Riverkeeper Program marks 10-Year Anniversary

By Heather Jacobs Deck, RIVERKEEPER®

The addition of a RIVERKEEPER® not only meant adding a significant on-the-ground presence for the River and its citizens, but also allowed PTRF the ability to offer new programs aimed at curbing pollution, educating the public and restoring the watershed. 

Each newsletter will highlight key issues impacting the Tar-Pamlico, highlight our successes and outline the challenges we face today and tomorrow. So take the journey with us and discover all of the ways in which PTRF serves the public trust in our unending battle to protect clean water for all.

Ways we represent and serve you:

• Work tirelessly on behalf of the community for clean and healthy waters in the Tar-Pamlico River, its tributaries and its wetlands
• Comment on proposed permits, policy, legislation
• Represent the public's interest in meetings and fighting for the long-term needs of the River
• Investigate pollution sources and complaints
• Serve as a technical advisor on issues important to our members
• Present at public hearings and meetings regarding the protection of the River
• Serve as an educational resource
• Provide citizen trainings
• Provide the public with information on pending legislation, proposed projects that may be harmful to the river and its tributaries, and the state of the River
• Communicate via letters to the editor and other educational media
• Serve as a liaison between the public and state agencies
• File strategic litigation when all other solutions have been exhausted

 PTRF & WATERKEEPER® Alliance

By Jerry Eatman, President, Board of Directors

For the staff and volunteers at PTRF, 2012 has been a very busy year.  It seems as if every factory proposal and permit discrepancy in North Carolina found its way back to our watershed.  While working to defend against so many problems locally it is easy to forget that we are part of a larger picture.  As a WATERKEEPER® Organization, we are working alongside many groups like ourselves, spanning to protect over 200 watersheds worldwide. We are all working to ensure clean and safe water within our communities. 

The beginning of WATERKEEPER® Alliance dates back to 1966, when local recreational and commercial fishermen of the Hudson River organized to address the high level of pollution present in their watershed and the lack of a strong government voice to counter it.  These fishermen, collectively forming the Hudson River Fishermen's Association, recognized that their method of citizen-led advocacy was the only way to protect their waters and hold polluters accountable.  They subsequently put in place the first full-time RIVERKEEPER® to patrol the river and lead efforts to protect and restore local fisheries.  They succeeded in taking on many of the nation's biggest polluters, forcing them to invest millions of dollars in clean up and restoration work on the Hudson River. 

The benchmark victories of the early Hudson RIVERKEEPER® organization led to the emergence of similar grassroots environmental protection groups.  Building on the growth and successes of these established waterkeeper organizations, WATERKEEPER® Alliance was officially founded in 1999, by environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  Today, WATERKEEPER® Alliance is one of the world's fastest growing environmental organizations.  Their goal is to empower and support all WATERKEEPERS® by increasing the ability of the local community to defend its waterways.    

PTRF qualified to become a WATERKEEPER® organization a little under ten years ago.  WATERKEEPER® Alliance acts as a network to keep PTRF connected and provides our organization with legal, scientific and communications support.  By joining this nationally recognized clean water advocacy group, PTRF was able to gain more recognition for its conservation efforts both in the Pamlico-Tar River watershed and statewide. In addition to the logistical support, having a RIVERKEEPER®'s "license" gave PTRF the ability to attract a top candidate for RIVERKEEPER® in Heather Jacobs Deck.

Ms. Deck patrols our waterways full time and makes sure we are up to date on developments that may affect the Pamlico-Tar River.  She combines teaching, researching and monitoring of riparian conditions to spread awareness of the very important issues affecting clean water in our area.  Our RIVERKEEPER® monitors legislative changes and industry developments which may need attention from our organization. Ms. Deck is a formidable advocate for the River in her own right; but having the imprimatur of the WATERKEEPER® Alliance has made her significantly more effective. PTRF has in turn contributed to the positive reputation of the WATERKEEPERS® organization by being well informed, professional clean water advocates. PTRF and the WATERKEEPER® Alliance-it continues to be a successful partnership!  

