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Don Chernoff

Volunteer

• Meet Other River Lovers! - Ongoing
• Land Use and Stormwater Policy Fellow
• Donate Your Time and Artistic Talent
• Potomac Conservancy Internships

Events & Trips

• The Gaia Theory: Science of Our Living Planet - March 6
• Growing Native Tree Plantings - March 24, April 14 and 21
• 2007 NVSWCD Seedling Sale - April 20-21

Speak Up!

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

News & Notes

• 40,000 Perch Found Dead Along a 4-Mile Stretch of the Potomac River
• City Family Donates Acreage to Battlefields Group
• Potomac Monitoring Considered
• Dominion Backtracks, Reroutes Proposed Line
• Wildlife Refuges at Risk: Cutbacks, Closures Threatening Nation's 544 Wildlife Refuges
• Parasite Forces Md. to Kill 80,000 Trout
• Detrick, County Evaluating Water Options
• OLDThey Paved Paradise and Killed the Fish
• OLDWater is Key Focus for Clarke’s Future
• OLDCity's Water Sources Still Under Negotiation

Good Neighbor Conservation Tips

• Spring Planting Tips

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.

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.

TREE-MENDOUS MARYLAND Program

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources TREE-MENDOUS MARYLAND Program is offering its spring list of trees and shrubs available for public land planting.

These reasonably priced, mostly native trees and shrubs are available for purchase immediately by anyone planting on public land in Maryland; schools, watershed organizations, local and county governments, homeowner's associations, environmental groups, etc. Plants will be available for pick-up or delivery in late March. For a list of trees and shrubs available: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/tmorderform.pdf

If your communities, large or small, are actively involved in tree planting and care, contact your local Department of Natural Resources Forester for information on being officially recognized as a Maryland PLANT Community:http://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/art/county_map.asp. Should you need larger trees, please email tgalloway@dnr.state.md.us to request a list of specials available if ordered before March 13.

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

March 24, Potomac Overlook Regional Park in Arlington, Va.: Growing Native volunteers along with regional park staff and Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment will plant 100 trees at Potomac Overlook Regional Park in Arlington, Va. The event will take place from 9:30 am-12:30 pm.

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

2007 NVSWCD Seedling Sale
Prepaid orders by April 16; pickup on April 20-21.
Fairfax County, Virginia
The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is holding its annual spring seedling sale. The seedling package consists of 16 seedlings, all of which are native to the DC Metro area. The package includes two Red Osier dogwoods, two button bushes, two river birch, two white oak, four Christmas ferns , and four winterberry hollies. Place pre-paid orders ($17.95) by April 16. You will receive a confirmation receipt and a map to the pick-up site (in Fairfax County, off of Braddock Road, two miles outside the Beltway).

For more information including pictures of what your seedlings will look like when mature, or to receive an order form, call NVSWCD at 703-324-1460, e-mail conservationdistrict@fairfaxcounty.gov, or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/seedlingsale.htm.

Potomac River Watershed Cleanup
Saturday, March 31, and Sunday April 1, 7:00 pm
Various locations

This year’s cleanup will take place at more than 300 sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Locations include fields, forests, parking lots and other ‘inland’ sites, where the trash can be removed before it enters creeks and other waterways. The Alice Ferguson Foundation has led this large-scale cleanup since 1989 and has incorporated the help of numerous volunteers and partners including Potomac Conservancy.

Join one of the many sites Potomac Conservancy organizes or manage your own site. For more information, contact Bryan Seipp at seipp@potomac.org, 301.608.1188 x207.

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OLDVirginia 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.

40,000 Perch Found Dead Along a 4-Mile Stretch of the Potomac River
THE BALTIMORE SUN

More than 40,000 yellow perch have washed up along a four-mile stretch of the Potomac River in
Southern Maryland. The cause of the fish kill is not known, but the Maryland Department of the Environment is investigating whether the recent cold snap might have played a role, said Robert Ballinger, a spokesman. More>>>

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - The U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed installing a water-quality monitoring system inside the R.C. Willson Water Treatment Plant in Williamsport, according to Mike Spiker, the City of Hagerstown's utilities director. The equipment would monitor raw water from the Potomac River for
biological and chemical contaminants, and act as an early-warning device for the city in case impurities are found, Spiker said last week.More>>>

Wildlife Refuges at Risk: Cutbacks, Closures Threatening Nation's 544 Wildlife Refuges
THE GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE ONLINE
WASHINGTON — Nestled in the marshland along the Potomac River just 18 miles from the capital, the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge is an oasis for bald eagles, Great Blue Herons and city dwellers in search of a little peace amid the oak-hickory forest. But beneath the refuge's serene veneer lies trouble that threatens the future of Mason Neck and the nation's 543 other refuges. The 96 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System is in the midst of a funding crisis that is closing hiking trails and visitor centers, slashing environmental education programs, reducing law enforcement and making it impossible to track the wildlife and endangered species the refuges were created to protect. More>>>

Detrick, County Evaluating Water Options
FREDERICK NEWS POST

FREDERICK, Md.— A study being released as early as next week may be a first step in determining
whether Fort Detrick could connect to the county's Potomac water pipeline through city infrastructure.
Facing a water need that will exceed what the post can withdraw from the Monocacy River by 2012, the
post may need to rely on generous county commissioners and a go-ahead from the Maryland
Department of Environment to meet its future demand. More>>>

They Paved Paradise and Killed the Fish
WASHINGTON POST

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — 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>>>

Spring Gardening Tips

It's almost spring planting time. Whenever possible, plant trees and shrubs that are native to our area.

If your garden is on a hillside, plant across the slope, not up and down. This will help hold moisture in the soil and will reduce erosion. Planting native grasses at the base of the slope will help filter stormwater runoff. These grasses will also provide habitat for birds and small animals.

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.