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Check out WV's Progress with the Chesapeake Bay's TMDL
Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay TMDL Tracking and Accounting System (BayTAS) was developed to inform EPA, the Bay Jurisdictions, and the public on progress in implementing the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). Future versions of BayTAS will include reporting of Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation and verification. Click Here to Check out WV's Progress!
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Fall CommuniTree Grant Application Now Open!
Tanner haid, Urban Forestry Coordinator 
Applications are due by June 30, 2012. To view and print the Fall application, Click Here! |
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WVDA Seeks Best Management Practice Information From Farmers
-Buddy Davidson, WV Department of Agriculture The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is asking farmers to help it document existing best management practices (BMPs) on farms throughout the Eastern Panhandle - both BMPs that were undertaken through cost-share conservation programs in past years, and especially BMPs that were implemented solely by the farmer that have never been documented by government agencies. Click for Full Article
Farmers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed wishing to participate, should contact Samantha "Sam" Spencer at the WVDA Inwood Office at 304-229-5828.
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Martinsburg VA Medical Center Practices Innovative Stormwater
Management
-Scott Rheam The VA Medical Center in Martinsburg embarked on containing storm water runoff that originally ran directly into Opequon Creek, creating a wetland and nature area for the Veterans of the Center. For the complete project history,Click here!
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State's Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan for Chesapeake Bay TMDL Finalized
Thomas Aluise - WVDEP
West Virginia has released its final Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) as part of its requirement under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay initiative.
The Phase II WIP continues the process of defining how West Virginia, in partnership with federal and local governments, will achieve the pollution load reductions required to support the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant a body of water can receive and still meet its water quality standards.
The Bay TMDL, which grew out of a 2009 Executive Order from President Obama calling for the natural sustainability of the Bay Watershed, involves a six-state region. It targets load reductions of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus from sources such as agriculture, wastewater treatment facilities, non-point storm water runoff and permitted storm water.
Eight Eastern Panhandle counties - Pendleton, Grant, Mineral, Hardy, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson - are part of the Bay Watershed. The Potomac River, which flows through the Eastern Panhandle, drains into the Chesapeake Bay.
States in the Bay Watershed have committed to having 60 percent of all pollution control measures in place by 2017 and complete implementation by 2025.
West Virginia's Phase II WIP is a modification of its Phase I WIP and adds local detail, as well as increased specificity and accountability. The final Phase II WIP also reflects public comments and comments made by the EPA. It was developed by the West Virginia Departments of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, as well as the state Conservation Agency, with significant input from The Conservation Fund-Freshwater Institute, Cacapon Institute, WVU Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and many other partners.
For more information, contact the DEP's Potomac Basin Coordinator, Alana Hartman, at 304-822-7266 or email: Alana.C.Hartman@wv.gov.
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Surprise Message from Senator Manchin III
Susan Whalton
Mary Jo Brown, Regional Coordinator for WV Senator Joe Manchin III, visited Martinsburg's historic Boydville on Saturday morning, April 28th and gave a surprise message from the Senator to volunteers who were hard at work planting trees. Senator Manchin's message articulated his appreciation to the Cacapon Institute, the WV Project CommuniTree, and the Berkeley country Farmland Protection Board for participating in the CommuniTree planting project.
 | | Pictured left to right: Floyd Kursey, Chairmain of the Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board; Herb Peddicord, WV Division of Forestry; Mary Jo Brown, Regional Coordinator for Sen. Manchin; and Scott Rheam, Groundskeeper of Boydville Mansion |
Boydville was the recipient of 19 mature saplings, including dogwoods, berry trees, and tulip poplars through the CommuniTree grant. Senator Manchin lauded the partnership of the WV Conservation Agency, Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Valley Conservation Districts, WV Division of Forestry, and the USDA-Forest Service, saying that "Commonsense solutions are at the heart of what makes West Virginia and its people so great. Today's event highlights one of the those commonsense approaches."
