CLEAR April 2015

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Observer-Reporter | Area produced some of the state’s largest fish in 2014
by Duane 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

Area produced some of the state’s largest fish in 2014 Make text smalleWith the official opening of trout season yesterday - which, for many, marks the start of fishing season – it’s a good time to take a look at the largest fish caught in the area in 2014.Make text larger Jason and Joe Phillips of Canonsburg had a good day at High Point Lake last June. Jason Phillips landed the state’s biggest chain pickeral of the year on a Storm Lure. The fish was 24 inches in length and weighed five pounds, 10 ounces. On the same day, Joe Phillips landed a 23 1/2-inch chain pickeral on a jig that weighed four pounds, eight ounces. Joe Phillips’ fish was the fourth-largest chain pickerel caught in the state last year. Cross Creek Lake produced the state’s top sauger in 2014. The 27 1/2-inch fish that weighed 10 pounds was caught by David Defillipps of Avella with a Fire Tiger in June. That wasn’t the only big fish caught at Cross Creek Lake last year. Marshall E. Graham Jr. of Meadow Lands landed the second-largest reported largemouth bass in the state last October in Cross Creek. Graham’s largemouth was 22.2 inches in length and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. He used a crank bait. Ireland Killen of McMurray landed the state’s second-largest carp on corn in Edinboro Lake in July. The 35-inch carp had a girth of 21 3/4 inches and weighed 26 pounds, one ounce. That fish, however, pales in comparison to the top carp taken in the state last year. That was a 42-inch monster that came in at just over 39 pounds and was caught a little over a week after Killen’s in Twin Lakes in Westmoreland County. Daun Nicholson of Normalville, Fayette County, caught the state’s largest flathead catfish in the Monongahela River last June. Nicholson’s 41 1/4-inch fish weighed in at 38 pounds, eight ounces and was caught on a jig with a power grub. The Cheat River, which flows into the Monongahela at Point Marion, produced a 47-inch musky for Bob Guido of Belle Vernon last October. The muskie, which was caught on a football jig, weighed in at 38 pounds, making it the fourth-largest taken in the state last year. The top muskie, taken in the Lehigh River and was 52 inches long, weighing in at a whopping 50 pounds, four pounds less than the state record. • I am hearing reports of increased longnose gar sightings and catches in the lower Monongahela River. In the last Pennsylvania Fish Commission lock chamber survey of the Mon, completed in 2010, there were 29 longnose gar collected in the Grays Landing area. Just three longnose gar were collected in the Maxwell chamber in the same year, while one was collected at Braddock. In a similar sampling in 2003, no longnose gar were collected in either pool. I’m not saying a gar is responsible for the reported sightings of an alligator in the Monongahela area, but if you did see just the head and back of an adult longnose gar – which can grow from four to six feet in length – surface in the water, it would give the appearance of being a large reptile. There’s also the possibility it was a muskie. I remain skeptical it is an alligator. • Greene County Waterways Conservation Officer Eric Davis is currently looking for somebody to serve as a deputy WCO in that area. Deputy officers assist the WCO in all duties. They must be 21 years of age, and go through formal training before taking to the field. Those interested can submit a résumé and a brief cover letter stating why they wish to become a deputy to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Southwest Regional Office at 236 Lake Road, Somerset, Pa., 15501. Or, if you’re not sure what the duties entail, you can look them up on the commission web site, talk to Davis or call the region office at 814-445-8974. Outdoors Editor F. Dale Lolley Make text smaller Make text larger

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West Virginia Fish Advisory
by Duane 15 Apr '15

