Nature Conservancy - Science

MARCH 26, 2013

What effects will land use changes have on a stream and its wildlife? How do conservation managers know what will happen in a stream when a restoration project takes place? Actually, stream managers now use sophisticated computer modeling to predict the outcomes of their activities. These models allow them to see how planting native shrubs, for instance, will alter stream flows and water temperatures. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

Streams 53

Streams Conserve Conservation Idaho 53

Sierra Club Compass

JANUARY 23, 2014

Earlier this week, my West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said the following about whether people should be drinking the water in Charleston and downstream: "It's your decision.I'm " It sounds bad even before Stanley explains that coal mines are constantly pumped to clear ground water, aquifers, and underground streams: "As soon as we're out of that mine it immediately fills with water.

West Virginia 88

West Virginia Virginia 2014 North Carolina 88

Sierra Club Compass

JUNE 19, 2013

Last week, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) upheld an earlier decision to deny a permit for a mountaintop-removal mine on Ison Rock Ridge in Wise County in southwest Virginia after an appeal by the A&G Coal Corporation. The state has given A&G Coal permission to blow up our mountain and poison our streams. " Congratulations to the families of Virginia for this hard-fought victory! -- Brian Foley.

Virginia 64

Virginia West Virginia 2013 Kentucky 64

Sierra Club Compass

JANUARY 14, 2014

Running alongside the Little Coal River in Boone County, West Virginia is the sleepy town of Van. Thankfully, a corps of community-minded citizens has risen to moment, delivering water to underserved areas throughout the region, calling in to let folks know when water has been delivered to local stores and acting as a rapid response team for folks in need in central and southern West Virginia. Boone County WV Resident Gives His Time to Provide Water to Those in Need.

West Virginia 81

West Virginia Virginia Rivers 2014 81

Sierra Club Compass

MAY 7, 2013

Mountain lovers everywhere high-fived today when the news came down that the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has denied a surface mine permit for the Ison Rock Ridge mine in southwest Virginia. The mine would have buried about 14,000 feet of streams with more than 11 million cubic yards of rock and dirt in nine valley fills.

Coal Mines 64

Coal Mines Virginia West Virginia 2013 64

Living In a Toxic World

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

Sad to see the beautiful state of West Virginia suffer yet another environmental disaster. More than 100,000 gallons of coal slurry poured into an eastern Kanawha County stream Tuesday in what officials were calling a "significant spill" from a Patriot Coal processing facility. Source: West Virginia Gazette.) This latest spill comes just one month after the devastation caused by a chemical spill in the Elk River.

West Virginia 36

West Virginia Virginia Environmental Disaster Rivers 36

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2018

North Bend State Park, West Virginia. Strong populations of birds reside in the hardwood forests and dense understories in this north-eastern location of West Virginia. Sky Meadows State Park, Virginia. Known as a warbler haven, 30+ species visit this bi-state park near the Kentucky and Virginia southern border. The coves are populated with oak, hemlock, poplar, and the area is stream-rich (including a Class V river gorge) with lush understories and shrubs.

2018 169

2018 West Virginia Virginia Kentucky 169

Sierra Club Compass

MARCH 13, 2013

I remember the first time I saw a mountaintop-removal coal mining site - Kayford Mountain in southern West Virginia. Many folks here in Appalachia have streams or creeks running through their back yard. Pollution from mountaintop-removal mining has poisoned many of our streams making them dangerous for certain fish and other aquatic life. They then dump millions of tons of rubble and toxic waste into the streams and valleys below the mining sites.

Coal Mines 74

Coal Mines West Virginia Virginia Kentucky 74

Environmental Economics

JULY 18, 2014

Luckily, the article actually gives an idea of the magnitude: In West Virginia’s Appalachian mountains, fish are vanishing. The people opposed to the coal industry are trying to pile on with more studies,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “It Mountaintop mining accounts for approximately 45 percent of the entire state’s coal production in West Virginia.”.

