http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler stories of landscapes, conservation, and people in and beyond the Rivanna Watershed Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:11:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 © lmiddleton@embarqmail.com () lmiddleton@embarqmail.com() stories of landscapes, conservation, and people in and beyond the Rivanna Watershed lmiddleton@embarqmail.com No no http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler 144 144 http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/10/02/105-walking-to-hightop-mountain-from-smith-roach-gap/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/10/02/105-walking-to-hightop-mountain-from-smith-roach-gap/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:42:12 +0000 admin http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/10/02/105-walking-to-hightop-mountain-from-smith-roach-gap/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/10/02/105-walking-to-hightop-mountain-from-smith-roach-gap/feed/ 0
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5:19 October 2, 2008 The trail in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) in this stretch of Greene County shows signs of previous land use. nbsp;nbsp; This show originally ... October 2, 2008 The trail in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) in this stretch of Greene County shows signs of previous land use. nbsp;nbsp; This show originally aired on October18, 2007 and with an encore performance on October 2, 2008 on ldquo;The Rivanna Rambler,rdquo; a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net. It is a golden warm October day ndash; one in which I would be inclined to take to the river, but cannot due to water levels that are impossibly low.nbsp; So instead, I head out with my husband for a high point in the watershed as if, perhaps to get closer to the clouds that hold the moisture hostage high above us. We drive up to Greene County and follow Route 33 ndash; the Spotswood Highway ndash; west following the crest of the divide between the Rapidan and the Rivanna.nbsp; From Ruckersville towards the mountains, the ridge defines the head of the watersheds of Welsh Run, Deep Run, Blue Run, and then Long Run.nbsp; At Lydia where Route 634 ends in the highway, we meet Swift Run which tracks right along Route 33 as it tumbles from its headwaters at Swift Run Gap, elevation almost 2400 feet.nbsp; We trace the curves in the mountain on a route that has changed little since it was traveled by Governor Alexander Spotswood and his famous Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, the 1716 exploratory party that crossed into the Shenandoah Valley through the pass here. Where we can see it, Swift Run itself is dry, its bones exposed between scant flow and small, still pools of wet. Once on Skyline Drive, we head south a few miles to the parking lot at Smith Roach Gap ndash; at 2600 feet, itrsquo;s the next crossing over the mountains.nbsp; Named for an early settler , last name Roach, first name Smith, it marks the headwaters of the Roach River which falls from the mountains eastward into Bacon Hollow, Deep Hollow, and Waterfall Hollow. We hike north in quiet on the trail towards the summit of Hightopnbsp; Mountain, the leaves so dry they barely rustle.nbsp; Everything is yellow and brown, like a summer in California, where water goes underground only to emerge in the rivers again during the rains of winter.nbsp; Here, too, it feels like the water is absent, but in a season of record high temperatures and record low rainfall, I feel unsure of its return.nbsp; Fall wildflowers are in show: purple and white asters, yellow goldenrod and milkweed pods in various stages of undress.nbsp; Grass beds along the path glisten in the afternoon sun. I am calmed by this walk in the woods, but I also know that this part of the piedmont is known for its rough and tumble ways.nbsp; Though itrsquo;s been 80 years since landowners were evicted from the Blue Ridge to establish Shenandoah National Park, the memory is still nursed ndash; and I am aware that this is a country where I need to cultivate understanding.nbsp; Tucked into these hills are homesteads, orchards, and graveyards:nbsp;nbsp; grown over, reclaimed by the succession of cedar given way now to hickory and oak.nbsp; We see little of this on our walk, but when the trail opens into flat stretches between granite outcrops and ferns, it is not hard to imagine pasture, croplands, and the hardscrabble life of the mountains. In my own life, I have felt the loss of landscapes special to me -- places that have been paved, graded, or filled and planted with houses, shopping centers, roads and marinas.nbsp; Though truly incomprehensible, this helps me feel compassion for the Monacans and other Native Americans displaced from the land during the so-called era of contact.nbsp; And