia to meet its point-source pollution commitments under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Without state cost-sharing dollars, localities will likely be unable to pay for these sorely-needed treatment facility upgrades.

What you can do: Your support is vital in ensuring that this legislation passes the state legislature. Contact your state representative, and let him or her know that you support HB 1710 and SB771.

For more information: Don’t know who your legislator is? Visit http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform.

Congressman Van Hollen Declares C&O Canal Task Force a Success

The C&O Canal Task Force was officially declared a success and brought to conclusion by Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). The Task Force was formed by Van Hollen as a response to the Dan Snyder tree cutting incident, and the Potomac Conservancy played a key role in its deliberations. “Through the efforts of each member of the Task Force, significant steps were taken to help prevent [illegal tree cuttings] from recurring,” said Van Hollen in a January 9, 2007, letter to Task Force members. “Legal penalties for violators were strengthened, community awareness was increased, and coordination between the federal and county governments was improved, just to name a few.” The Task Force also formed recommendations for comprehensive improvements to the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Law. These recommendations are expected to be introduced as legislation in the County Council in early 2007. Background about the task force is available at www.efc.umd.edu/taskforce.html.

Potomac's Intersex Fish Caused by Personal Care Products and Other Endocrine Disrupting Compounds -- US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Recently, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found pesticides, flame retardants, and personal care products containing known or suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals in several tributaries to the Potomac River and in the smallmouth bass that inhabit them. More>>>

Click here to download the report, A Reconnaissance for Emerging Contaminants in the South Branch Potomac River, Cacapon River, and Williams River Basins, West Virginia, April-October 2004.

Articles were published on this topic around the US and in the international press:

• Intersex Fish Study Finds Endocrine Disruptors in Potomac Basin - Richmond Herald-Dispatch.com
• Sex-change Chemicals in Potomac- BBC News
• Pesticide Found in Mutated Fish, Potomac - New York Times
• Mystery in the Potomac - The Herald Mail (Hagerstown, Md.)
• Third Species of Intersex Sunfish Found in Potomac - WTOP
• Sex-Changing Chemicals Found in Potomac River - National Geographic
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Another Victory for Land Preservation 
MCLEAN CONNECTION

Katie Timblin's decision to place her 5-acre wooded-homestead property in McLean under a conservation easement was based on one simple reason. "I did it because of all the development that's going on around here and ruining our scenic advantages," said Timblin, 91. "It's the only way to keep people from exploiting the land." (Note: This story misidentifies the Potomac Conservancy as the Fairfax County Potomac Conservancy.) More>>>

Make Way for the Eels
THE FREDERICK NEWS-POST

FREDERICK -- Eels were once plentiful in the Potomac River. Two federal agencies are now working to
rebuild the eel population in its natural habitat.  More>>>

Cause of Alexandria Flood Detected
WASHINGTON POST

Decades of run-off from construction sites in Fairfax County, producing sediment that narrowed Cameron Run, was the primary cause of the June 2006 flood that inundated the Huntington neighborhood near Alexandria, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found. More>>>

They Paved Paradise and Killed the Fish
WASHINGTON POST

ANNAPOLIS —- A group of Maryland state biologists, making an unusual series of public appeals about the environmental cost of unchecked development, are using the Severn River as a great example of a very bad thing. More>>>

Water is Key Focus for Clarke’s Future
THE WINCHESTER STAR

BOYCE — After nearly eight months of work, the Clarke County Comprehensive Plan Committee unveiled its vision of the county’s future. The officials hope it’s a wet one.   More>>>

City's Water Sources Still Under Negotiation
THE FREDERICK NEWS POST

FREDERICK — The start date for water to flow through the Potomac pipeline has been pushed back, but City Hall has more on its mind than just infrastructure. Frederick remains in negotiations with the Maryland Department of the Environment over a consent agreement allowing the city to draw water from the Monocacy River. More>>>

Recycle Your Fireplace Ashes

If you have acidic soil (low pH), spreading ashes from your wood burning stove to your garden can help increase the pH. Many plants, including vegetables such as cucumbers, celery, and cauliflower, prefer alkaline (high pH) soil. But be careful, many of our favorites, such as azaleas, camellias, and hydrangeas do not thrive in high pH soil. To be sure, have your soil's pH tested before spring planting.

This tip came from the 2007 Conservation Calendar. The calendar, which is chock full of hints for year-round conservation, is distributed by the Virginia Soil & Water Conservation and Virginia Cooperative Extension's Master Gardeners, and the Shenandoah RC&D Council.

For more information about minimizing your impact on the environment, download our Good Neighbor Handbook.

Buy Online at Potomac Conservancy's River Bookstore!
Potomac Conservancy's Online River Bookstore offers vivid texts documenting the colorful wildlife and beauty of the Potomac Watershed.

Our selection includes Wild Washington: Amazing Wildlife in and Around Our Nation's Capital by Don Chernoff, featuring 108 pages of brilliant photographs of birds, insects, and other creatures that call the DC area home.

Our Potomac: From Great Falls through Washington, DC by Roy Sewall will take you on an awe-inspiring journey of this stretch of the river like no book before. Featuring 216 full-color photos, Our Potomac captures the river’s transformation from raging falls to an idyllic backdrop for Washington’s greatest monuments. By ordering online through Potomac Conservancy, you can get a copy of Our Potomac at a 20% discount! 

Order one of these books online and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Potomac Conservancy.