Environmental 169

Environmental 2014 West Virginia Virginia 169

Sierra Club Compass

APRIL 23, 2013

The Spruce Mine - the focus of this case - was the largest mountaintop removal permit ever proposed in West Virginia history, and its valley fills would have buried more than six miles of streams. We joined Earthjustice, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, and other allies West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, and Natural Resources Defense Council in arguing for this ruling, which reverses a prior District Court ruling.

Coal Mines 87

Coal Mines West Virginia 2013 Virginia 87

Green (Living) Review

MARCH 15, 2017

In a few short months, the sweet scent of thawing soil will have me searching under trees, along streams and in gardens for new life peeking into the frosty air. Mother bumblebees will emerge from leaves to start new colonies, timing their arrival for the flowering of Dutchman’s breeches and Virginia bluebells. During the dark days of winter, it’s hard to imagine anyone more excited about spring’s brave first blooms.

2017 123

2017 Virginia North America Logging 123

Nature Conservancy - Science

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Now, he grows hops on his Northern Virginia home. Areas that can support a forest can support a stream.”. They are where headwater streams originate. Those little streams feed into bigger streams as they flow down a mountain, eventually leading to the basins that supply water for a variety of uses. Whether you’re drinking a mass-produced light beer or a super-rare farmhouse sour, chances are it originated in a small mountain stream.

Forest 82

Forest 2015 Denver Streams 82

Nature Conservancy - Science

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

Particularly in Portland, I can see how the lack of permeable surfaces influences pollutants in the water and the flow of streams (water is channeled via stormwater drains and ditches directly into streams and rivers rather than sinking in as groundwater first and slowly recharging lakes and streams — these changes increase risk of flash floods). The Nature Conservancy’s Panther Knob Preserve in West Virginia.

2016 87

2016 Papua New Guinea Meyers Wisconsin 87

Sierra Club Compass

MAY 15, 2014

Imagine living next to an unlined waste pit that leaked arsenic, lead, mercury, and scads of other toxins into your local groundwater, streams and rivers. history , which devastated over 70 miles of the Dan River in North Carolina and Virginia.   Every year, the nation's coal plants produce 140 million tons of coal ash pollution, the second biggest waste stream in the country, after household garbage.

Disaster 88

Disaster 2014 North Carolina Unregulated 88

Sierra Club Compass

APRIL 7, 2014

In the wake of dangerous coal chemical and coal ash spills in their states already this year, West Virginia and North Carolina voters have gotten a wake-up call on the need for environmental and public health protections - and they know it. A March 10th - 13th poll found that 63 percent of voters think state leaders are not doing enough to protect the state''s rivers and streams from contamination.

Environmental Protection 75

Environmental Protection West Virginia North Carolina 2014 75

Nature Conservancy - Science

JANUARY 25, 2016

miles of 11 park streams. Where the River Meets the Road: Reconnecting Adirondack Brook Trout Streams. Fishery crew surveying a brook trout stream in GRSM via electrofishing. (In However, the stream has to be fairly small for electrofishing to prove a viable method. He reintroduces them to streams where they’ve been extirpated. Other once-famous salter streams, some fished by U.S. These span the stream and are lined with its natural substrate.

2016 63

2016 Streams Vermont Massachusetts 63

Sierra Club Compass

MAY 10, 2013

However, in spite of the powerful forces aligned against them, local residents are still winning victories, In Virginia this week, residents of the town of Appalachia celebrated a victory when  the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy denied a surface mine permit for the Ison Rock Ridge mine in southwest Virginia. Appalachian activists gather outside the Washington, D.C.,

Washington 86

Washington Coal Mines 2013 Kentucky 86

Nature Conservancy - Science

JULY 10, 2017

This is a small stream born out of the glaciers in the Talkeetna Mountains. Rushing, gurgling, falling over rocks and down waterfalls, the stream provides a perfect continuous background audio loop in an otherwise silent setting. On this project, the idea was to make the end-all, be-all map all of the lakes, rivers and streams – the hydrography – in this West Virginia-sized chunk of Alaska. A Map Gives More than a Sense of Where You Are.

