Northumberland
is going to grow. Let’s help it grow
with order and beauty.
NAPS Wins Third FishAmerica Grant
By
Lee Allain
On
March 10, Director Johanna Laderman of FishAmerica Foundation announced that
the NAPS 2004 Marshgrass Planting project has been approved for funding. This is the third consecutive year that NAPS
has won financial support from FishAmerica with funding from the NOAA
Restoration Center. Mrs. Laderman said,
“We appreciate your hard work and dedication to restoring fisheries habitat and
water quality in Virginia.” Clearly,
the support NAPS continues to receive from the local community has figured
strongly in the award of this Grant.
Put
May 8 on your calendar as an opportunity to learn more about shoreline
restoration. NAPS will be hosting a Grass
Planting Seminar conducted by VIMS, at the Northumberland Library at 10:00
AM. This is a great way to get up to
speed quickly on the value of marshes to the well being of our ecosystem. Become familiar with our salt marsh buffers
and their positive impacts on water quality and fisheries. This year Educational and Demonstration
Planting event will focus not only on the how-tos of planting, but also the
value and identification of five species of marsh grass native to our
area. Species that have been ordered
include Saltmarsh Cordgrass, Saltmeadow Hay, Saltmarsh Bulrush, Saltgrass, and
Black Needlerush.
Immediately
following the Seminar, an opportunity for hands-on marsh planting of these
grasses at a site near Olverson’s marina will be provided. Since the low tide required for planting is
forecast to be at about 12:30 PM, NAPS plans to combine the planting with some
good food and fellowship. Join us as we
find new back and leg muscles and get down and dirty in the mud.
Be a Pioneer
A
second opportunity available under the FishAmerica Grant will be provided to
county property owners to participate as Marshgrass Pioneers. Those applying as Pioneers will have their
sites reviewed by NAPS in terms of their suitability for Marshgrass
restoration. Sites with good sun,
moderate slope and modest wave action will be favored. Selected sites will be provided NAPS
oversight and a planting kit of assorted grasses, coconut logs if required, and
other related material on a shared cost basis.
NAPS training will be a pre-requisite for all Marshgrass Pioneers. This is an excellent way to improve your own
riparian buffer and the environment for your fishy friends.
With
the experience of several successful plantings, we are excited about this
year’s plans. Between this FishAmerica
Grant, and the earlier announced grant from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration fund
to replace invasive Phragmites with a more diverse assemblage of marsh plants,
NAPS has 16,100 plugs of grass arriving this Spring. That’s enough grass to plant four rows more than a mile
long. We NEED your help and support to
use this effectively along the Northern Neck Shoreline. To participate in this important community
project, please contact NAPS at P.O Box 567, Heathsville, VA 22473 or contact a
member of the NAPS Grass Steering Group -- Lee Allain, Lynton Land, or Susan
Lindsey. Contact information and photos
of previous plantings can be found at our web site, www.napsva.com
May 8 is Date for Seminar on
Grass Planting,
Hands-On Planting & Food
Welcome Signs
By
Mike Harwood
At
its February 11 meeting, The NAPS Board authorized Mike Harwood to explore the
possibility of assisting the County by heading up a project to erect
"Welcome to Northumberland County" signs along the three or four
major roads leading into the County.
Mike reports that he received encouragement from County Administrator
Kenny Eades and that they settled on a sign that would feature the
Northumberland County Seal, painted by local artist Jane Stouffer and approved
by the Board of Supervisors several months ago. Jane is serving as a consultant
for the project.
The
NAPS Board would like for this to be a joint civic organization/community
project with NAPS taking the lead. I
touched base with representatives of a couple of organizations, including the
Northumberland Chamber of Commerce, and there seems to be strong support. I have taken pictures of welcome signs in
several jurisdictions, and have had some poster size samples made. The basic design has been taken to Sign
Designs in Heathsville for a mockup to be used to gain community support and
raise the funds needed. Final approval
of the project will be by the County Board of Supervisors.
Funding
for the project may be a problem.
Apparently State and County government funding is very tight, and the
civic organizations and interested individuals may well have to pay for the
signs. Certainly we can provide the labor
to erect the signs, and save some money there.