centuries later, in these hills, it is a similar displacement, but the opposite has happened ndash; where the dead are buried, the cemetery markers are overgrown with honeysuckle; where the barns and houses once stood, the foundations are crumbling under lichen and wind. And the springs nursed forth from the folds of the hills are secrets only the ... Greene,County,,History,,Natural,History,,Rivanna,River,,Tributaries lmiddleton@embarqmail.com no No http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/05/01/87-legacy-sediment/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/05/01/87-legacy-sediment/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 23:35:31 +0000 admin http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/05/16/87-legacy-sediment/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/05/01/87-legacy-sediment/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 1, 2008 This show originally aired on March 7, 2007 and then again on May 1, 2008 on ldquo;The Rivanna Rambler,rdquo; a weekly public affairs ... May 1, 2008 This show originally aired on March 7, 2007 and then again on May 1, 2008 on ldquo;The Rivanna Rambler,rdquo; a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net. Itrsquo;s the time of the year when rivers run high and brown here in Albemarle County. Some well-placed rain events, brought water levels to seasonal highs. Sediment from surrounding floodplains and other sources colored the water various shades of brown, from slick and bubbling chocolate during the first flush, to a steely brown that mirrored the gray March skies. I find myself wondering, again, where does all that dirt come from? It turns out that here in the Rivanna Watershed, as elsewhere, the answer to that question is not as obvious as it might seem. It is clear that some of the earth is washed into the river from adjacent lands ndash; sheet flow traveling over fields, lawns and parking lots picks up soil that is not firmly rooted. Construction sites, whose bare earthen slopes are theoretically protected by black and orange plastic woven silt fences, are another source especially in severe rainfall, no matter how conscientious the contractor. But there is another source of sediment in the rivers that scientists are just starting to quantify ndash; and this is called legacy sediment. Legacy sediment has its origins in the earliest days of European settlement of the colonies. With few restrictions save the terms of the Land Grants, settlers immediately set to work clearing the Piedmont hills to make way for pasture, row crops, and especially, tobacco. At the same time, rivers and creeks of all sizes were dammed to provide hydropower and to aid in navigation. The Rivanna River was, by 1840, a series of long flat impoundments between dams built in key locations: coming up from the James, a traveler would come first to Rivanna Mills, then Palmyra Mills. There were mills at Bernardsburg, now called, Crofton , at Stump Island , and at Shadwell, to name a few. The present day dams at the Woolen Mills and on the North Fork at Advance Mills are remnants of that time gone by. US Census figures reveal that by 1840 there were 65,000 water-powered mills operating in the eastern United States. That this happened at the same time as widespread removal of trees meant that massive amounts of sediment from hillsides cut bare washed down, across fields and into the rivers. And much of that sediment was trapped behind the dams, occasionally washing downstream in floods. And though a good many of these dams have been removed, their legacy is layers of sediment, sometimes 2 to 4 feet thick spread out across the floodplains above the site of the dam. Now a riverrsquo;s job, some would say, actually is to move dirt. If you take the long view ndash; the one over centuries and eons ndash; we can thank water and its erosional power on the landscape for the layers of sand and clay that ultimately form sandstones and other sedimentary rocks. And it is the river bursting out of its channel in high water and rain that spreads sediments, fine and rough, downstream to build floodplains, wetlands, and marshes on out to the deltas of rivers as they reach into the ocean. And it is precisely when we disturb this normal flow by damming the river or by forcing it into concrete channels and between floodwalls in our cities, that the river becomes disconnected from its floodplain. And lacking the floodplain to absorb the excess volume of water in peak flows, the river cuts stronger and deeper into its channel. Itrsquo;s a vicious cycle and one that is now being studied to learn whether sediments layered across floodplains in colonial times are actually the source of much of the sediment in our now unbridled rivers as they slice through steep river banks such as we find here in the Rivanna Watershed. Add to the equation, stronger flows, augmented