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Preserving an Appalachian Treasure: American Ginseng | EcoWatch
by Duane 18 Jan '14

18 Jan '14

http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/16/appalachian-treasure-american-ginseng/ Preserving an Appalachian Treasure: American Ginseng Dr. Randi Pokladnik | January 16, 2014 [Note: This article has been going viral on EcoWatch for days and has been very popular over the last many months. The article is from the 2009 August issue of EcoWatch Journal.] American Ginseng, Panax Quinquefolius, is a long-lived understory herb found in the mesophytic forests of Appalachia. Ginseng was once native to China but over-harvesting of its species, Panax Ginseng, extirpated the populations. The Chinese have used the roots of the plants in medicinal preparations for thousands of years. Soon after the species was discovered in North America in the 1700s, the Chinese relied heavily on exports of American Ginseng. In the late 1700s, residents established a significant trade chain with the Orient and exported tremendous amounts of ginseng roots. More than 750,000 pounds of wild ginseng roots were exported in 1822 and ginseng sold for 42 cents a pound. It still remains an important component of the informal economy in Appalachia and prices of ginseng today range from $200 to a high of $1,500 a dried pound for the wild roots. American Ginseng is still in need of protection in order to prevent over-harvesting and continue the economic value it has for the Appalachian region. In the early 1900s, the ginseng community recognized the need to protect wild populations and enlisted two practices: laws and cultivation. Ginseng can be cultivated under shade cloth or wooded canopies. Northeastern Ohio had several ginseng farms in the early 1900s. The plant was so popular that a national and several state ginseng organizations were created to assist growers. Ohio passed House Bill 9 in 1915 that levied a penalty for the destruction or theft of ginseng. Today, wild ginseng is listed under Appendix II of the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species and ginseng trade is monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Legislation and cultivation have not been totally effective in protecting wild populations. Poaching has become very problematic for both ginseng growers and public land managers trying to secure wild ginseng. Harvesters are urged to abide by sustainable harvesting practices such as taking only mature plants (5 years or older), replanting the ripe berries in the forest, and abiding by harvest seasons. In an effort to protect cultivated ginseng, growers in Ohio have recently begun to seek state certification for Ohio growers. Currently two states have certification—Wisconsin and West Virginia. Certification means that cultivated plants could be distinguished from wild plants and would become exempt from regulations. It may also provide legal means for growers to access crop insurance for roots that are destroyed or stolen. Ultimately, the long-term survival of this economically important and culturally significant Appalachian species and the future of ginseng trade is dependent on teaching harvesters sustainable practices and encouraging continued cultivation of the roots. Certification of growers is an important step. For more information about sustainable harvesting techniques or certification efforts, contact Roots of Appalachia Growers Association.

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PUBLIC NOTICE. PN 13-47 Cheat Canyon.pdf
by Duane 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Portals/72/docs/regulatory/Public%20Notices-2… U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District Notice No. 13-47 In Reply Refer to Notice No. below US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District 1000 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4186 Public Notice Application No. 2013-1793 Date: October 29, 2013 Closing Date: November 29, 2013 1. TO ALL WHOM IT MAY 1. 1. CONCERN: The following Cheat Canyon stream preservation project has been submitted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) for approval under the West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Program (WVILFP). APPLICANT: Glenn McLernon WV In-Lieu Fee Coordinator (Stream and Wetland Mitigation) West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection 601 57th Street, SE Charleston, WV 25304 LOCATION: The Cheat Canyon stream preservation project is located within the 8-digit Cheat River HUC (05020004), located in Albright, Preston County, West Virginia. 4. PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The WVDEP proposes to purchase and permanently protect 228.5 acres of riparian buffer along the Cheat River as an ILF stream preservation project. The West Virginia Stream and Wetland Valuation Metric was not used for this project because the impacts were previously expressed in acres of stream impact, not stream credit. Therefore, the project will generate 46.8 acres of preserved stream (not including the riparian buffer), which is intended to off-set 3.78 acres of stream impact; therefore, the impact is being mitigated at a 12:1 ratio. Please see attached mitigation site plan. http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Portals/72/docs/regulatory/Public%20Notices-2… Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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Fwd: Holiday Happenings: FOC Gift Ideas, Fundraising Dinner at Madeleine's, and Craft Fair this Saturday
by Duane 15 Nov '13