15 Apr '15

https://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/Current_Advisories.asp Fish Consumption Advisories Available for 2014 The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) have updated the West Virginia Sport Fish Consumption Advisory for 2014. West Virginia DHHR, through an interagency agreement, partners with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Division of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop consumption advisories for fish caught in West Virginia. Fish consumption advisories are reviewed annually and help West Virginia anglers make educated choices about eating the fish they catch. Certain West Virginia sport fish have been found to have low levels of chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, selenium and dioxin. To protect the good health of West Virginians, the West Virginia DHHR offers an advisory for how often these fish can be safely eaten. An advisory is advice, and should not be viewed as law or regulation. It is intended to help anglers and their families make educated choices about: where to fish, what types of fish to eat, how to limit the amount and frequency of fish eaten, and how to prepare and cook fish to reduce contaminants. This advisory covers only sport fish caught in West Virginia waters. Safety regulations and advisories for fish in the market place are the responsibility of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information you can contact the FDA at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm110591.htm The following 2014 advisory recommendation is the result of reviewing new and recent fish tissue data. Data collected from lakes and rivers in West Virginia show that a general statewide advisory of sport-caught fish is appropriate. A review of this information indicates that mercury, PCBs, and dioxin are the chemicals of the greatest concern. If you would like more detailed information about these contaminants and the levels measured, consult the DHHR Web Site at http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish. Body weight and meal size are important factors in fish advisories. Use this chart to find the size of meal that corresponds to your body weight. This advisory is designed to keep the amount of chemicals you eat at a safe level. Meal Sizes A person weighing between Should eat no more than this amount per meal pounds ounces of precooked fish 20 or less 1.0 21-35 1.5 36-50 2.0 51-70 3.0 71-90 4.0 91-110 5.0 111-130 6.0 131-150 7.0 151 and over 8.0 Remember that 3.0 ounces of precooked fish is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards Remember that 1.5 ounces of precooked fish is about one-half the size of the palm of your hand or one-half of a deck of cards Find the meal advice for the fish you’ve caught. “Do Not Eat” means you should not eat those fish because of higher contamination. The other groups (“One Meal a Week”, “Two meals a Month”, “One Meal a Month”, and “Six Meals a Year”) are advice for how often to eat fish. Women of childbearing age, children, and people who regularly eat fish are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. If you fall into one of these categories, you should be especially careful to follow the meal sizes and space fish meals out according to the advisory tables. Your body can get rid of some contaminants over time. Spacing the meals out helps prevent the contaminants from building up to harmful levels in the body. For example, if the fish you eat is in the “One Meal a Month Group”, wait a month before eating another meal of fish from any restricted category. Occasionally eating fish in quantities slightly greater than the advisories recommend, such as during an annual fishing vacation, should not present a health hazard.Follow the advice presented in this advisory, noting the differences between the General and Specific Advisories for all West Virginia waters and the Ohio River Advisory. Follow the advice presented in this advisory, noting the differences between the General Advisories for all West Virginia waters and the more restrictive Specific Advisories. General Advisories 2014 WV Statewide Consumption Advisories Water Body Species Limit