2017 68

2017 Alaska People San Diego 68

Sierra Club Compass

MARCH 14, 2014

That's exactly what's happening right now in Kentucky where a court ruled (PDF) in essence that the Army Corps doesn't need to consider the health problems caused by mountaintop-removal coal mining because the Corps is only responsible for issuing permits that allow stream destruction associated with the mining, not the mining operation itself, even though the Corps admits that the mining operation could not go forward without the permit it issued.

Coal Mines 83

Coal Mines Responsibility 2014 Kentucky 83

Sierra Club Compass

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

In a landmark announcement, Patriot Coal, one of Appalachia's three largest mountaintop removal companies, has signed a settlement agreement with the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition , and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy committing to end its practice of large scale surface mining in Appalachia, and to retire much of its mountaintop removal equipment, including two massive mining machines called draglines. Compass. « Coal Ash Dumps Threaten Our Health | Main.

2012 87

2012 West Virginia Virginia 2011 87

Nature Conservancy - Science

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

They live mainly in young, dense wet forests near streams, rivers, and marshes. They breed and spend summers from the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border across the Great Lakes east to Newfoundland and New England and south into Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Lower Delmarva, in particular, Cape Charles, Virginia, typically boasts the highest counts in the nation , because this area serves as a combination migration stopover and wintering site.

Wetlands 87

Wetlands 2015 Louisiana Virginia 87

Eco Friendly Daily

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The two permits delayed in March are for two different operations in West Virginia and Kentucky. The dumping of the dirt and other debris into the valley below not only can pollute waterways but also destroy the streams. The newest permits that have been blocked are expected to bury eight miles of streams under the dirt and rock debris from the mountaintop removal.

West Virginia 46

West Virginia Streams Kentucky Virginia 46

Nature Conservancy - Science

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

When we come to realize that straightened and channelized drainage-ways do not provide much flood control and fish production, ecosystem restoration is frequently recommended for streams. Duke University’s Dr. Emily Bernhardt found that most stream restoration projects have failed to achieve levels of ecosystem function that were once found in nature. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer, 1913.

Ecosystems 43

Ecosystems Wetlands 2016 West Virginia 43

Conservancy Talk

APRIL 9, 2014

The Otter Creek Wilderness area is part of the nearly million-acre Monongahela National Forest , which blankets some of the highest peaks in West Virginia. . The Conservancy’s West Virginia program has helped protect tens of thousands of acres of land in and around “The Mon” and is engaged in an effort to restore red spruce habitat there for the benefit of the northern flying squirrel and other special flora and fauna. . Our first stream crossing led to an impromptu swim.

West Virginia 65

West Virginia Virginia 2014 Streams 65

Nature Conservancy - Science

MARCH 5, 2015

The Appalachian region is a global hotspot for plant and animal diversity, with some of the most diverse, intact, and connected temperate forests and freshwater streams in the world. Despite the critical importance of these natural resources, we have not, as a society, considered the cumulative impacts of current and future energy development to forests, streams, and other habitats.

2015 68

2015 Energy Pennsylvania Wind Turbine 68

Nature Conservancy - Science

APRIL 25, 2014

West Virginia University). NOAA researchers are live streaming from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. Mule deer at Torrey Creek Trailhead, Wind River Range Wyoming. Photo by Scott Copeland. By Marty Downs, Bob Lalasz, Matt Miller, Lisa Feldkamp and Cara Byington of the TNC Science Communications team. We find tons of cool conservation and conservation science stuff every week on the Internets — now we’re sharing some of the best with you every week in The Cooler: Biodiversity.

Rhode Island 64

Rhode Island Prairies West Virginia 2014 64

Sierra Club Compass

JULY 9, 2013

As a mom who loves to take my little three-year-old daughter swimming, fishing, and boating in the streams and rivers of West Virginia where I live, I know how much is at stake. Today was a great day for clean water. We saw more than 100 activists turn out at an Environmental Protection Agency public hearing to support strong water pollution standards.