15 Nov '13

> From: Friends of the Cheat <amanda(a)cheat.org> > Date: November 15, 2013 > > Subject: Holiday Happenings: FOC Gift Ideas, Fundraising Dinner at Madeleine's, and Craft Fair this Saturday > > > Don't forget to include Friends of the Cheat on your holiday gift list! We have been very good this year...DONATE TODAY! > View this email in your browser > > Holiday Happenings > Make your dollar go further--give two gifts at once > When you purchase merchandise from Friends of the Cheat we turn sale proceeds into grant dollars. In 2013, FOC brought in $850,000 in grant dollars geared towards river restoration--twenty times the amount of our fundraising contributions! Where else can you score a unique gift for someone special AND contribute to the ongoing restoration of the mighty Cheat River (not any big box store!). > We have new t-shirt styles and colors, and this will be the last batch of our classic map shirt ever as we are planning a new design in celebration of FOC's 20th anniversary in 2014. FOC koozies, hillbilly wineglasses, long sleeve tees, and hats are also available. All 2013 festival tees are $5 off. > > FOC was the grateful recipient of a donation of watercolor prints by the late Hoyt Reel. We have a limited supply of a variety of prints (average size 22"X18") available for $30 each. > > To purchase FOC swag, visit our office at 119 South Price Street in Kingwood any weekday between the hours of 9am and 4pm (we do recommend calling first 304-329-3621). You can also visit our table at this Saturday's Holiday Craft Fair at the Preston Community Arts Center at 123 South Price Street in Kingwood from 9am-4pm. Over 20 vendors will be participating selling everything from locally-made treenware and pottery to music CDs and apparel. Local authors will also be on hand signing books and homemade food available for purchase. > > Watershed=Foodshed Dinner Tickets Going Fast > We have less than 25 seats remaining for the Watershed=Foodshed benefit dinner at Madeleine's Restaurant in Morgantown on Thursday, December 5th. The meal will feature food grown in the Preston County watershed by farmers depending on its healthy land and water. All proceeds from the dinner benefit the CAPABLE monitoring program. For more information and to buy tickets visit: http://www.cheat.org/events/watershed-foodshed-benefit-dinner/ > > > Select FOC swag, including the new Upper Cheat River Water Trail tees. > > One of several watercolor prints by the late Hoyt Reel--only $30 each. > Copyright © 2013 Friends of the Cheat, All rights reserved. > You are a friend of the Cheat! > > Our mailing address is: > Friends of the Cheat > 119 South Price St. Suite #206 > Kingwood WV, WV 26537-1478 > > Add us to your address book > > > unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences > >

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Bats Dying in Unprecedented Numbers | EcoWatch
by Duane 01 Nov '13