your fish meals to: Contaminants All Waters in West Virginia except where listed in the Specific Consumption Advisories. Hybrid Striped Bass 1 meal a month Mercury PCBs White Bass Black Bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted) 2 meals a month Channel Catfish greater than 17” Flathead Catfish Rock Bass Walleye and Saugeye Sauger All Suckers Channel Catfish less than 17” 1 meal a week All Other Species Rainbow Trout No Limit More restrictive advisories issued in 2014 affect the following water bodies: 2014 WV Specific Consumption Advisories Water Body Species Limit your fish meals to: Contaminant(s)* Bluestone River Carp 1 meal a month PCBs Fish Creek Smallmouth Bass, all sizes 1 meal a month Mercury Flat Fork Creek Carp Do not eat PCBs Channel Catfish, all sizes Suckers Kanawha River downstream of I-64 bridge in Dunbar including all backwaters, Armour Creek, Heizer Creek, Manila Creek, lower two miles Pocatalico River Flathead Catfish, all sizes Do not eat Dioxin* Mercury PCBs Channel Catfish, all sizes Carp Hybrid Striped Bass Suckers All other species 1 meal a month Little Kanawha and Hughes River Sauger 1 meal a month Mercury Upper Mud and Mount Storm lakes, and Pinnacle Creek** Follow Advisory Guidelines for WV Statewide Consumption. Selenium R.D. Bailey Lake Channel Catfish greater than 17” 6 meals a year PCBs Shenandoah River Carp Do not eat Mercury PCBs* Smallmouth bass 1 meal a month Mercury Summersville Lake Flathead Catfish, all sizes 1 meal a month Mercury 1 meal a monthh Sutton Lake Black Bass, all sizes 1 meal a month Mercury Note: *Contaminant- Meal Limits are determined by the chemical with asterisk. Other chemicals, such as dioxin, (Hg) methyl mercury may have an advisory at a less restrictive level. **Measureable levels of selenium were detected in samples from the listed water bodies. The levels measured would suggest advisories that are less restrictive or consistent with the statewide consumption advice in place for mercury and PCBs. PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls - The protocol used to determine Ohio River fish consumption advisories (ORFCAP) is the product of the efforts of a multi-agency workgroup consisting of representatives from the six main stem states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) as well as the US EPA and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) to develop consistent fish advisories along the Ohio River main stem. The online Ohio River advisory is available at: http://216.68.102.178/comm/fishconsumption/default.asp , please refer to the website for recent updates. 2014 Ohio River Consumption Advisory Ohio River Segmentt Species Limit your fish meals to: Contaminant(s)* Pennsylvania Border (East Liverpool) to Belleville Lock (Brooke Hancock, Marshall Ohio, Pleasants Tyler, Wetzel, Wood Counties) Channel Catfish 18” and over Do Not Eat PCBs Channel Catfish less than 18”, Common Carp, Striped Bass Hybrid, White Bass 6 meals a year Black Crappie Flathead Catfish Freshwater Drum 14”and over Largemouth Bass Sauger Saugeye Smallmouth Bass Smallmouth Buffalo Spotted Bass All Suckers Walleye White Crappie 1 meal a monthh Belleville Lock to the Kentucky Border (Cabell, Jackson Mason, Wayne Counties) Channel Catfish 18” and over 6 meals a year PCBs Channel Catfish less than 18” Common Carp Flathead Catfish Freshwater Drum 14” and over Striped Bass Striped Bass Hybrid All Suckers White Bass 1 meal a month Note:*Contaminant- Meal Limits are determined by the chemical with asterisk. Other chemicals, such as dioxin, (Hg) methyl mercury may have an advisory at a less restrictive level. PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls For further information or the most current advice consult the WV DHHR Web Site at www.wvdhhr.org/fish or call (304) 558-2771. Other contacts: Consult the WV Division of Natural Resources Web Site at www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing.shtm or call (304) 558-2771. www.dep.wv.gov/or call (304) 926-0495. Consult the US EPA Web Site at www.epa.gov/ost/fish Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Cheat Canyon in W.Va. permanently conserved - Herald-Standard
by Duane 12 Apr '15

