Sinking Creek

As Fall Semester 2016 comes to end, this blog has no intentions of doing the same. What was started as a class project, the hope is to continue as a resource for anyone needing information on the Sinking Creek watershed, or, more generically, watershed resource management and related topics. Over the past three months, the Sinking Creek Watershed has been mapped out and many of the most pressing conservation issues threatening the watershed discussed. The majority of these threats come from human causes, ranging from direct water pollution to non-point source impacts, such as agricultural runoff and risks from deforestation. Though not in as much detail, some methods to combat these threats have addressed as well. In similar fashion, the President of the New River Conservancy was interviewed about current and future efforts in the overarching New River watershed... and the In-Situ SmarTROLL real-time water quality monitoring probe was highlighted as a result of this interview.


In the future, some of the above issues will be revisited and approaches for remediation will be discussed in more detail. There will also be more in depth studies on the Sinking Creek Valley, ranging from historical facts and events to land use changes over the past several decades. One of the most critical components required for the full protection of a watershed is that all aspects of the watershed are addressed, including physical, chemical, and cultural components. It is also important to keep in mind that all of these are ever changing, and so must any successful plan to conserve any watershed, including that of Sinking Creek. One can only hope that this blog will assist in such efforts to keep the Sinking Creek watershed intact and healthy.

Threats to Water Quality

Ailanthus altissima (Tree-of-Heaven)

In-Situ SmarTROLL - Water Quality Monitoring Spotlight

Important Trees/Shrubs of the Sinking Creek Watershed

New River Conservancy - Watershed Stewardship Spotlight, Part 2

New River Conservancy - Watershed Stewardship Spotlight, Part 1

This week, a change in scale is in order. While this blog focuses on the Sinking Creek Watershed, it is putting a watershed organization in the spotlight that covers the entire New River Watershed, of which Sinking Creek's watershed makes up only 1.2%. Though, like many similar organizations, it realizes that even the smallest tributaries are important when it comes to conserving a watershed. This will be a two part effort, with this first part providing a brief overview of the organization, and the second, more intimate, part coming next week, after a one-on-one phone call with Mr. George Santucci, the President of the New River Conservancy.

Sinking Creek Watershed as a part of the larger New River Watershed

Currently in its 40th year, the New River Conservancy's mission, as stated directly on its website, is "Protecting the waters, woodlands and wildlife of the New River watershed." Again, from their site, their vision is "that clean water, healthy land, and empowered people benefit our communities by creating a watershed where people want to live, work, and play. The watershed includes all the streams and brooks that feed the river and all of the forest, fields and communities that surround it." They have drawn out 3 steps to achieve their mission; they are, 1. Share and Foster Research, 2. Educate and Inspire, and 3. Protect and Restore. With a potentially inexhaustible list of issues to focus on, one of the more important current issues is the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, as highlighted in the previous blog. This issue, and hopefully several others, as well as their view and efforts towards overall watershed stewardship within the New River watershed, including the Sinking Creek watershed, will be the focus of the phone call with Mr. Santucci on Thursday, October 13, 2016.


http://www.newriverconservancy.org/

The Mountain Valley Pipeline

The Sinking Creek Watershed in Craig & Giles Counties, Virginia