RappFLOW Upper Thornton Project

by Don Audette

Summer 2006 update: Of the 162 residents and landowners in the Upper Thornton River Watershed who responded to RappFLOW's recent "Upper Thornton Watershed Survey," the majority said they value their views and scenery, privacy and lack of traffic, and quality of life. In contrast, very few choose "market value of property" or "income from farm or forest" as their most important values. About half of them most value wildlife and diversity of plants and animals. Water issues that concern people the most are "quality of well water" and "adequate supply of good drinking water." The three threats to the watershed of most concern include population growth, subdivision of land parcels, and discharge of to streams from public sewage treatment plants. The survey was mailed by RappFLOW volunteers in January to 998 residents and landowners in that 93-square-mile area of Rappahannock County, the headwaters of the Rappahannock River Basin. To read the preliminary report or obtain the survey instrument, go to www.rappflow.org.

Winter/Spring 2006: Four subwatersheds of the Rush River will be the main focus of study for RappFLOW this spring. These subwatersheds include the Upper Rush, Middle Rush, Big Branch, and Lower Rush. (Go to www.rappflow.org/my_watershed/index.html for a map.) Recent strong interest on the part of the Friends of the Rush River in protecting the quality of the Rush River helped in selection of the river as a focus of the study. The Rush River subwatersheds are part of the "People, Land and Water of the Upper Thornton River Watershed" project that RappFLOW and its partners have been conducting over the past several months. In early 2005, the focus was on the Beaverdam Creek, a tributary to the Thornton River below Sperryville.

The knowledge and concerns of landowners and residents in a small subwatershed area drive the study questions and its methods. Volunteers will have opportunities for training and field work to collect data on water quality in the Rush and its tributaries, make observations of stream bank erosion, vegetative cover along the streams, aquatic habitat, and other factors that help to assess the health of the watershed and the water. Partner organizations will provide expert staff to assist in training, field data collection, and data interpretation. Results of the study will be published on the web, reported in public meetings, and provided to partner organizations. The field data collection will take place in late March through April 2006. The schedule of activities will be available March 1.

For more information about volunteer roles and schedules of activities, see www.rappflow.org or call Bev Hunter at 540-937-4038.

Additional articles on RappFLOW: RappFLOW's sustainable forestry program draws overflow crowd Go with the FLOW: Citizens come together to protect watershed

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