PTRF Hires Its First Riverkeeper

By Mary Alsentzer, PTRF Executive Director 2001 - 2007

When I was interviewed by the PTRF Board of Directors in 2001, I made it perfectly clear that, if they were to hire me, PTRF would take steps towards hiring its first RIVERKEEPER® as well.  In fact, I would not have accepted the job as Executive Director, if the Board had not agreed to that idea. Thus the seed was planted, and after a year we began our search for a RIVERKEEPER®.  The then Advisory Board went through a humorous exercise to narrow down an image for PTRF's first RIVERKEEPER®.  I remember cutting out countless pictures of people from magazines to hand out for discussion purposes...everything from medical doctors to hairstylists, to mechanics, beauty contestants, and scientists.  Did we want a RIVERKEEPER® with a military or law-enforcement background or more of a team-player?  Did we envision someone with political experience, or an avid environmentalist?  Such questions were handed over to the RIVERKEEPER® Search Committee, which further narrowed down the list of applicants I had considered as half-way serious contenders.  These included people with experience in nature photography, science, teaching, writing, and one young woman from Pennsylvania who had completed her Master's Degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke in water resources, and had just returned from a year in the Peace Corps in El Salvador, where she developed and directed out a massive tree-planting project with the local people.

Finalist interviews were scheduled, and it became

 increasingly clear that not only was Ms. (then) Jacobs the only highly qualified candidate, she was also the RIGHT candidate for PTRF.  I remember the booklet she put together for each Board Member describing her vision for the Pamlico-Tar RIVERKEEPER®.  Since we had never had a RIVERKEEPER® before, this impressed us all, and allowed us to better imagine what this might mean for PTRF.  I also began worrying that our top applicant might find some other interesting job before our Board made its final decision, but the fates were with us.  Heather accepted the job.

I think the Board of Directors both then and now would agree that this was one of the best things, PTRF ever did - align itself with WATERKEEPER® Alliance and support a RIVERKEEPER® for the Tar-Pamlico River.  AND...not just any RIVERKEEPER®.  For 10 years we have had the best!  Thank you Heather!  Keep up the excellent work!

Fast and Furious

By David Emmerling, Executive Director

The thing about this PTRF work is that it comes at you "fast and furious". Regardless of what that that work is - the next event like the Oyster Roast that requires months of preparation or the next legal action such as the PCS case or Rose Acres Farms comments on the most recent rules and regulations that are bad environmental ideas, or investigation of an environmental assault on the river that needs to be conducted - our lives here always seem to be in high gear. The problem with keeping your nose against a rapidly turning grindstone is that you don't look up frequently enough to see what you are accomplishing. Consequently when I began the process of cataloguing what we had accomplished over the last year I was amazed at the distance we had come and the effort we expended in the on-going work to protect our river and to secure the funds necessary to support that work.

What follows are just the highlights of our scope of work for the last year.

• CAFO: Confined Animal Feeding Operations continued to be a central focus of our efforts. Those efforts included identification of large poultry operations and observation and monitoring of poultry and swine production facilities intervention on the side of the state arguing that Rose Acre Farms be required to obtain a discharge permit and in support of local landowners and with an independent legal and regulatory strategy causing Sanderson Farms to decide against locating in Nash county. Additionally, we: opposed fracking that would impact the upper watershed; are arguing against  legislative efforts to weaken the Tar-Pam buffer rules; are opposing the discharge of water into Blount's Creek by Martin Marietta Mines; and, are working to stop the creation of a new wastewater treatment plant by Creedmoor that would discharge into the upper Tar.
• EPM: Environmental projects managed included completion of two camping platforms and one tent-camping site as the first 3 sites of the Tar-Pamlico River Blue Trail.  Nine grants were submitted and 4 awards have been received to date. There are five other projects under consideration, including a fish ladder on the upper river and a major rain harvesting project at the Senator Bob Martin Agricultural center.
• WKC: North Carolina RIVERKEEPERS® formed WATERKEEPERS® Carolina and PTRF was asked to facilitate and house the operations of the organization. The purpose of WKC is to increase the strength and impact of our advocacy voice and increase our ability to raise funds as a group.  While WATERKEEPERS® Carolina has only been fully operational for about 7 months, its progress is substantial. Successes include securing funding, addressing mercury issues and participating in planning for mercury reduction and working to improve the state's approach to nutrient assessment and management. The WKC website is functional and can be found at www.waterkeeperscarolina.org. Finally, WKC led a statewide celebration of the Clean Water Act's birthday with a swimmable, drinkable, fishable event of three separate occasions.
• Education: Our work to educate people about the river and how we can protect it has been extremely varied. In addition to speeches and classes in a variety of school and organizational settings, PTRF managed paddling and ecology experiences for families and, in collaboration with other organizations, a ground breaking program for minority and disadvantage youth that taught river ecology, paddling skills and safety, and social and lifestyle management skills.