Sludge Land Application
By
Mike Harwood
Courts
throughout Virginia are making ever more narrow interpretations of the powers
local governments have to control and manage Class B sludge land application on
farmlands. Consequently, in order to
abide by Virginia law and avoid lawsuits, last month Northumberland County
greatly weakened its sludge ordinance. NAPS made some important contributions
to this rewrite, as it had in 1995. On
top of this news, on March 22, Milton F. Wright Trucking Company, Inc. of
Silver Spring, Maryland began spreading the treated sewage sludge on some of
James Garland's fields along Rte 360 between Callao and Village. Lynton Land and Mike Harwood reviewed the
sludge permit documents and observed on-site operations. They will present reports of their findings
to appropriate County and State officials as well as the EPA.
Friends — it has started!
By
Lee Allain
The
first loads of sludge were fairly dry and did not have a terrible smell. They were delivered to a field almost across
from the Concrete Plant between Callao and Village. We expect, as in other areas, the product will be closer to raw
sewage after this "Introduction."
Get out and express your concern to the Board of Supervisors.
Audit Complete
All the Treasurers papers have been audited. The final tally indicates that the complete audit shows that the treasurers’ books have all been verified as correct. There were a couple receipts missing where an earlier treasurer had paid some bills. This was the only unusual situation noted in the books.
Our treasurer, Bob Holly, (now incommunicado on the Appalachian Trail) was relieved to find this out before he left. Randy Neal is the temporary treasurer until Bob’s return, which is currently expected in October.
Dameron Marsh Walks
By Audrey Brainard
The walks at Dameron Marsh are held on the second and fourth Saturdays of April and May. All walks start in the Dameron Marsh parking lot at 10:00 am.
To reach Dameron Marsh take
route 200 to Shiloh Road (route 606) east (right turn from Kilmarnock or left
turn from Burgess) to Ball Neck Road (route 605) and turn left. Go about one mile to Cloverdale Road (route
606 again or still) and turn
right. Go to Guarding Point Lane and
bear left and go two-tenths of a mile to a right turn where the road becomes
gravel. Follow the gravel road to the
preserve entrance. The parking area is
two-tenths of a mile past the preserve entrance sign. At times the road is a narrow lane with vegetation on both
sides.
Walks include a descriptive history of what has occurred in the area: the succession taking place since farming was given up, the ever changing geology of the beach and spit extension, and the emerging plants of spring. The migratory birds will be passing through during May so bring binoculars to enjoy them.
April
14th, 9:30 am Hickory Hollow
April
19th, 9:30 am Bush Mill Stream (Henry Bashore will lead the walk)
April
22nd, 9:30 am Dameron Marsh
April
29th, 10:00 am Ann Olson’s Garden
May
6th, 9:30 am Chilton Woods
(hope to see Showy Orchids)
May
17th, 9:30 am Ann
Dickerson’s Garden
May
23rd, 2:00-4:30 pm Hickory Hollow Treasure hunt for Orchids
Audubon
Continental Breakfast and Native Plant Walk (fee)
May
1 & 10 at 9:30 am in Hickory Hollow parking lot.
Call
Ann Messick for directions and to register for all Native Plant walks
above! 435-6673
Education Committee Report
By Education Committee
Myrtle Phillips & Susan
Lindsey
The committee has been busy stimulating student’s awareness in birds. They were introduced through slides to the wide variety of birds that are permanent residents as well as a few winter visitors. Students learned where and what different birds ate and their habits. The students have also made birdhouses from gourds, which they plan on hanging in the next few weeks.
Long-range plans are to improve the bird habitat at the elementary school trying to attract more birds to the area. The goal is to plant varied heights of a variety of plants to include fruit and seed producing ones that attract birds. These would be planted close to the tall trees that border the mowed areas near the back. Members can help by contributing any excess plants you have that you know the birds like. Below is a partial list of plants for birds.
American
Holly, Ilex opaca
Black
Cherry, Prunus serotina
Common
Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana
Sassafrass,
Sassafras albidum
Sugar
Hackberry, Celtis laevigata
Arrowwood
Viburnum, Viburnum dentatum
Rockspray
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster horizontalis
Inkberry,
Ilex glabra
Possum
Haw, Ilex decidua
Weigela,
Weigela florida ‘Variegata’
Winterberry,
Ilex verticillata
Carpet
Bugle, Ajuga reptans
Wintergreen
Checkerberry, Gaultheria procumbens
Eastern
Redcedar, Juniperus virginiana
Sumac
Smooth or Staghorn, Rhus glabra, or
typhina
The NAPS Board Of Directors discussed the
possibility of increasing the amount of money to be given in scholarships this
year. The final decision was to
increase the number of scholarships rather than the amount of each. There will be five scholarships rather than
four, each $500.00. The Education
Committee has the responsibility of interviewing the applicants for the
scholarships.