12 Apr '15

http://www.heraldstandard.com/content/tncms/live/ Cheat Canyon in W.Va. permanently conserved By Steve Ferris, Uniontown Herald-Standard, April 11, 2015 The Cheat Canyon, eight miles of rugged West Virginia mountains with the Cheat River and the Allegheny Trail running through it, has been permanently conserved. State, federal and conservation organization officials named it the Cheat Canyon Wildlife Management Area after they pulled together $7 million to buy the property from a private owner last fall. “It’s been a priority for conservation for a long time,” said Ann Simonelli of the Conservation Fund, one of organizations involved in the effort.The canyon had been a target for preservation since the 1970s. Preserving the canyon was the subject of a letter sent to Patrick Noonan in 1976, when he was president of the Nature Conservancy, Simonelli said. Later, Noonan left the Conservancy and created the Conservation Fund. The Nature Conservancy is another one of the groups involved in the canyon project. “People have been trying to protect this part of Cheat Canyon for a long time,” Simonelli said. “Local residents and people who love the outdoors realize what kind of treasure this land is. They’ll be able to experience the landscape. It will be unmarred by development.” The 3,800-acre canyon has trail heads at each end — just upstream of Coopers Rock State Forest and in Albright. It is a popular whitewater rafting and kayaking destination and is home to unique and rare wildlife. “The primary goal for acquiring that area was the Indiana bat, an endangered species, and the flat-spired, three-toothed land snail, which is a threatened species,” said Steve Rauch, of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR). “It puts the known locations of the snail under state control, which is really important for management.” Development and fire are the main treats to those animals, Rauch said. The state does not allow mountain bike riding on the trail to protect the snail, which is found nowhere else in the world, he said. “It is the only place on this Earth where this thing lives,” said Keith Fisher of the Nature Conservancy. Green salamanders also reside in the canyon. Rare plants grow in the scoured gravel bars in and along the river and caves dot the canyon walls, Fisher said. Part of the trail at the Albright end of the canyon was closed by the previous owner, who also cut some timber there, he said. “This will re-establish the trail,” Rauch said. The logging road used in the timber cutting is now part of the trail, Fisher said. The state opened the canyon to hunting for the first time in the fall and the harvest included a number of white-tailed deer and a black bear, he said. “It’s also a whitewater hot spot,” Fisher said. “The Cheat Canyon is a pretty special place. It’s been abused repeatedly for a long time. It’s great to have it protected. Not just the water resource, but the land resource,” said Eric Martin, owner of Wilderness Voyageurs of Ohiopyle, which is among the outfitters that take whitewater rafting trips down the Cheat River. The river had a legacy of a “ridiculous amount of acid mine drainage” and timber cutting that didn’t always employ best practices, Martin said. Remediation efforts spearheaded by conservation groups like the Friends of the Cheat have improved the quality of the water and the fishery, he said. “It’s the largest undammed watershed east of the Mississippi River and spectacular, unique place,” Martin said. Rafting and kayaking is done mostly in the spring when rains create class 4 and greater rapids, he said. “It’s mostly known as a spring trip for big water, every bit as much action as the Gauley (River). It’s a springtime run because there’s no dam. We run primarily in the spring when rain brings water — a class 4, 4-plus trips,” Martin said. A 1,361-acre section of the 3,800 acre canyon that surrounds the river is owned by the Conservancy, which is leasing it to the state, Fisher said. The Conservation Fund will eventually transfer the remaining 2,500 acres to the DNR, which will manage it as a part of the other recreational land it owns along the lower Cheat River, Simonelli said. Public and private funding was used to purchase the land. Private sources included a $2.6 million donation from the Charlotte Ryde estate and a combined $1 million donation from Warburg Pincus and Antero Resources to the Nature Conservancy. Public money came from a package of grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and the West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund, as well as mitigation dollars. 3 images Michael Palm|Herald-Standard Michael Palm|Herald-Standard The Cheat Canyon shown from the Cooper’s Rock State Forest overlook in West Virginia has been permanently conserved. Cheat Canyon Wildlife Management Area is eight miles of rugged mountains with the Cheat River and the Allegheny Trail running through it. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Six professors earn 2015 WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching
by Duane 09 Apr '15

09 Apr '15

http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2015/04/08/six-professors-earn-2015-wvu-foundatio… Six professors earn 2015 WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching Every year, the West Virginia University Foundation celebrates a special class of teacher: The kind that nudges students toward their dreams. The kind that groggy-eyed underclassmen have no problem waking up for at 8 a.m. The kind that you remember and keep in touch with decades after graduating. These professors leave a lasting impact, and are recipients of the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching. This year’s honorees are: • Joshua Arthurs, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences ; • Damien Clement, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences ; • Melissa Morris, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources • Mario Perhinschi, Statler College; • Michael Strager, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design ; and • Elaine Wilson, College of Law. “These six professors inspire students to achieve more than they themselves ever thought they could,” said Provost Joyce McConnell. “President Gee and I often publicly assert that West Virginia University offers an exceptional education – and we’re proud to be able to point to this kind of passionate, exciting teaching as the foundation of that education.” The WVU Foundation established the awards in 1985 as a way to celebrate faculty who’ve established patterns of distinguished teaching and exceptional innovation in teaching methods, course and curriculum design, and instructional tools. A list of previous recipients is available here. “We congratulate this year’s recipients who truly go above and beyond in their areas of expertise,” said Cindi Roth, WVU Foundation president and CEO. “WVU is fortunate to have such high caliber faculty inspiring our students. The Foundation is pleased to be able to fund these awards annually because of the tremendous generosity of our donors.” Michael Strager During his time as an educator at WVU, Strager, associate professor of spatial analysis, has developed eight new courses introducing students to cutting-edge technologies and methodologies like GPS, remote sensing, and GIS/spatial analysis. “Many of the courses he has created have become academic requirements for undergraduate programs, and they have provided his students with an extremely marketable skill set, in addition to giving them a unique perspective on the resources and landscapes they plan to further study and manage during their careers,” said Davis College Dean Daniel J. Robison. Strager teaches six to seven classes a year, dividing his focus between forestry and natural resources and agricultural and natural resource economics. While managing this high volume of students, he’s uniformly credited by them for providing far more than an average classroom experience. Instead of textbooks, he uses practical examples drawn from government and industry, and relating material to his students from his own research publications and interests. “He inspires students and challenges them,” Robison said. “To talk with Mike is to understand his passion as an educator.”