All of this and more happened because of your support. The undiminished continuation of this work is the responsibility of all of us. Fundraising is becoming more and more difficult. Grants are harder to get and the economy continues to grow at a slow rate. There is no shortage of work to do to protect the river, but there is a shortage of money to support this work looming in the near future. Join me and let's make certain that our protection of the river is uninterrupted. Please pledge or give an additional gift today.

If you would like any additional information about any of our work or would like a personal visit to discuss your financial support of PTRF, I would welcome the invitation. We work hard every day for our river and are proud to be engaged in this work. Join me in insuring that this work will continue. Add to your support of PTRF today.

RIVERKEEPER® Update

By Heather Deck, PTRF RIVERKEEPER®

Proposed Creedmoor Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City of Creedmoor recently applied for funds from the US Department of Agriculture for possible construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and discharge to the upper Tar River in Granville County. A draft environmental assessment is expected to be released for public comment in December or January.  The City continues to seek other alternatives, including a long-term contract with their existing wastewater and water provider, the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority that discharges to the Neuse River basin, where the town is located. 

In November, your RIVERKEEPER® and Executive Director met with City of Creedmoor officials to discuss more suitable alternatives. It is PTRF's official position that we will not support a new direct discharge to the upper Tar River. This region of the River, where the wastewater discharge is proposed, is considered a high valued resource by state and federal resource agencies. Several endangered and threatened species of mussels, plants and other animals reside in this region of the Tar River. This is also the source water for hundreds of thousands of citizen's drinking water.

PTRF will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that a long-term sustainable solution for the region's wastewater needs is consistent with the need for river protection.

Martin Marietta Proposed Mine

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, is seeking to build a marine limestone mine in the Upper Blounts Creek watershed and discharge an average of 12 million gallons per day of ground and stormwater to Blounts Creek. The company has submitted additional documentation to the Division of Water Quality. DWQ is expected to release draft permits for the proposed mine in late December, early January and will be accepting public comments on the draft permit for a period of 30 days and will hold a public hearing in Washington.

The company has also applied for their water withdrawal permit from the Division of Water Resources. A public hearing is also likely to be set in the early part of 2013. For up-to-date information, please visit our website at: http://www.ptrf.org/proposedmine.php or you may choose to join our email list-serve for immediate updates on this issue as they become available. To join the mine email list-serve, please contact Kelly Jochim at kelly@ptrf.org.

Nash County Poultry Slaughterhouse

Because of growing and organized opposition from citizens and local government leaders, Sanderson Farms abruptly announced in mid November its plan to abandon its effort to build a poultry slaughterhouse in Nash County. The company, however, remains committed to building a slaughterhouse somewhere in eastern NC.

Joining PTRF in opposition to this plant and its associated poultry CAFO were other grassroots organizations such as the Nash County Landowners Association. Local citizens and the City of Wilson's ongoing legal challenges of Nash County's re-zoning process led to this decision. PTRF cannot thank the local citizens enough for their hard work, dedication, and courage to stand up to Sanderson Farms and speak out for the health of the community and their water.

PTRF's work continues, as we try to determine which community in the east will be the next target for the company. The threat from a slaughterhouse and the pollution from 500 new industrial chicken houses to support it remains a reality for the Tar-Pamlico River and its communities and PTRF will remain vigilant.

Unprecedented Pamlico Fall Fish Kill

In early October, the Pamlico River experienced numerous fish kills, mostly limited to juvenile menhaden (less than 5" in length). The kills ranged from the Pungo River region to the Washington Park area, including tributaries such as Blounts and Broad Creek and resulted in likely hundreds of thousands to potentially more than a million dead fish. Approximately 50% of the dead or dying fish were found with open sores and wounds.  While fish kills are not an uncommon occurrence in the Pamlico, the timing, spatial extent and number of fish with sores was something we have not seen in the past decade. The same phenomenon was occurring on the Neuse River, which started a few weeks earlier.