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WVCA Celebrates Earth Day with Homeowner Outreach
Suzy Lucas, West Virginia Conservation Agency
This Earth Day, WV Conservation Specialists
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Suzy Lucas at the WVCA table promoting water conservation on Earth Day weekend. |
in the Potomac Valley and Eastern Panhandle Conservation Districts made it their mission to engage their district citizens by educating them on local water quality issues. Conservation Specialists from both areas tabled in front of Wal-Mart entrances on Thursday, April 19 in Spring Mills, WV and on Saturday, April 21 in Moorefield, WV. As they greeted coming and going Wal-Mart customers, they offered educational materials addressing soil testing, proper lawn care and gardening practices, septic maintenance, and other water quality issues. Between both days, approximately 150 citizens were reached through these efforts. The ultimate goal of these outreach campaigns is to reduce sediment and nutrient loads entering the Chesapeake Bay by providing homeowners, who may have lawns, gardens, and/or septic systems, with the educational tools that they need in order to prevent sediment and nutrient runoff. |
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Eastern Panhandle Conservation District (EPCD) Holds First Annual Earth Day 5K
Kate Yohn- Eastern Panhandle Conservation District
Even though it was a chilly 50�F, the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District (EPCD) held its first annual Earth Day 5K and 1 Mile Fun Walk at Cacapon State Park in Berkeley Springs, WV on
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The runners involved with the EPCD's first annual 5k |
April 22, Earth Day. The event was co-coordinated by Suzy Lucas, WVCA Conservation Specialist, and Kate Yohn, EPCD Education Outreach Specialist; with assistance provided by Renee Fincham, Cacapon State Park Activities Coordinator and Naturalist. The purpose of the 5K and 1 Mile Fun Walk was to provide a fun atmosphere with environmentally friendly activities which encouraged people to get active on Earth Day. All of the proceeds raised from the event will benefit eastern panhandle high school students who wish to participate in the *WV Envirothon Contest. Click to Read Full Article |
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Cover Crop Demonstration and Educational Program begins in Eastern West Virginia
Steve Ritz, Plant Materials Specialist, USDA NRCS
 | | Established cover crops on these six demonstration farms will be rolled, crimped, and pressed onto the soil surface at the time of crop planting with the use of a no-till planter. |
Transferring cover crop and roller/crimper technology to farmers in the Chesapeake Bay drainage of eastern West Virginia is the aim of several partnering conservation agencies under a new demonstration and educational project. Six demonstration farms will be selected within the 8 county area during the spring of 2012 and cover crops of small grain and legume mixtures will be planted in late summer of the same year. Click to Read Full Article |
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Project CommuniTree Congratulates All Grant Recipients! Tanner Haid, Urban Forestry Coordinator, Project CommuniTree
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One of the many tree plantings through CommuniTree. |
On behalf of WV Project CommuniTree, Cacapon Institute would like to proudly congratulate all of the groups that received a grant this Spring 2012 to increase urban tree canopy in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. 10 groups planted a total of 444 trees, or approximately 4 acres, at schools, parks, road right-of-ways, and publicly owned properties.
WV Project CommuniTree (CTree) uses volunteerism and education to promote urban tree plantings in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia (Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Mineral, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Pendleton). CTree offers a bi-annual grant for groups to organize and implement urban tree plantings by providing "tree kits" that contain everything groups need for their tree plantings: trees, mulch, tubes, and stakes.
For more information, visit our website or contact the Urban Forestry Coordinator, Tanner Haid, directly at thaid@cacaponinstitute.org.
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Romney Elementary Plants 150 Trees in Hampshire County
Melissa Merritt, West Virginia Conservation Agency
In an effort to improve the community and the water quality of the South Branch of the Potomac River, the third and fourth graders of Romney Elementary, along with the South Branch Watershed Partnership, with help from
the WVCA, planted 150 trees on Monday, April 23 and Saturday, April 28 at the Potomac Center, a home for developmentally disabled youth and adults, in Romney, WV. Along with this tree planting, the students were also involved in water quality monitoring of Big Run, a tributary to the South Branch. Despite the rain, several agencies and volunteers came to help out, including the Cacapon Institute, the WV Division of Forestry, the WV Department of Agriculture, WV Department of Environmental Protection, and the WV Conservation Agency.
Click for Full Article |
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Rain Barrel Workshop New to the Potomac Valley!
Melissa Merritt, West Virginia Conservation Agency
On Saturday, February 11, 2012, the West Virginia Conservation Agency, sponsored by the Potomac Valley Conservation District, hosted a Rain Barrel Workshop at the Bank of Romney Community Center in Romney, WV. The workshop was one of the first of its kind for the Potomac Valley Conservation District! Participants learned about the benefits of rain barrels for improving water quality and also received one ready-made rain barrel for free. It is the hope that this workshop has initiated an interest in water conservation practices for the area that will generate more attention for further workshops held in the future. The workshop was financed through funding for the Chesapeake Bay.Click for Full Article |
| About WV's Potomac Tributary Strategy Team
Fourteen percent (14%) of West Virginia drains into the Potomac River and on to the Chesapeake Bay. In June of 2002, Governor Bob Wise signed the Chesapeake Bay Program Water Quality Initiative Memorandum of Understanding. By signing this memo, West Virginia agreed to develop goals and objectives to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to the Chesapeake Bay.
To help WV accomplish these goals, Project Teams began working in targeted watersheds. These groups build partnerships, gather funding, and identify priority projects that are most important to their local communities. Reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment in local creeks and rivers will mean healthier water resources that are better able to sustain tourism, fishing, drinking water supplies, wildlife habitat, and other uses. Each one of us can act locally to help achieve these goals. WV's Potomac Tributary Strategy Team |
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