01 Nov '13

http://ecowatch.com/2013/10/31/bats-dying-in-unprecedented-numbers/ Bats Dying in Unprecedented Numbers (.. We have this problem in the Cheat Canyon and elsewhere ..) Article by Beyond Pesticides, EcoWatch.org, October 31, 2013 Bats get a bad rap on Halloween with their image synonymous with blood-sucking vampires; however, the real scary thing about bats is that they are disappearing due to a myriad of threats, including pesticides, habitat destruction and the horrible white-nose syndrome (WNS)—a disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destructans. Researchers are reporting an even bleaker picture, finding very little evidence of what might stop the disease from spreading further and persisting indefinitely in bat caves. The new study, from researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois, found that the fungus can make a meal out of just about any carbon source likely to be found in caves, said graduate student Daniel Raudabaugh, who led the research under the direction of survey mycologist Andrew Miller, Ph.D. The study, “Nutritional Capability of and Substrate Suitability for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causal Agent of Bat White-Nose Syndrome” is published in PLOS One. “It can basically live on any complex carbon source, which encompasses insects, undigested insect parts in guano, wood, dead fungi and cave fish,” Raudabaugh said. “We looked at all the different nitrogen sources and found that basically it can grow on all of them. It can grow over a very wide range of pH; it doesn’t have trouble in any pH unless it’s extremely acidic.” In 2006, around the same time that honey bees started disappearing from their hives, a hibernating bat in a New York cave was discovered with a strange white fungus growing on its muzzle and wings. Since that first detection, WNS has spread across the U.S. Like colony collapse disorder in honeybees, the direct cause of WNS is poorly understood. There has not been much research on role of pesticides in WNS, however there has been much research linking pesticides to immunosuppression in bats, which may make them more susceptible to WNS. An extensive article by William Quarles, Ph.D., was published this summer by The IPM Practitioner, which lays out much of the research that has been done on bats, pesticides and white nose syndrome. Another study, “Bats at risk? Bat activity and insecticide residue analysis of food items in an apple orchard,” published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, shows that bats, due to their long life span and tendency to only have one offspring at a time, are particularly sensitive to reproductive effects from pesticides. The study details the health effects of bats foraging on insects in an apple orchard after it was sprayed with the insecticides fenoxycarb and chlorpyrifos. Researchers conclude that bats should be given greater consideration in risk-assessments for pesticide products. Not only can bats be exposed through their diet, but they can also encounter pesticides through drift and inhalation, as farmers often spray their fields at night to avoid harming honey bees. Bats are a crucial indicator species, interacting with many elements of the ecosystem. They are one of the only nocturnal pollinators and the only nocturnal insect predator in the U.S., playing a key role both for plants and for farmers. Organic farmers in particular, are reliant on bat pollinators as a pest management tool: one brown bat can kill between 3,000 and 7,000 insects per night. A study published in 2011 in the journal Science estimated that bats provide $3.7 billion to $53 billion per year worth of pest control services to agricultural operations, and that number does not include pollination services. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P. destructans has killed more than 5.5 million bats in the U.S. and Canada. The fungus thrives at low temperatures, and spreads to bats whose body temperature drops below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) when they are hibernating in infected caves. Previous research has shown that the fungus persists in caves even after the bats are gone. “…(We) found that P. destructans can live perfectly happily off the remains of most organisms that co-inhabit the caves with the bats,” Dr. Miller said. “This means that whether the bats are there or not, it’s going to be in the caves for a very long time.” Beyond Pesticides called on Congress back in 2011 to stop the spread of WNS, which has killed more than 5.7 to 6.7 million bats in North America. Bats with WNS exhibit uncharacteristic behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside in the day and clustering near the entrances of hibernacula. Bats have been found sick and dying in unprecedented numbers in and around caves and mines. In some caves 90 to 100 percent of hibernating bats succumb to the virus. Visit EcoWatch’s BIODIVERSITY page for more related news on this topic. ——— Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Cheat Lake Summer Pool Height End at Midnight October 31st
by Duane 23 Oct '13

23 Oct '13

FROM Andy Datsko, Lake Lynn HydroStation (Cheat Lake Dam) Can you please remind your members and friends on Cheat Lake that November 1 is fast approaching and our minimum lake level will be 857'. At this time we are NOT planning a draw down but if the current dry weather continues the lake level could fall to those levels with normal operations of the hydro plant. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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THE CHEAT RIVER
by Duane 16 Oct '13

16 Oct '13

Geography The Cheat is formed at Parsons, West Virginia, by the confluence of theShavers Fork and Black Fork. The Black Fork is fed by the Blackwater Riverand by the Dry, Glady, and Laurel forks — these are traditionally referred to as the five Forks of Cheat. From Parsons the Cheat River flows generally northward through Tucker and Preston counties, past the towns of Rowlesburgand Albright. It then flows through an impressive gorge — Cheat Canyon — northeastwardly from Albright, collecting Big Sandy Creek before enteringMonongalia County, where a hydro-electric dam just south of the Pennsylvania border causes it to widen as the Cheat Lake reservoir. It then flows for a short distance through southwestern Fayette County, Pennsylvania, before joining the Monongahela River at Point Marion, Pennsylvania. Upstream of its dam, the Cheat is one of the largest undammed watersheds in the eastern United States. Cheat Mountain, a high and rugged ridge, runs about 50 miles (80 km) southward from its northernmost tip, just a few miles west of the confluence at Parsons. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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: Tomorrow/ Rally in Wheeling, WV
by Duane 14 Sep '13

