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Don Chernoff

Saturday, May 5, 10:00 am ‘til 2:00 pm
River Center at Lockhouse 8, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Cabin John, Md.

The River Center at Lockhouse 8 opens to the public for the 2007 visitor season with a new “Backyard to the Bay” exhibit. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the exhibit – with special guests and refreshments – will take place at 10 am. Please join us!

The River Center will be open weekends, from 10 am until 2 pm, May through October. To RSVP for the grand opening celebration, contact Potomac Conservancy at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

Photo:Ed Tenney

On May 5 at 10 am, join us for
• Tours of the restored Lockhouse
• Interactive displays offering information about the connection between your backyard, the Potomac, and the Chesapeake

Volunteer

• Meet Other River Lovers!
• Donate Your Time and Artistic Talent
• Volunteer to Crew on a C&O Canal Boat

Speak Up!

• Montgomery County Citizens: A Call for Action on C&O Canal Buffer Bill
• Frederick County Citizens: Support the Lake Linganore Stream Buffer Ordinance
• All Citizens: Contact Your Congressperson Today to Support an Important Conservation Easement Tax Incentive Bill

Events & Trips

• River Center at Lockhouse 8 Open House - May 5 to October 14
• Voices of the River: Banjoist Reed Martin - May 6
• C&O Canal Association Hike from Violette’s Lock - May 6
• Birds in Migration Hike - May 12
• Dayhiking on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail - May 12
• Greener DC Schools Action Days May 18 and 19, May 26
• Canoe Trips on the Monocacy - May 19 and 20
• West Virginia Forest Landowners Workshop - May 23, June 5
• National River Cleanup Week - June 2-10
• Children’s Bug Walk - June 9

News & Notes

• 800 Trees Added to Utica District Park
• Network Proves Talking Saves Trees: C&O Canal Network Keeps Conversation Going on Forest, Canal Protections
• Plans for Fence at River Road Property Head to Planning Board
• Bad News for the Bay
• The Dirty Truth: 19th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup Highlights the Impact
  that the People have on the Local Environment

Good Neighbor Conservation Tip

• Sprinkler Systems Can Conserve Water

Support the Conservancy Today

• New! Potomac Conservancy Polo Shirts and Ball Caps for Sale
• Join Potomac Conservancy

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 Colleen Langan, Growing Native Project Director at 301.608.1188, ext. 211 or langan@potomac.org.

Volunteer to Crew on a C&O Canal Boat
C&O Canal National Historical Park is looking for volunteers to help run its canal boats, the Charles F. Mercer or the Georgetown. They will train you, provide you with living history clothing, steel-toed boots and any other safety and similar clothing and equipment you may need. Boat crew members will need to be able to push lock gate arms or pull ropes to maneuver the boat into and out of locks or through the canal. Some crew positions are available that involve handling mules, for volunteers interested in learning those skills. Boats are operated 2-3 times a day, Wednesday through Sunday. Schedules are flexible.

This is a great volunteer opportunity that truly gives you a taste of what life on the canal was like. For additional information or to sign up contact David Tune at david_tune@nps.gov or Aly Baltrus at alyssa_baltrus@nps.gov.

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We included this item in April's Speak Up column, but it’s so important we’re running it again. Parallel bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to permanently extend the tax incentive for conservation easement donations passed by Congress in late 2006. The tax benefits landowners receive for their conservation easement donations are critical to the Potomac Conservancy and other land trusts’ ability to conserve land.

What you can do: Ask your Senators and Representatives to support senate bill S.469 or house bill H.R. 1576, or if they are already a co-sponsor, thank them for their support!
• Local co-sponsors of H.R. 1576: Wynn (D-MD 4th), Gilchrist (R-MD 1st ), and Bartlett (R- MD 6th)
• Local co-sponsors of S. 469: Warner (R-VA)

For more information: Details of the incentive bill, and a sample letter are available at: www.lta.org/publicpolicy/tax_incentives_letter.htm. Phone numbers for your Senators' and Representatives' Washington DC offices can be found at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

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River Center at Lockhouse 8 Open House
Saturday, May 5 - Sunday October 14, 10:00 am ‘til 2:00 pm
River Center at Lockhouse 8, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Cabin John, Md.

The River Center will be open weekends, from 10 am until 2 pm, May through October. Summer programs include Voices of the River (see below) and nature walks. Visit www.potomac.org for more details, or contact Potomac Conservancy at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

Voices of the River: Banjoist Reed Martin
Sunday, May 6, 3:00 pm 'til 4:00 pm
River Center at Lockhouse 8, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Cabin John, Md.

Join the Potomac Conservancy for its first Voices of the River of the 2007 River Center season. This kick-off will feature old-time banjo with Reed Martin. Perfect for the entire family! To RSVP for this free event, contact Judy Welles at welles@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

• May 18 and 19: Whittier Elementary, 6201 5th Street, NW
• May 26: Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, 3701 Hayes Street, NE

Email Bryan Seipp at seipp@potomac.org or call him at 301.608.1188, x207, for more details.

Canoe Trips on the Monocacy
Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20, starts at Pinecliff Park, near Frederick, Md.

C&O Canal Association is sponsoring two one-day canoe trips on the Monocacy River. The May 19 trip will start at Pinecliff Park, southeast of Frederick, through Monocacy Battlefield Park, ending in Adamstown, across from Lilypons Aquatic Gardens. The May 20 trip will be from Adamstown to the Monocacy Aqueduct. Combined total mileage, about 16 miles. Reservations required. Contact Barbara Sheridan at 301.752.5436 for details. More information is available at www.candocanal.org/news/index.html.

