potomac river watershed

The owners of the Historic Hilltop House Hotel say it's no surprise that part of the building atop Harpers Ferry has collapsed. Rotting wood, cracked walls and a deteriorating foundation have long been problems. Mike Miller with SWaN Investors of Leesburg, Virginia says the hotel was deemed structurally unsafe two years ago.  

An investigation is under way to determine what caused pollution in a stream near the Nashville International Airport that is home to the endangered Nashville crayfish. The Tennessean reported chemicals used to de-ice the area where planes park were found in stream called Sims Branch. Sims Branch flows into Mill Creek, which is the main habitat of the federally endangered crayfish.  

Grants recently awarded to the Leading Creek Watershed are meant to benefit the residents who live in it, including the better part of Western Meigs County. So, what is a watershed? The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines it as " that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community."  

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a Chesapeake Bay Trust Restoration Grant for $19,212 for a project in the Upper Patapsco watershed at Thursday's board meeting. The county had applied for $49,729, but learned March 11 that they had received a grant for $19,212. The grant will be used toward a $298,516 project to install fencing along 2,300 feet of a stream, put in a spring development and watering facility at a farm and build a stream crossing in conjunction with the Patapsco  

Carol Booth, who lives a few houses away on 129th Avenue, says she often sees raccoons in the area and at one time there were rats roaming the streets. Garbage including and old tire litters the land. "We as neighbors used to keep it clean, but now I'm 63 years old and I'm not going out there anymore," she said.  

They say the permit issued by the Department of the Environment lacks enforceable limits and deadlines required under the federal Clean Water Act. The petition was filed Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court by the Potomac Riverkeeper, Anacostia Riverkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance, Friends of the Earth, and two individuals represented by the law firm Earthjustice. MDE says it hasn't seen the filing, but the permit is one of the nation's most progressive and hopes court action won't delay efforts t  

Firewood-cutting restrictions went into effect Monday for the Rock Creek drainage east of Missoula. According to Missoula Ranger District resource staff officer Andy Kulla, patrols in the affected area last week indicated that while compliance with firewood permit regulations has improved over the past month, there were still at least two recent incidents of illegal firewood cutting in the riparian protection zone along the blue-ribbon trout stream. The special order in the Rock Creek drainage is inte  

The Ruth Anderson McCulloch branch of Preservation Virginia announced at it annual meeting on March 6 that Margaret "Peggy" Crosson has joined its Board of Directors. Crosson, former executive director of Historic Fincastle Inc., joins Kurt Kunze, also from Botetourt County, as a member of the Board. The branch is named after a Rockbridge County historic preservationist who helped reestablish the branch in 1935.  

After our recent winter chill, sunshine made its reappearance at midweek. Although I'm a winter lover, it was very pleasant to see Ole Sol. Looking down the hill and across the way through the leafless trees, I could see the first hint of spring.  

An open house featuring progress made on the Aransas County Stormwater Management Plan (ACSMP) was held Monday, March 8 at the Paws and Taws. Aransas County Commissioner Charles Smith introduced John Michael of Naismith Engineering, the engineering firm hired to write the plan. Michael said the ACSMP is truly an integrated plan in that it addresses drainage issues, as well as water quality issues. Work on the ACSMP, by professionals and members of the Aransas County Stormwater Management Advisory Co

The FEMA flood plain maps being used today were done back in the 80s   -John Michael