14 Sep '13

> From: Erin Bowers <erinbowers40(a)gmail.com> > Date: September 14, 2013 9:17:22 AM EDT > To: Chuck Wyrostok <wyro(a)appalight.com>, Duane Nichols <duane330(a)aol.com>, "Christine, (fracking)" <benebonfili(a)gmail.com>, Mark Eddy <mark(a)exogenynetwork.com>, Craig Thoburn <c_thoburn(a)yahoo.com>, Mick Luber <bluebirdorganicfarm(a)gmail.com>, Michael Mcnamara <bamsdad2001(a)yahoo.com>, Michaela lally <mslally1(a)comcast.net>, Nate ebert appalachia resist <drivingsbad(a)yahoo.com>, Lela Covey <Lela(a)takeonyourhealth.com>, Leatra Harper <wewantcleanwater(a)gmail.com>, "Patty gorcheff, (frack free america)" <tpgorcheff(a)yahoo.com>, Ed and Gina hashbarger <ohiopatriots4truth(a)yahoo.com>, Sherry Becker-gorby <beckergorby(a)frontier.com>, Yuri Gorby <ygorby(a)gmail.com>, Ben Stout <bens(a)wju.edu> > Subject: Tomorrow/ Rally > > Reminder- > > Tomorrow - Sunday, 9/15/13 > > People are meeting at 11am at North 28th Street in the Warwood section of Wheeling by the walking trail (Greenhunter Frack Waste Facility). Prayers will be offered there. > > We will be meeting relayers from Pittsburgh from the Great Ohio River Relay there. Www.greatohioriverrelay.com. Relayers will be passing a baton the entire length of the Ohio River starting today in Pittsburgh and finishing in Cairo, IL within weeks. The relay is being held to draw attention to the need for safe and clean drinking water for all and protection from fracking and fracking wastes. > > Drummers will lead everyone down to Garden Park in Warwood for the main rally. Dr. Ben Stout, Dr. Yuri Gorby, and Doug Shields (of Gasland) will be speaking at the rally which will start at approximately noon at Garden Park. > > There will be free music by KR 3 and children's activities. > > Hope to see you there!!! > Thanks!! Erin

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FirstEnergy Subsidiaries Apply for Authorization to Sell Eleven Hydroelectric Power Stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings, LLC
by Duane 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/newsroom/news_releases/first… FirstEnergy Subsidiaries Apply for Authorization to Sell Eleven Hydroelectric Power Stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings, LLC AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 4, 2013 -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiaries have applied for authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to sell 11 hydroelectric power stations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia to Harbor Hydro Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power Equity Partners II, LP. A sales agreement was reached on August 23, and if approved, the proposed transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013. The agreement is subject to customary and other closing conditions, including FERC, the Commonwealth of Virginia's State Corporation Commission and various other approvals. The hydroelectric power stations included in this proposed sale are owned by FirstEnergy Generation, LLC, Allegheny Energy Supply Company, LLC and Green Valley Hydro, LLC and have a total capacity of 527 megawatts, which represents less than 3 percent of FirstEnergy's generation fleet output. The sale includes: Seneca Pumped Storage (451 MW) in Warren, Pa.; Allegheny Lock & Dam 5 (6 MW) in Schenley, Pa.; Allegheny Lock & Dam 6 (7 MW) in Ford City, Pa.; Lake Lynn (52 MW) in Lake Lynn, Pa.; Millville (3 MW) in Millville, W. Va.; Dam 4 (2 MW) in Shepherdstown, W. Va.; Dam 5 (1.2 MW) in Falling Waters, W.Va.; Warren (750 kW) in Front Royal, Va.; Luray (1.6 MW) in Luray, Va.; and Shenandoah and Newport (860 kW and 1.4 MW, respectively) in Shenandoah, Va. Resolution of a potential competing license application and other claims related to the Seneca facility also is a condition to closing the proposed transaction. The 35 current employees at these power stations are expected to be retained by the new owner. FirstEnergy subsidiary Allegheny Generating Company will continue to own 1,200 MW of the 3,000 MW Bath County Pumped-Storage Hydro facility in Warm Springs, Va. In addition, FirstEnergy subsidiary Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) will continue to own 200 MW of the 400 MW Yards Creek Pumped-Storage Hydro facility in Blairstown, N.J. FirstEnergy operates one of the nation's largest, cleanest and most diverse generating fleets, with 60 percent coal, 20 percent nuclear, 11 percent hydro and other renewables, and 9 percent gas/oil. FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. Its generation subsidiaries currently control more than 20,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro, pumped-storage hydro and other renewables. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp. LS Power, an employee-owned, independent power company with offices in New York, New Jersey, Missouri and California, is a developer, owner, operator and investor in power generation and electric transmission infrastructure throughout the United States. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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USGS Current Conditions for USGS 03069500 CHEAT RIVER NEAR PARSONS, WV
by Duane 29 Aug '13

29 Aug '13

USGS DATA AT PARSONS, WV: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?03069500 NOTICE. The Cheat River Is running full as a result of strong storms and rain in Preston and Tucker County yesterday. At the Lake Lynn Dam some 40 gates are open to take the flow, and more may be opened up to 60 or more. There are 166 gates in total. See also: www.cheatlaketoday.com Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Restoring Mussels in Dunkard Creek. -- Charleston Gazette
by Duane 26 Jul '13