Clean 83

Clean Water 2013 Coal Plants 83

Eco Chic

JUNE 21, 2011

We wandered around her yard, garden, and into the edges of the nearby woods, but not very far, and gathered the following: Virginia Water Leaf, Dandelion leaves and flowers, Violet, Garlic Mustard, and Chives. Gathering Virginia Water Leaf near the stream the runs through the woods at the edge of the property.

2011 58

2011 Virginia New York Streams 58

The Green Changemakers

MAY 19, 2010

The book’s six chapters—Climate Change Solutions, Stream Restoration, Green Infrastructure, Incentive Driven Conservation, Watershed Protection, and Stewardship—are each introduced with a summary of the restoration principles learned from the projects. Dunn Environmental Protection Agency studies show nearly 50% of the freshwater streams sampled in the Chesapeake Bay watershed were in very poor or poor condition.

2010 46

2010 Maryland Virginia Conserve 46

Conservancy Talk

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Hemlock forests make for good trout streams and are homes to happy salamanders. I’ve rafted West Virginia’s Gauley River and agree with the guides who say the Gauley resembles a western river , not only because of its wild whitewater but also its coniferous forest canopy – up to 50 percent of the canyon’s steep slopes are covered in hemlock. . As they have in The Nature Conservancy’s Greenland Gap Preserve in West Virginia. Hemlock forest. Photo: Kent Mason.

West Virginia 74

West Virginia 2014 Ohio Trees 74

Nature Conservancy - Science

AUGUST 1, 2013

Schools from as far away as Wisconsin and West Virginia even tuned in to watch the show. But to live stream the high-quality video image, funds are needed. Through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Conservancy partnered with the Alabama Coastal Foundation, the City of Orange Beach, Alabama, and Baldwin EMC to broadcast the real-time activities of a nesting osprey family along the Gulf of Mexico.

2014 47

2014 West Virginia Alabama Beaches 47

Green Prophet

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

The experience solidified our aim to create a steady stream of art, educational and craft materials to the camp to allow the community to continue regularly scheduled classes and workshops. Our Irish organizer (and Green Prophet Brian Nitz ‘s better half), Virginia Nitz, single-handedly collected over 3,000 hats and even arranged for donated air freight to Jordan!

Handmade 80

Handmade 2013 Ireland Virginia 80

Eco Friendly Daily

APRIL 15, 2013

Pilot programs were conducted at Vancouver’s main water treatment facility on Lulu Island, as well as at the Nansemond plant in Suffolk, Virginia. This leaves nutrients diverted into a sludge stream. A Vancouver-based company has pulled in some high-profile support. Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. takes wastewater, removes nutrient pollutants, and then recycles these to create commercial fertilizer. The newest member on the Board of Directors is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,

Virginia 52

Virginia Planting Plants Streams 52

Sierra Club Compass

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

By Ivy Main, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Chair. Fracking opened up vast swaths of once-quiet forest and farmland to the constant grinding of truck traffic heading to drilling rigs that operate all day and night, poisoning the air with diesel fumes and sometimes spilling toxic drilling fluids onto fields and into streams. Gas drilling rig near Clearville, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mark Schmerling.

Cleveland 46

Cleveland Fossil Fuel 2014 Renewable Energy 46

Sightline Daily

JUNE 21, 2013

Rain gardens aim to mimic nature by soaking stormwater into the ground so that it can replenish underground stores of water, preventing the rain from racing across paved and hardened surfaces, carrying tidal waves of polluted water into streams, lakes, and sea water. Native soil varies widely from Northwest rainforests to the deciduous woods of Delaware to Virginia’s Appalachian wilderness, and so do regional recommendations for rain garden soils.