Your RIVERKEEPER® personally investigated a number of these kills, since funding cuts at the state level have left the agency in charge of responding to and recording fish kills short handed. Both water and fish samples were taken as well as estimated number of dead menhaden.

The fish samples revealed that a naturally occurring slime mold called Aphanomyces invadans (found all over the world actually and both in fresh and brackish waters) was causing the sores. It is normal to see a bloom of this slime mold (fungus) when we have a quick drop in temperature as  occurred during  the first weeks of October.   Fish in the Pamlico River region have to deal with many stressors, especially over the summer, including low to sometimes zero oxygen, nutrient pollution which can cause algal blooms, and high temperatures.  When dealing with these stressors, fish can become more susceptible to disease from things like this slime mold.

However, this slime mold is not typically the reason the fish die. This is more attributable to low oxygen levels due to algal blooms, a direct result of the ongoing nutrient pollution the river suffers from.

As always, it is important to avoid contact with waters where a visible fish kill is occurring. There are types of blue-green algae that can be a public health concern, and best to avoid when we may not know the culprit. And very importantly,  anyone with wounds, cuts, abrasions, etc should avoid contact with natural waterbodies at any point, because naturally occurring bacteria could pose a health risk, especially for those that may already have a weakened immune system.

Rose Acre Farm Contested Case

A Superior Court hearing was held on Monday, November 26 in Swan Quarter.  Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. heard oral arguments for approximately four hours about whether Rose Acre Farms, one of the largest concentrated poultry-egg operators in the country, must operate its massive Hyde County, NC facility under a Clean Water Act permit to regulate pollution from the hen houses that contaminate nearby waterways.  Rose Acre and the North Carolina Poultry Federation are appealing a North Carolina Environmental Management Commission decision that leaves room for the state to regulate the water pollution from the industrial egg farm. 

PTRF, along with Friends of Pocosin Lakes and WATERKEEPER® Alliance intervened in the case. Representing PTRF and the other interveners was PTRF's own Board of Directors President Jerry Eatman, who eloquently argued that the manure, dust and feathers being discharged from the facility contaminates nearby waters and should be required to hold a discharge permit.  PTRF now awaits the judge's decision. 

**UPDATE - Judge ruled the Clean Water Act may apply. For more details, please click here.** 

The Congenial Crab (Callinectes sapidus)

By Peter Boettger

Known as Bay View Shores in the early 20th century, the small fishing community nestled on the Chincoteague Bay is now known only as Public Landing, named so for the presence of a long public pier.  Its visitors are largely those interested in a lazy day of swimming or entertaining themselves with a string, a piece of chicken, and a dip net.  A large wooden sign that featured a prominent red crab silhouette stood outside the village, proclaiming "Welcome to Public Landing - 106 people, 38 dogs".

Crab culture was the key to much fun in those days.  In addition to catching and eating them, the crotchety crustaceans served as a never ending source for practical jokes.  A cranky crab makes a wonderful surprise visitor when covertly placed in a young lady's purse.  One of the more elaborate schemes took place on the morning of what was to be a hot mid-June day.  Tom Mulligan, the benevolent art teacher at the local high school, had proudly parked his spanking new black VW in the faculty parking lot that morning without a clue of the catastrophe to come.  Several mischievous graduating seniors in the class of 1969 deployed a dozen angry jimmies onto its seats and floors, and left them as a razor sharp reception committee for Mr. Mulligan. The pranksters did not foresee their dastardly deed taking an even more deviant turn.  Standing behind the cover of a nearby hedge, they observed no panic stricken reaction from the kindly teacher as he settled in for the drive home that afternoon.  Apparently the crabs had sought shelter from the heat of the day and crawled under the seats for shade, where they eventually succumbed to hyperthermia, dehydration, and suffocation.  However, after several more days of heat and humidity, poor Mr. Mulligan was forced to drive home with all of the windows down, where he was finally able to discern the cause of the pungent stench that had insidiously engulfed his car. 