26 Jul '13

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- To help restore mussel populations wiped out by two major chemical spills, West Virginia fisheries biologists have sought assistance from a few finny friends. "Most mussel species require a fish host to reproduce successfully," said Janet Clayton, the Division of Natural Resources biologist in charge of the agency's mussel-restoration efforts. "So, to make sure the mussels we want to restore get the fish hosts they need, we take larvae from [recently spawned] mussels and we put them in the gills of the fish." The process sounds simple, but it's anything but. Clayton and her colleagues first must spend untold hours snorkeling and scuba diving, probing creek and river bottoms to find mussels that have bred. Once they've captured their brood stock, they gently pry the mussels' shells open and flush the larvae out with water from a hypodermic syringe. They then inoculate the fish hosts by allowing the fish to swim through a tank teeming with salt grain-sized larvae, or by using a syringe to inject larvae-rich water into the fishes' gills. When the larvae mature, they drop off the fish and sink to the bottom of the holding tank. Biologists collect the mature larvae and distribute them along the river bottom. "While the larvae are living in the gills of the fish, they're essentially parasites," Clayton said. "But they don't harm the fish at all." The propagation process is expensive and labor-intense, but Clayton said it's necessary if natural resources officials ever hope to correct the damage wrought by a 1999 chemical spill on the Ohio River near Parkersburg and a 2009 spill on Dunkard Creek north of Morgantown. "We could try to restore damaged populations by relocating them from places where they're plentiful to places where they were wiped out, but that's just robbing Peter to pay Paul," she said. "Ideally, we'd prefer to restore populations through propagation." It will take quite a bit of propagation to restore the mussel beds wiped out by the 1999 Ohio River spill. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, chemicals from the Eramet Marietta metals plant in Marietta, Ohio, killed 990,000 mussels along 30 miles of river. Resource agencies eventually reached a settlement with the company and its affiliates that earmarked $2.04 million for mussel restoration efforts. Biologists began the restoration work in 2007. The Dunkard Creek kill, while not as far-reaching as the Ohio spill, was no less devastating. It killed everything -- fish, mussels, crustaceans and even insects. Inspectors officially placed the blame on a bloom of golden algae, most likely created by salt-laden water escaping from a large underground coal mine. "There was no [mussel] brood stock left on Dunkard Creek," Clayton said. "Left to its own, it would never have recovered." Clayton and her colleagues devised a way to restore the creek's mussels and fish populations at the same time. "Rather than spend a lot of time in [mussel] propagation, we collect our brood stock, extract the larvae, inoculate fish with them, and then stock the fish into the creek," she said. "We're also relocating some adults into the creek. We did our first inoculation and release last year, and we did one again this year." Some mussel species can use a variety of fish species as hosts, while others require specific hosts. "The species-specific ones definitely complicate the process," Clayton explained. "When a host fish is commercially available -- bluegills, for example -- we just raise them in one of the state's hatcheries or go out and buy what we need. "For other species, such as creek chubs and stonerollers, we go out and seine them from creeks. One mussel species, the pink heelsplitter, requires us to go out and capture freshwater drum. So even getting the fish hosts involves a lot of work." Restoration efforts on the Ohio have centered on nine mussel species: three-ridge, Ohio pigtoe, pimpleback, maple leaf, washboard, black sandshell, sheepnose, pocketbook and fat mucket. "So far we've had limited success with five of those species," Clayton said. Four species -- the creeper, giant floater, fluted shell and fatmucket -- are being reintroduced to Dunkard Creek. Collecting larvae from breeding mussels can involve some pretty precise timing. "There are two basic types of mussels -- long-term brooders and short-term brooders," Clayton said. "Long-term brooders hold their larvae for several months, so they're pretty easy to collect from. Short-term brooders aren't as easy. "We know the general time frame when their larvae become mature, so we collect some adults, put them in containers and wait for them to release their larvae. When we see lots of mature larvae, we go out and collect more adults and continue the propagation process from there." Sometimes, though, knowing the right time isn't enough. "Last year, [streams'] water warmed so quickly that the mussels spawned early and we just about missed our first species," Clayton said. "This year was the opposite. We got very few larvae off our first species, and the water since then has been too high to collect more brood stock." So why go to all this trouble to restore creatures many people are unaware even exist? In a word, ecology -- the way creatures interact with their environment. Clayton said mussels are important to streams' ecosystems because they filter impurities from the water. "A bed containing 200,000 mussels can filter a million gallons of water a day," she said. Imagine how much money we could save in water-treatment costs if our native mussel communities were restored." Reach John McCoy at johnmc...(a)wvgazette.com or 304-348-1231. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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