Member Help Always Needed
This article is a repeat
from January. Some projects are listed
below that can and should be accomplished.
However, assistance is needed to be able to do justice to these
projects. Such assistance includes
people who are willing to be in charge as well as people who will assist on the
project. The projects are:
Trash
bags for cars, this can result in a cleaner county as well as advertisement for
NAPS;
Map
of adopted highways;
List
of highways available for adoption;
List
of adoptees, this would be good advertising for those who do actual cleanups.
Two people have been monitoring the Board of Supervisors and also the Planning Board. One of these two is immediate past president of the NAPS BOD, Randy Neal, and the other is a member of the NAPS BOD, Mary Kier. It would be good if other members of NAPS would also serve by monitoring these and other County Boards as their interest may dictate.
After perusing a copy of the
Bay Journal by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay looking for articles that
might be appropriate for this newsletter a conclusion is quickly reached. Anyone can read the entire issue of the Bay
Journal for free! Yes! There is no charge to have the Bay Journal delivered
to your home monthly. For additions to
the mailing list please contact:
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
6600 York Road, Suite 100
Baltimore, MD 21212
Or call 410 377 6270
Or e-mail mail@acb-online.org
You to can read any of the articles on blowing up
dams to open rivers to fish and people.
You can also read about the horseshoe crab harvest and its restrictions
to help shorebirds. There is an article
on Delmarva conservation programs supported by USDA and also a study of chicken
litter. Another front page article is
on Ospreys and how they are doing on the Bay area. In total there are many articles of which some will interest
anyone who picks up the paper.
As an example the back page starts with an article
by Kathryn Reshetiloff, “Let your landscape save the Bay while saving you
money, time.” The goal of conservation
is to reduce pollution and improve the local environment. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, this style
of landscaping is sometimes called BayScaping.
Conservation landscaping provides habitat for local
and migratory animals, conserves native plants and improves water quality. Landowners benefit by reducing the time and
expense of mowing, watering, fertilizing and treating lawn and garden
areas. Conservation landscaping can
also be used to address problems such as erosion, poor soils, steep slopes, or
poor drainage
One of the simplest ways to begin is by replacing
lawn areas with locally native trees, shrubs, and perennial plants. The structure, leaves, flowers, seeds, and
fruits of these plants provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. The longer roots also are better at holding
soil and capturing water.
The article continues and is a good instruction
manual.
Editorial
Member help is always needed
and the article is repeated from January. A list of suggested topics is
included on Page 3. If you can help
with any project (listed or not) please call!
Sludge. Do you want to know more? Check the Northumberland Echo front page for
March 31. Kay Kilgus has an article
with some of the details for the first days of sludge spreading in our
county. Don”t get sidetracked by the
adjacent article on tractors. I know it
is too bad that so many people never had a chance to watch a horse pulling
contest.
Note the date of May 8 on
the calendar to your right. That is the
date Lee Allain has set for training on grass planting and shoreline
restoration.
There is no date set yet for
either Phragmites zapping or the fall social.
There will be more information in the July issue.
Northumberland Association For Progressive
Stewardship
PO Box 567
Heathsville, VA 22473
NAPS 2004 Calendar
The NAPS board meets at the Northern Neck State Bank
in Burgess at 9:00 A.M. each month on the Wednesdays immediately preceding
Northumberland Board of Supervisors meetings (second Thursday). NAPS members and prospective members are
always welcome. Join the group and find
out about all NAPS accomplishes.
April
7 NAPS Board Meeting
10 Newsletter mailing
May
8 Grass Planting meeting
12 NAPS Board Meeting
June
9 NAPS Board Meeting
July
1 Newsletter mailing
7 NAPS Board Meeting
August
11 NAPS Board Meeting
September
8 NAPS Board Meeting
October
13 NAPS Board Meeting