Delaware 55

Delaware Virginia Washington Seattle 55

Sierra Club Compass

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

By Ivy Main, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Chair. Fracking opened up vast swaths of once-quiet forest and farmland to the constant grinding of truck traffic heading to drilling rigs that operate all day and night, poisoning the air with diesel fumes and sometimes spilling toxic drilling fluids onto fields and into streams. Gas drilling rig near Clearville, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mark Schmerling.

Cleveland 43

Cleveland Fossil Fuel 2014 Renewable Energy 43

Nature Conservancy - Science

MAY 20, 2014

As a conservation measure, the state of New Jersey passed a law in 2008 making it illegal to harvest horseshoe crabs, and Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland all have strict harvest quotas, but the population has been slow to recover. “It’s That prevents the bacteria from entering their blood stream. Horseshoe crabs spawning in Mispillion Harbor, Delaware. Photo by Gregory Breese/USFWS. What is the Horseshoe Crab Survey?

Beaches 70

Beaches 2014 Delaware New Jersey 70

Conservancy Talk

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Below is the keynote speech I delivered at the meeting on September 26 in Wheeling, West Virginia. But these dedicated conservationists are seeing the places they love change because of higher temperatures, warmer lakes and streams, rising sea levels and disintegrating food webs. This is certainly evident in places like here in West Virginia. We’re exploring how forest conservation and clean energy can be part of the solution for West Virginia’s economic future.

American Clean Energy and Security Act 55

American Clean Energy and Security Act 2016 Climate West Virginia 55

Conservancy Talk

MAY 8, 2017

They found the place that Bok had earmarked for conservation, an untracked subtropical wilderness cut through by Tiger Creek, a winding stream named, one theory has it, for the orange water that runs through white sand and dark shadows. The Lake Wales Ridge, of which Tiger Creek is an important part, is an outstanding example of “longleaf pine sandhill,” a forest system that had once extended from Virginia to Eastern Texas. Forget for a moment how he came by the name “Sticky.”

Florida 40

Florida 2017 Preservation Conserve 40

Green (Living) Review

JUNE 19, 2012

assistant professor of Invasive Plant Ecology at Virginia Tech. “In After planting Don’t grow potential invaders adjacent to streams, irrigation channels, major roads or utility rights of way that can serve as a “transportation corridor” for seeds and plant parts. Experts say some species cultivated for biofuels have the potential to become harmful invaders. But adopting best management practices can help to minimize the risk of weed-like crops spreading beyond the growing field.

Biofuel 107

Biofuel 2012 Planting Plants 107

Sightline Daily

DECEMBER 2, 2010

An informal survey by Eric Eckl at Water Words That Work , a Virginia company that works on water-related communications, sought some answers about stormwater understanding. One city employee told me foul are the major cause of water pollution to streams. Water polluted by vehicular and other inputs goes from them directly into our streams and lakes. Skip to content.

2010 40

2010 Oregon Portland Seattle 40

The Green Changemakers

JUNE 9, 2013

Out of 120 on field trips near campus along Virginia’s New River that semester, only one student could call one of some 50 observed living things by name: poison ivy. One mountain stream, one wildflower meadow or mountain bald or beaver pond better known helps us both to know and to hold an empathetic bond with all meadows and balds, forests and wetlands, and with their non-human inhabitants.

Students 40

Students Reclaim Reclaiming Virginia 40

The Green Changemakers

JANUARY 22, 2014

Collected by Johnathan Chung CONTENTS: I. Top Picks II. Universities and Higher Education (updated to v.2.0 on 1/27/12) III. General Collections (updated to v.2.3 on 2/10/12) IV. How-to & DIY V. Studying with Peers VI. Online Books, eBooks, & Journals VII. Computers, Software, & Programming (updated to v.2.2 on 2/6/12) VIII. Science & Math (updated to v.2.3 on 2/10/12) IX. Logic, Words, & Memory X. Languages XI. Music (updated to v.1.2 on 1/26/12) XII. History XIII.

San Diego 40

San Diego Utah Self Reliance Teachers 40