by high velocity runoff from our urban and suburban developments, ... Greene,County,,History,,James,River,,Rivanna,River,,Sediment,,Trails,and,Footpaths,,Tributaries,,Water,Quality lmiddleton@embarqmail.com no No http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2007/10/18/63-hiking-smith-roach-gap-who-owns-this-land/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2007/10/18/63-hiking-smith-roach-gap-who-owns-this-land/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:11:07 +0000 admin http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2008/01/13/63-hiking-smith-roach-gap-who-owns-this-land/ http://www.cvillepublicmedia.org/rambler/2007/10/18/63-hiking-smith-roach-gap-who-owns-this-land/feed/ 0 00:01:01 A walk along the trail at Smith Roach Gap in Shenandoah National Park in Greene County provides food for thought about who really owns this ... A walk along the trail at Smith Roach Gap in Shenandoah National Park in Greene County provides food for thought about who really owns this corner of high country in the Rivanna watershed. This show originally aired on October 18, 2007 on ldquo;The Rivanna Rambler,rdquo; a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net. It is a golden warm October day ndash; one in which I would be inclined to take to the river, but cannot due to water levels that are impossibly low. So instead, I head out with my husband for a high point in the watershed as if, perhaps to get closer to the clouds that hold the moisture hostage high above us. We drive up to Greene County and follow Route 33 ndash; the Spotswood Highway ndash; west following the crest of the divide between the Rapidan and the Rivanna. From Ruckersville towards the mountains, the ridge defines the head of the watersheds of Welsh Run, Deep Run, Blue Run, and then Long Run. At Lydia where Route 634 ends in the highway, we meet Swift Run which tracks right along Route 33 as it tumbles from its headwaters at Swift Run Gap, elevation almost 2400 feet. We trace the curves in the mountain on a route that has changed little since it was traveled by Governor Alexander Spotswood and his famous Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, the 1716 exploratory party that crossed into the Shenandoah Valley through the pass here. Where we can see it, Swift Run itself is dry, its bones exposed between scant flow and small, still pools of wet. Once on Skyline Drive, we head south a few miles to the parking lot at Smith Roach Gap ndash; at 2600 feet, itrsquo;s the next crossing over the mountains. Named for an early settler , last name Roach, first name Smith, it marks the headwaters of the Roach River which falls from the mountains eastward into Bacon Hollow, Deep Hollow, and Waterfall Hollow. We hike north in quiet on the trail towards the summit of Hightop Mountain, the leaves so dry they barely rustle. Everything is yellow and brown, like a summer in California, where water goes underground only to emerge in the rivers again during the rains of winter. Here, too, it feels like the water is absent, but in a season of record high temperatures and record low rainfall, I feel unsure of its return. Fall wildflowers are in show: purple and white asters, yellow goldenrod and milkweed pods in various stages of undress. Grass beds along the path glisten in the afternoon sun. I am calmed by this walk in the woods, but I also know that this part of the piedmont is known for its rough and tumble ways. Though itrsquo;s been 80 years since landowners were evicted from the Blue Ridge to establish Shenandoah National Park, the memory is still nursed ndash; and I am aware that this is a country where I need to cultivate understanding. Tucked into these hills are homesteads, orchards, and graveyards: grown over, reclaimed by the succession of cedar given way now to hickory and oak. We see little of this on our walk, but when the trail opens into flat stretches between granite outcrops and ferns, it is not hard to imagine pasture, croplands, and the hardscrabble life of the mountains. In my own life, I have felt the loss of landscapes special to me -- places that have been paved, graded, or filled and planted with houses, shopping centers, roads and marinas. Though truly incomprehensible, this helps me feel compassion for the Monacans and other Native Americans displaced from the land during the so-called era of contact. And centuries later, in these hills, it is a similar displacement, but the opposite has happened ndash; where the dead are buried, the cemetery markers are overgrown with honeysuckle; where the barns and houses once stood, the foundations are crumbling under lichen and wind. And the springs nursed forth from the folds of the hills are secrets only the locals know. As we walk, two ravens traverse the ridge overhead, annou... Greene,County,,Headwaters,,Trails,and,Footpaths lmiddleton@embarqmail.com no No