| | | Paddle the Middle!
Saturday, July 28th
FULL MOON FLOAT TRIP * three magical, moonlit river miles.
* downstream of Verona. * Fee is $10 per person, which covers your 1-day event insurance + 3 raffle tickets.
* Keep in mind, this float will be cancelled or rescheduled if it is cloudy...We really need that moonlight to do the float!
* Maximum number of participants will be less than daytime floats, so make your reservations early.
* Participants are required to each have a headlamp or a good flashlight for this night trip. Here's an opportunity to shop our local Wilderness Adventure outfitters in Staunton, who generously sponsor FOMR's work each year by selling our raffle tickets at their downtown store!
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| FOMR is piloting a new River
Access Program with monthly float trips covering a variety of stretches of the
Middle River in Augusta County. The goal of offering these trips is to
familiarize participants with different boatable sections of the river and the
available put-in and take-out sites that participants can use in the future if
they join FOMR's River Access Program.
Read more and
see the full schedule of 2018 float trips HERE. |
| | | Splash 'n Dash
Canoe and Kayak Races
Sunday, August 5, 2018 Location: 21
Stiegel Lane, Ft. Defiance, VA
Join us for a fun, wet, splashy summer afternoon weaving down a course of five barrel buoys, then racing straight back upstream on a stretch of Middle River, in our annual kayak/canoe race. It's a double elimination competition which means racers will compete in a minimum of two races, so you are bound to get wet if you want to! This is a great race for kids, too -- a great outdoor family event!
Register to race in advance by emailing info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org or calling 540-609-8267.
Or, just come watch, hoot and holler as a spectator!
Watch our previous Splash 'n Dash--the movies: (Above photo is of a previous champion, known around these part as "Muddy Duck".)
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| Great News:
Middle River is
Definitely Cleaner
The following is an excerpt of a column written by guest columnist, Bobby Whitescarver, which ran in the The Staunton News Leader on May 26, 2018.
We can finally celebrate some long-awaited good news about Middle River.Twenty-three miles of the river in
Augusta County were recently taken off Virginia’s “Dirty Waters List.”
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality de-listed the segment of
the river near Frank’s Mill northwest of Staunton and extending to near
New Hope because it now meets state standards for both E. coli and
sediment.
The amazing improvements on
the Middle River benefit everyone in Augusta who fishes, paddles, and
swims its waters. This is thanks to a coordinated effort. All of us have
been working to remove this river, and many others, from the dirty
waters list for decades. It takes everyone—from improving sewage
treatment, to farmers planting cover crops and fencing cows out of
streams, to rain barrels and storm water retention.
Read the full article HERE. |
| E.coli Testing Results: July
Click HERE and zoom in to 150% to see all three years of E. coli data monitored from 14 sites-- four on Back Creek, one on Bell's Creek, two on Eidson Creek and eight on upper Middle River. Figures in red indicate levels of E.coli that are unacceptably high. Figures in green are acceptable levels. Of sites monitored,10 of the 14 were in the unacceptable range in June, but at least this is a slight improvement from May's figures. What causes there to be E.coli in the Middle River? Cows who have access to wade in the river and creeks. But remember, pet waste is another measureable contributor to E.coli in Virginia waterways. So keep picking up after your dog!
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| Fish School
Largemouth vs. Smallmouth Bass
Summer fishing season is prime time to study up on two of the most popular sport fishes of
the Middle River: largemouth and smallmouth bass! Both are in the sunfish family—Centrarchidae— and are considered “black basses.” (There is another
family— Moronidae— of temperate
basses that include white perch, striped bass and white bass—but they are not
in Middle River). All sunfish family fish have a distinguishing feature of
their dorsal fin –the fin on top of their back—that separates them from other families
of fish. Their dorsal fins are spiny and rigid on the half closest to the head,
and the half closest to the tail is soft.
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| Aquatic Insect ID App
Did you know that The Izaak Walton League of America has an app for your smartphone for benthic monitors to use in the field?
Especially for new stream monitors, the Aqua Bugs app is a great tool. This app uses a dichotomous key – a tool that provides a series of
choices that will lead to correct identification of each
macroinvertebrate.
It’s simple to use – and it’s free. Once you open the Aqua Bugs app,
you can start the identification process based on a macroinvertebrate’s
legs, tails, or overall body shape, using illustrations to guide you
through the choices. Check it out!
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| Middle River Cleanup Week
Save the date: We will soon be announcing more details about our annual cleanup of trash from the Middle River. Teams will clean the river during the week of August 15-19. (Raindate is Aug. 20-26th). It's not too early, though, to let us know if you or a team of friends you put together are interested, and if you have a canoe or will need one to borrow. Contact us at info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
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| Win This Kayak!
The 2018 FOMR Raffle Ticket sales season is in full swing!
3 tickets for $5
Win These Top Prizes
Tarpon 100 Kayak and Paddle Guided Fly-fishing Trip with Justin Fischbach $50 Gift Certificate to Wilderness Adventure in Staunton
Tickets on sale now at Wilderness Adventure until the Friends Fest Picnic on September 9th when the winners will be drawn: - at Wilderness Adventure, 50 Middlebrook Ave., Staunton, VA. 540-885-3200
- from any FOMR board member
- at any of our upcoming events (any float trip, Splash 'n Dash, Wharf Rat Music and Art Festival, FriendsFest)
- order by email at info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org
- order by phone, 540-609-8267
You need not be present at the picnic to win. But of course, we want you to come!
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| Pipeline Water Quality Monitoring
Join our friends at Trout Unlimited and Wild Virginia for a live, interactive webinar about
how to detect and report water quality impacts from natural gas
pipelines! A member of Trout Unlimited will be presenting the webinar
and taking questions from attendees.
At this event, co-hosted by Appalachian Voices, attendees will learn to
identify, document and report pollution incidents associated with
large-scale pipeline development. Volunteers will learn about erosion
control best management practices used in pipeline development, specific
examples of pollution to look for, and how to best document those
problems. The event will take place at the Staunton Public Library, on July 30, at 6:30 p.m. Free snacks will be provided! |
| | Mark your Calendars!
July
Jul 24 FOMR Board Meeting
Jul 17 Headwaters
SWCD meeting
Jul 28 Full Moon Night Float Trip Jul 30 Interactive Webinar: Water Quality
Monitoring and Pipelines (see above)
August
Aug 5 Splash 'n Dash Canoe/Kayak Race Aug 13-19 Middle River Cleanup Week
Aug 18 Wharf Rat Music and Art Festival
Aug 26 Fishing Float Trip
Print out your 2018 FOMR Event calendar HERE.
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FOMR is a Paddle America Club
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| Read more about Friends of the Middle River at our website HERE.
540-609-8267
P.O. Box 131, Verona VA, 24482 FOMR is a 501(c)(3) organization.
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