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Bats In Pennsylvania Threatened By White Nose Syndrome
by Duane 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Bats In Pennsylvania Threatened By White Nose Syndrome From Associated Press, Huffington Post, April 6, 2015 PITTSBURGH (AP) — One of the most common bat species in Pennsylvania is being threatened by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats of that species and others in North America. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the northern long-eared bat as a "threatened" species, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1Cb0Nh3 ) reported Monday. The agency was considering listing the species as "endangered" — a more serious designation — but decided on "threatened" because the bat's population has not been affected outside areas where the fungal disease has caused problems, the newspaper reported. The agency is proposing interim rules meant to safeguard the bat's habitat, including limits on forest timbering. But the rules could also impact the wind energy and natural gas and oil drilling industries. Lora Zimmerman, a project leader with the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the "threatened" listing in Pennsylvania might seem odd in light of the fact that the long-eared bat's population in the state is only less than 5 percent of what it was before 2006, when the fungus that produces white-nose syndrome was discovered in a cave in upstate New York. Pennsylvania is an area hard hit by the white-nose syndrome, and the designation "will likely be re-evaluated regularly," Zimmerman said. The interim "threatened" listing was announced Thursday in the federal register and takes effect in 30 days along with interim environmental rules. The wildlife agency plans to take 90 days of public comment on those rules, in hopes of finalizing them by year's end. The Independent Petroleum Association of American has commented on the bat's threatened designation, but it may not file comments on the accompanying environmental rules, spokesman Neal Kirby said. He said that's because the bat's habitat isn't affected as much by drilling as it is by the fungus, and other industries, like timbering. But Michael Gannon, a Penn State University bat expert and member of the Mammal Technical Committee for the Pennsylvania Biological Society, said rules to protect the bats are needed soon. That's because bats feed on insects and pesticide use might have to increase if the bat population doesn't rebound. Bats, in general, provide $22 billion worth of ecological services in the United States annually, including $292 million in Pennsylvania, he said. "Shortsighted individuals that ignore the science and economics and feel protection of this valuable natural resource is not warranted will cost us considerably in the future," Gannon said. ___

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DEP Issues Statement After Reports of Orange Rocks in Cheat Rive - WBOY.com
by Duane 07 Apr '15

07 Apr '15

http://www.wboy.com/story/28731748/dep-issues-statement-after-reports-of-or… WV-DEP Issues Statement After Reports of Orange Rocks in Cheat River in Preston County From WV DEP, April 6, 2015 The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has been receiving reports from Cheat River boaters noticing orange rocks at the mouth of Muddy Creek in Preston County. The DEP issued a statement Monday assuring the public that the situation is under control. According to the statement, the DEP believes the orange rocks were caused by an occurrence inside an old mine near Valley Point, such as a roof collapse, which created a temporary blockage and allowed iron-laden water to build up inside the mine. Finally, the water began pouring out of the mine quickly into the creek in March. While the iron levels in the creek were higher than normal, the DEP assures no fish or plant life would have been affected as that section of Muddy Creek is considered "dead." The DEP had engineers and geologists investigating the rocks and are in the process of developing a plan that should prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future.

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CLEAR April 2015