2009 Potomac River Ramble

Submitted by: Adam Griggs, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB)
_____________________________________________

Have you woken along the shores of a river to the sounds of birds and swirling waters?  Climbed into a canoe instead of a car for your day’s travel?  Stopped to explore depths and shallows to see the kinds of critters that live there?

On the 2009 Potomac River Ramble, for four days and nights, 45 curious explorers did just that and more.  They became the river’s guests, were moved by its hospitality, and gained an understanding of a river like never before.

This year’s Potomac River Ramble floated the Monocacy Scenic River and the downstream portion of the Potomac River. The Monocacy is Maryland’s first state scenic river and its largest Potomac tributary.  The trip was the Ramble’s first on the Monocacy. The annual Ramble program seeks out new stretches of river in the watershed to explore; to highlight both its valuable resources and the issues that threaten them.

After spending four days and 40 miles on, in, and around a river, both its treasures and its troubles come into focus.

The Monocacy and the Potomac Rivers provided a perfect platform for a wide array of educational and hands-on programs, and our valuable partners helped us deliver them to our Ramblers.  On the first day, biologists from Hood College and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources engaged our group in a program about the invasive Rusty crayfish.  This large, aggressive crayfish is not native to the Potomac watershed, but has found a way into the Monocacy River where it is out-competing the smaller, native Allegheny crayfish.  By studying this new crayfish in the Monocacy, the biologists hope to find clues that might lead to the prevention of further spread in our watershed.  Near the end of a beautiful first day on the water, the group successfully navigated the rapids of a broken rubble dam at Michael’s Mill and paddled into the first camp stop at Buckeystown Park in Frederick County.

During dinner, Tim Goodfellow, a principal planner with Frederick County, gave an informative presentation about how comprehensive land-use planning can help manage and protect vital land and water resources.  Goodfellow also told the group about the new stream protection ordinance that Frederick County has established to protect buffer zones around streams.

The excellent weather continued for the second day, as the group broke camp and embarked on another day’s paddle. Several participants helped collect smallmouth bass for a lunchtime program by Vicki Blazer of the U.S. Geological Survey.  Since fish kills began to be observed in the Shenandoah River system in 2002, Blazer has been investigating aspects of smallmouth bass fish health. A startling discovery was made when oocytes (immature eggs) were found growing in the testes of male smallmouth bass, a condition called intersex, which has now been found in several areas of the Potomac watershed. Although the causes of the condition and the fish kills have not been found, Blazer suspects that the increased prevalence of this condition below wastewater treatment plants may indicate that chemicals and other compounds that remain in the treated water are affecting the physiology of smallmouth bass and some other fish species.

At the close of the day, the Ramblers pulled out at the mouth of the Monocacy River and camped in the shadow of the restored C&O Canal Monocacy Aqueduct. The evening program featured Kristin Mielcarek of the Canaan Valley Institute, who spoke about Maryland’s Bay Restoration Fund and its septic upgrade program. The program provides money to counties to help residents upgrade septic systems with a new technology that significantly reduces nutrient loadings compared with traditional systems (see Sept.-Oct. 2008 Reporter).

At the start of the third day, the Ramblers waved goodbye to the Monocacy and paused for a group photo downstream of the Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest of the historic aqueducts in the C&O Canal system. After turning into the Potomac, the Ramblers paddled a short distance to Mirant Mid-Atlantic’s Dickerson Power Plant. There the Ramblers learned about the company’s efforts to reduce the impacts of necessary power generation along the river. New wet scrubbers are being installed that will remove most of the harmful mercury that currently escapes out of the coal-fired plant’s stacks. 

Mirant staff also highlighted other environmental efforts, including an Atlantic sturgeon hatchery and research program to bring back the fish (at another Mirant plant), and an Olympic training whitewater course that uses the warm-water cooling discharge to provide a year-round training facility for competitive paddlers. Further downstream, a lunch stop at White’s Ferry provided a nice backdrop for presentations by members of the Maryland Upper and Middle Potomac Tributary Teams, who explained how these stakeholder groups are working as a bridge between state and local governments and organizations to improve water quality.

The last evening found the Ramblers about a mile from the river at the campsite of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America.  This nation-wide non-profit organization has many local chapters that are involved in conservation and stream monitoring and were kind enough to host the group. A campfire program was provided by Michael Rolband, President of Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc. (WSSI), where the group learned about their innovative and celebrated Reston Valley Stream Restoration Bank.  Using the latest stream restoration techniques and years of experience, WSSI and the Reston Association (a homeowners association and nonprofit community service corporation serving Reston, Va.) are restoring the eroded stream channels in this suburban Virginia watershed that have been damaged by years of uncontrolled stormwater runoff. 

The final day provided a slower pace on the river and time for reflecting about the trip, the activities, people, and camaraderie that developed over the days spent together.  Never again would the Ramblers see the Monocacy and the Potomac in the same light.  They had learned much about the valuable resources the river provides and the issues that stress its ecosystem.

The Ramblers gathered at the end of the trip to discuss their adventure, what they enjoyed most, how the trip could be changed to make it even more enjoyable, and what they would take away from their days spent on the water. Several people new to canoeing said that they would be going again, although one Rambler noted that they would seek out areas without motorboats. Many of the Ramblers spoke of the unique nature of the trip, allowing them to “get away from it all,” and meeting new people to share wildlife viewing, meals along the river, and learning so much about the river and its environs every day.

Some very interesting comments came from participants for whom the Monocacy is their home river, noting that they frequently drove over the river during daily commutes while having no idea of what was really flowing below them. They do now, another Rambler responded, noting that the daily drive over the bridge would always bring memories of the days spent experiencing the river.

For more information about the River Rambles, please visit  www.potomacriver.org.  There you can see where the River Rambles have been, watch videos of past trips, and learn where we are headed.  Please think about joining us next year as we continue to explore the Potomac Watershed.

Thanks go out to all of our sponsors and partners, including: the Potomac River Swim for the Environment; PEPCO Holdings; Mirant Mid-Atlantic; River and Trail Outfitters; Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., Gainesville, Va.; the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; National Park Service C&O Canal National Historic Park; EU Services Printing, Rockville, Md.; and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chapter, Izaak Walton League.