Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Episode 91 (12-5-11): Virginia Marine Resources Commission

Click to listen to episode (2:28).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT 


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 5, 2011. 



This week we feature a variety of sound and voice to introduce the scope of one of Virginia’s oldest natural-resource agencies.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds.



SOUND.



Streambeds, tidal waters, shellfish, finfish, wetlands, docks, piers, marinas, and other coastal and inland aspects of water resources fall under the regulatory and management responsibilities of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which you heard in an excerpt from its October 25, 2011, meeting.  As stated by the Commission’s Web site, “The Code of Virginia vests ownership of ‘all the beds of the bays, rivers, creeks, and shores of the sea in the Commonwealth to be used as a common by all the people of Virginia,’ and directs the Marine Resources Commission to manage those natural resources as a public trust.”  The modern Commission was organized in 1968, but its origin dates to Virginia’s creation in 1875 of an Oyster Police Navy and a Fish Commission.  The Commission’s three main areas of work now are fisheries management, habitat management, and law enforcement by the Virginia Marine Police, the successor to the Oyster Navy.  The eight-member citizens’ board that oversees the Commission’s work meets monthly in Newport News.



For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.



SHOW NOTES

Acknowledgments: Audio of the October 25, 2011, meeting of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission was taken from the Commission’s Web site at http://www.mrc.state.va.us/calendar.shtm (accessed 12/5/11).  The shorebirds recording was taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sound Clips Web site at http://www.fws.gov/video/sound.htm (available for public use).  Other sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio.

Sources: Information on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission's history and activities was taken from the Commission’s home page at http://www.mrc.state.va.us/.  Click the following for information on the Commission’s three main program areas: Fisheries Management, Habitat Management, and Law Enforcement (Virginia Marine Police)


Recent Virginia Water News
            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.


Water Meetings and Other Events
            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.
 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Episode 89 (November 21, 2011): "Rappahannock Rapids" by Morey A. Stanton

Click to listen to episode (2:29).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT
 
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 21, 2011. 

This week we feature a delightful banjo tune inspired by one of Virginia’s major rivers.  Have a listen for about 45 seconds. 

MUSIC. 

You’ve been listening to part of “Rappahannock Rapids,” written by Morey A. Stanton.  After many years of visits to Rappahannock River Campground in the Culpeper County town of Richardsville, Mr. Stanton wrote the tune for the staff at the campground, who now feature it on their Web site.  The headwaters of the Rappahannock River, and of its major tributaries the Hazel and Rapidan rivers, begin at the Blue Ridge in Fauquier, Rappahannock, Madison, and Greene counties.  The Rappahannock ends at its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay, where the river separates Lancaster County on the Northern Neck from Middlesex County on the Middle Peninsula.  The river’s approximately 184-mile length is rich with natural beauty and aquatic habitats, local and national history, and of course, rapids!  Thanks to Rappahannock River Campground for permission to use this week’s music. 

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. 

SHOW NOTES

“Rappahannock Rapids,” composed by Morey A. Stanton, was located in 2010 on the Web site of Rappahannock River Campground at 33017 River Road in Richardsville, Va. (Culpeper County), now online at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rappahannock-River-Campground/310182049066914; used with permission granted at that time by owners of that business.  This week’s information and music were previously included in Virginia Water Radio Episode 24 (week of July 12, 2010). 


Sources: Information on the Rappahannock River was taken from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Web site at www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=170, 11/21/11.  For a musical selection on the removal of Embrey Dam from the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, please see Virginia Water Radio Episode 71 (week of 7-11-11). 

Recent Virginia Water News 

For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events 


For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/. The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.
 


Monday, November 7, 2011

Episode 87 (November 7, 2011): "Falls of Richmond" by Timothy Seaman

Click to listen to episode (2:26).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 7, 2011.



This week we feature a musical selection that celebrates a whitewater jewel in the middle of Virginia’s capital city.  Have a listen for about 40 seconds.



You’ve been listening to “Falls of Richmond,” performed by Timothy Seaman on his 2004 CD, “Virginia Wildlife,” from Pine Wind Music.  The falls of Richmond are the series of scenic and dramatic rapids marking the Fall Line in the James River, where the river flows out of the Piedmont and into the Coastal Plain.  While providing today’s Richmond with natural habitat, scenery, and challenging whitewater paddling, the falls area also has many historical connections to the city’s role in transportation, industry, and the Civil War.  The James River Park System, started from an initial land donation in 1972, now includes 550 acres of shoreline and islands throughout most of Richmond’s Fall Line area, creating what the Friends of James River Park call a “watery and woodsy gem of a public park.”  Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music.



For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES  
Acknowledgments: Music on the CD “Virginia Wildlife” is copyright 2004 by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  “Falls of Richmond” was also featured in the sound segment of Virginia Water Radio Episode 62 (week of 4-18-11).


Sources: Information about the James River falls at Richmond was taken from the James River Association’s James River Water Trail Map (Middle Section, Map 6); and the Web site of the James River Park System, at www.jamesriverpark.org/index.php (source of quote is http://www.jamesriverpark.org/visit-the-park/about-the-park.php).  The “Virginia Wildlife” CD was a collaboration between Mr. Seaman and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; for more information, visit https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/estore/proddetail.asp?prod=VW219.

Recent Virginia Water News


For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events


For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/. The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.