West Virginia Forest Landowners Workshop
May 23, 6:30 pm 'til 8:30 pm, Augusta Fire Hall, 200 Strawberry Ln., Augusta, W.V.
June 5, 6:30 pm 'til 8:30 pm, Pendleton County Community Bldg., 200 Confederate Rd., Franklin, W.V.

If you are the owner of forested land in West Virginia, this free workshop will help you protect your natural resources, and your investment. Join us at one of two workshops to find out more about:

• Techniques to better manage your forested land
• Practices that will improve the economic viability of your land
• Resources and programs that will increase the quality of your wildlife habitat and protect water quality

Register by May 17 for the Augusta workshop and by May 30 for the Franklin workshop. Email Kelly Watkinson at watkinson@potomac.org or call her at 540.667.3606, for more details.

National River Cleanup Week
June 2-10
Sites throughout the region

If you're looking for a hands-on way to help protect the rivers you love, then join in National River Cleanup Week. You can organize a new river cleanup or register your already-occurring cleanup online. That way your cleanup will get free publicity and access to a wider audience of potential volunteers. As an added bonus, your volunteers become eligible to enter various contests to win prizes, such as free kayaks and canoes. To register and read more visit: www.NationalRiverCleanup.org. Remember, when we all pitch in, America's rivers win!

800 Trees Added to Utica District Park
Frederick News Post

THURMONT -- Planting about 800 trees for a new park is not only good for the environment but also part of an agreement made with a nearby neighborhood. Click here for more.

The C&O Canal Network meets every month or so at the County Council building in Rockville to talk, then talk some more, about the health and wellbeing of the C&O Canal and the county’s forests. It’s an informal gathering of 10 or so environmentalist groups, and after years of fighting for the preservation of the county’s forests and parks, its members are sure of one thing: Information is power. ‘‘Primarily, we’re an information sharing group at this stage,” said Anne Merwin, Potomac Conservancy policy director and network member along with such groups as the C&O Canal Association, Audubon Naturalist Society and West Montgomery County Citizens Association. Click here for more.

Property owner Aris Mardirossian’s plan to install a six-foot-tall wrought iron fence around his Potomac riverfront property is headed to a public hearing before the Montgomery County Planning Board. While no date has been set for that hearing, Mardirossian is to go to the board to appeal a March 30 decision by county planners to nix his plan to fence in his River Road property and cut down more than 50 trees. Click here for more.

In April, the Chesapeake Bay Program released its assessments of ecosystem health and restorations efforts in the Bay and its main tributiaries (www.chesapeakebay.net/assess/index.htm). The Potomac, the second largest tributary to the Chesapeake, received a "D," or poor, grade for ecosystem health in the report.

The annual reports show that the Bay’s overall health remains degraded, despite significant advances in restoration efforts by Bay Program partners. Researchers with the University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science led the report card project.

The Bay Journal covered the reports extensively in its May issue:

• Out of Shape... No Matter How One Looks At It, Bay's Health Fails to Make the Grade
• Reports Outline State of Bay, Its Resources and Restoration Efforts
• Chesapeake Bay Report Card's Goal Is to Challenge Regions to Strive Harder

Other media stories include:

• Reports: Chesapeake Bay Health Pitiful - CBS News
• Chesapeake Bay is Still Hurting, Two Reports Say - Baltimore Sun

In other Bay news, The New York Times' Felicity Barringer made an important connection between Bay pollution and agricultural pollutants in A Plan to Curb Farm-to-Watershed Pollution of Chesapeake Bay. The article cites innovations by several farms in the upper reaches of the watershed, including combating manure runoff from cattle farms to implementing cap-and-trade programs.

Michael Nguyen-Mason thought he’d found a Mafia murder scene. Near Swain’s lock last Saturday, Michael and five of his Thomas Pyle Middle School friends discovered two cinder blocks roped together and a discarded identification card nearby in an otherwise empty wallet. With just a little imagination, it seemed like a scene right out of “The Sopranos.” Such oddities were ripe for the finding on Saturday, March 31 during the 19th annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup. Click here for more.

Sprinkler Systems Can Conserve Water

Consider putting in trickle irrigation or microsprinklers for your vegetable and flower gardens. Water from conventional sprinklers often evaporates before reaching the soil, and cause fungus and diseases in your garden.

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.

New! Potomac Conservancy Polo Shirts and Ball Caps for Sale

Wear your PC colors this summer! Liven up your summer wardrobe with an exclusive line of Potomac Conservancy gear. We have polo shirts and ball caps, both with the Conservancy logo, for sale. Polo shirts are available in sky blue or stone (a light beige); ball caps are khaki.

Orders will be taken until June 17. Shirts are available in men's and women’s sizes: XS - XXL. Ball caps are adjustable. All shirts are $20, except XXL, which are $23. Ball caps are $8.00. Shipping and handling: $7.95 per order. All orders will be mailed by July 1. Order form is available at www.potomac.org. For information or to order by phone, contact Monica Lyman, Office Coordinator, at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188, x201.

Join Potomac Conservancy

If you have been receiving your monthly RiverUpdate and are not a Conservancy member, please consider joining. By doing so, you will join thousands of others in supporting the Conservancy's work to protect the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. Click here and join today!