I blame my first set of stitches on the petulant personality and intimidating claws of the blue crab.   To chase Debra Kay Ramsey down the pier while threatening her with a snapping crab seemed the perfect way to show my affection.  Disaster struck hard when I did not anticipate her tom-boyishly athletic, evasive action of leaping over a stout wooden bench on the edge of the pier, and into the water.  Holding a crab in my right hand and running full stride, my left knee slammed into the jutting corner of the bench, gashing open the flesh down to the knee cap.  A friend's mother carried me home, sobbing in her arms.  So much for romance!

When treated with respect the belligerent blue crab can provide endless hours of outdoor fun for children and adults alike.  Crabbing from a pier or bulkhead in an area crawling with crabs is low tech, inexpensive, and normally packed with action.  Excited screams and giggles are free of charge.  Kids normally do not care if crabs are keepers or not.  Patience and teamwork are learned naturally by crabbing with bait on a string.  Just have the children take turns gently inching the crabs toward the surface, while another scoops them up with the net. The greedy feeding behavior of crabs makes them vulnerable.  Even when missed or knocked off the line, they will soon be back to give the young crabbers another opportunity. 

 Its probably a good idea to avoid handling crabs altogether, if possible.  Keepers should be dumped from the net into a bucket or cooler with a small amount of water, and kept alive in the shade.  Inevitably, a crab or two will escape onto the deck and flea for the water with astounding speed.  Prepare for this scenario by having a flip-flop or other protective object handy to suppress the crab from above, and grasp it at the base of the back fin, where the dangerous claws can do no damage. 

Back in the day we believed that a crab could be sedated, simply by laying the crab on its back and rubbing its belly. But I don't recommend trying this at home.  The fact is that crabs really are the grouchy, grumpy, cantankerous curmudgeons that they appear to be.  I suppose that's why we call them "crabs".

Peter Boettger is author of Fishing the Western Pamlico, available at www.ptrf.org/store.php.

Restoration Update

2012 has been a busy year for the Restoration Program.  Despite a depressed economic state and subsequent increased competition for limited environmental grants, PTRF was able to secure funding to progress with some interesting projects.

The big news is in the continued development of the Tar-Pamlico River Blue Trail.  As part of the Blue Trail, PTRF is constructing permanent wooden camping platforms along the river's mainstem and major tributaries. Over 180 miles of river invite the paddler, boater, or fisherman to explore a unique and changing landscape as the river flows east towards the Pamlico estuary.  The vision of the Blue Trail includes a continuous series of camping platforms beginning at the most upstream navigable waters in Granville County to the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers in Beaufort and Hyde Counties. The Blue Trail will incorporate existing public camping facilities and public access locations.

PTRF was recently invited to submit an application for the N.C. Recreational Trials Program grant to obtain funding for six additional proposed platform sites that are ready for construction. We are asking for approximately $75,000 to construct sites from Rocky Mount to Blounts Bay and Broad Creek in Beaufort County.  In response to a grant application submitted back in the spring, PTRF was recently awarded $3000 from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation for procurement of materials for our next camping platform. 

And the good news keeps pouring in: PTRF was also recently awarded $50,000 from the N.C. Dept. of Justice's Environmental Enhancement Grant Program for partial funding to treat polluted stormwater runoff from the Edgecombe Community College (ECC) Campus in Tarboro, NC. With these funds, PTRF and partners NC State will construct two bioretention cells and two rain gardens to treat the runoff from the campus and improve the quality of the receiving water; Hendricks Creek. The funds will also pay for the development of designs for three stormwater wetlands and implement an educational program with our partners at ECC. Once designed, PTRF will have another shovel ready project ready for funding. This up-front work will put PTRF in a strong position to receive funds for the completion of the project. 

Another result of our efforts is some preliminary progress toward the feasibility evaluation of fish passage on the Tar River and its tributaries such as Fishing Creek.  Through PTRF's initiatives and biologists with the Wildlife Resource Agency and US Fish and Wildlife Service will be looking into the feasibility of fish passage at all sites where dam removal is not a viable option.   This is a great advancement in working towards opening our rivers to anadramous fish populations (i.e. striped bass, shad). In response to the many questions that arose from discussions about fish passage at Rocky Mount Mills and Bellamy's Mill (Fishing Creek) such as invasive species movement, specific project goals, etc, those agencies are currently developing a system for evaluating the feasibility of such projects.  Such a system will be designed to answer some of those questions.

Other projects in the works, pending grant funding, include construction of bioretention cells and rain gardens on ECU's campus in Greenville and work to advance our watershed restoration planning along Meeting House Branch, a severely impacted urban stream in Greenville.

PTRF will continue to look for beneficial projects to help protect and improve the quality of the Tar-Pamlico River and its tributaries for the benefit of all. We hope to continue the success of this year into 2013 and beyond.

Winter Fishing Report

By Richard Andrews, Environmental Project Manager

Fishing the Inner Banks in January is always an exciting time because that is the time of year when you can enjoy the cooler fresh winter air and beautiful scenery of the lower Tar River system near upstream of Washington in search of winter stripers and the constant bent pole action on nice fish.  For hardcore striper enthusiasts, this fishery is as good as it gets for our backyard for several reasons.  The first is that fishermen get to enjoy quality angling in the wintertime, which is rare in some places.  The second is that these fish can be caught with consistency on conventional light tackle and fly tackle.   The third is that you will be surrounded by one of the most pristine, natural, and wild places in North Carolina. 

The healthy stock of striped bass in the Tar-Pamlico River system is no secret.  Through restoration efforts, strict management in recent decades, and consistent stocking of hatchery raised native stock from the Tar-Pam basin, this fishery is a true modern-day success story in fisheries management. From December through early April, these fish use the lower Tar River between Greenville and Washington and (generally) the upper Pamlico River between Bath and Washington as "staging" areas to fatten up before their spring spawn.  In my opinion, the absolute best fishing in just before the spawn in March, where the topwater fishing is second to none.

In the Pamlico, we have a mixed age class of stripers, which is indicative of a healthy stock.  On any given outing, you might encounter young fish in the 6-12 inch range all the way up to young adults in the 25-35 inch range.  Those 25-30 inches seem to be frequently encountered but fish over 30 inches are rarer, although they are caught occasionally on light tackle.  The size of the stripers really just depends on the abundance of each year class that particular season.  To avoid the extreme cold water temperatures in the winter and to follow abundant food supplies, mostly schools of younger shad, alewife and blueback river herring, and menhaden, rockfish stack up in the deeper holes of the main river channels in the lower Tar River. These reaches of the river snake through a vast bottomland hardwood floodplain consisting of cypress and gum swamps and other wet-tolerant species, sometimes forming oxbows, side channels, and islands that can be confusing to the first-time visitor. 

The best baits for this type of fishing are 4-6" soft plastic paddle tail swim baits with 3/8 to 1/2 ounce jig heads.  I've found that the best paddle tails are those brands that are extremely flexible and have longer, slender tails such as the new Z-Man MinnowZ, SwimmerZ, or PaddlerZ.  The key is to find a bait with enough flexibility to allow the tail to swim while the bait is falling or while not turning the reel handle while slowly drifting through a deep hole.  Jerk Shads and Fin-S style soft plastics can also be effective if slowly jigged.  The key is to have patience and not expect an aggressive strike.  Setting the hook after feeling the first strike or tap will often cause you to miss the bite.  Often the fish that seem to be stacked up the thickest in the deepest portion of the holes are the ones that are the most lethargic.  Try working the ledges on either side of the deep channel.  The fish that are more actively feeding seem to be using them to ambush baitfish.

Another amazing winter fishing opportunity this January should take place on the lower Pamlico and Pungo Rivers.  Due to the abundance of young red drum in the estuary (those fish born in August and September of 2012) and their abundance through the late fall (many of them having not left the estuary for the ocean surfzone), we should see some amazing puppy and slot-sized drum fishing this winter.  The water in the lower rivers and in the Pamlico Sound gets crystal clear during the winter and these fish congregate in large schools and can easily be found and sight casted when conditions are favorable.  We had some really amazing days catching 50 or more 16-20 inch drum on light and ultralight tackle in December.  Popping corks with DOA or Gulp shrimp and gold Johnson spoons seemed to be the most consistent baits.  Happy fishing!