Monday, July 18, 2022

Episode 632 (7-18-22): Checking on the Chesapeake’s Condition

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:30).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-15-22.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of July 18 and July 25, 2022.

SOUNDS – ~6 sec

Those sounds of shorebirds and Chesapeake Bay waves open an episode on the condition of that bay, which we last explored in an August 2020 episode.  We set the stage with the instrumental opening of a song whose title calls to mind some colors of the Chesapeake region’s waters, lands, sky, and creatures.  Here’s about 30 seconds of “The Deep Blue Green,” by Andrew VanNorstrand.

MUSIC – ~31 sec – instrumental

In June 2022, the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science issued its latest annual Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card, for conditions in 2021.  For the report’s first part, to assess Bay waters, the report compares the status of several physical, chemical, and biological indicators to established goals, in order to generate condition scores ranging from zero to 100%.  Combining the indicator scores, the overall score for 2021 was 50, an increase from the 45 score for 2020 data; the report characterized the 50 score as “moderate health” and gave it a letter grade of C.  The score when the Report Card started in 1986 was 48; the highest score since then was 55 in 2002, and the lowest was 36 in 2003.

For the report’s second part, the overall watershed assessment, the report for 2021 looked at three categories of indicators: ecological, societal, and economic.  These resulted in a score of 56, characterized as “moderate health” and given a letter grade of C+.  This was the first year that three categories of indicators were used for the watershed assessment, so the results aren’t directly comparable to previous years.

Besides the Maryland center’s annual report, several other Bay condition reports are regularly available.  These include the Chesapeake Bay Program’s annual “Bay Barometer” report; the Bay Program’s “Chesapeake Progress” Web site, with updates on progress toward the goals of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s biennial “State of the Bay” report; and reports by various groups on specific Bay areas, such as the James River Association’s “State of the James” reports.  All depend on data gathered by various sources, including universities; governmental agencies at the federal, state, and local levels; and non-governmental organizations.

The Chesapeake Bay is the United States’ largest estuary.  Monitoring its condition is a large part of decades-old efforts to improve and sustain this irreplaceable water body.

Thanks to Andrew VanNorstrand for permission to use “The Deep Blue Green.”  We close with about 50 seconds of another musical selection, created for our previous episode on Chesapeake Bay conditions.  Here’s “Chesapeake Bay Ballad,” by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at the Yale School of Music.

MUSIC – ~51 sec – instrumental

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The waves sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio at the Chesapeake Bay on Kent Island, Maryland, June 22, 2010.

The shorebirds sound was taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Digital Library, http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/; the specific audio file was “Shore birds close,” online at https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/audio/id/66/rec/8.

“The Deep Blue Green,” from the 2019 album “That We Could Find a Way to Be,” is copyright by Andrew VanNorstrand, used with permission.  More information about Andrew VanNorstrand is available online at https://greatbearrecords.bandcamp.com/.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 504, 12-23-19.

“Chesapeake Bay Ballad” is copyright 2020 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio; a 2020 graduate in Horn Performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York; and a 2021 graduate of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.  He is currently a graduate student at the Yale School of Music.  More information about Torrin is available online at https://www.facebook.com/torrin.hallett.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 604, 11-22-21.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

IMAGES

(Unless otherwise noted, photographs are by Virginia Water Radio.)

View of the Chesapeake Bay looking downstream from the Bay Bridge-Tunnel (between Virginia Beach and Northampton County), October 7, 2007.

View of the Chesapeake Bay looking upstream from Sandy Point State Park in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, March 21, 2010.


Summary charts for Chesapeake Bay waters (upper) and watershed (lower) from the “Chesapeake Bay & Watershed 2021 Report Card” (covering data through 2021; published in June 2022), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.  Images accessed from the report PDF, online at https://ecoreportcard.org/site/assets/files/2560/2021-chesapeake-bay-watershed-report-card.pdf, as of 7-18-22.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Chesapeake Bay Foundation, “State of the Bay,” online at https://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/state-of-the-bay-report/.

Chesapeake Bay Program, online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/.  Specific pages used were the following:
“Slight improvements in Bay health and new economic data added in 2021 Chesapeake Bay Report Card
,” June 7, 2022, news release by Caroline Grass;
“Bay Barometer,” April 2021 (for 2019-20 data), online (as a PDF) at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/Bay_Barometer_2019-2020_Web.pdf;
“Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement” (signed June 16, 2014), online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/what_guides_us/watershed_agreement;
“Chesapeake Progress,” online at https://www.chesapeakeprogress.com/;
“The Estuary,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/the_estuary_system.

Jeremy Cox and Timothy Wheeler, “Maryland, Virginia clamp down on crab harvests; cuts imposed as crab population hits record-low,” Bay Journal, June 30, 2022.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “2022 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey,” online at https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/blue-crab/dredge.aspx.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “Eyes on the Bay,” online at http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/.
See http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/eyesonthebay/whatsitmean.cfm for “Data Available for Viewing” (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity, algal blooms, and temperature).
See http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/eyesonthebay/links.cfm for links to other Bay water-quality data and information sources.

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, online at https://www.umces.edu/.
The “Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card” is online at https://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/chesapeake-bay/; note links for “Bay Health,” “Watershed Health,” and “Indicators.”
A June 6, 2022, news release on the report of 2021 data is online https://www.umces.edu/news/chesapeake-bay-health-score-held-steady-in-2021.
A PDF of the report of 2021 data is online at https://ecoreportcard.org/site/assets/files/2560/2021-chesapeake-bay-watershed-report-card.pdf.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, “How big is the [Chesapeake] bay?”  Online at https://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/faqs/estuary_size.php.

For More Information about the Chesapeake Bay and its Condition

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Discover the Chesapeake,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover.

Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, “Chesapeake Bay Map,” online at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/products/vmrc-chesapeake-bay-map/.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Chesapeake Bay,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/chesapeake-bay.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS):
“Bay Info,” online at https://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/index.php;
“SAV Program: Monitoring and Restoration,” online at https://www.vims.edu/research/units/programs/sav/index.php;
“Virginia Coastal and Estuarine Observing System,” online at http://vecos.vims.edu/.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission, online at https://mrc.virginia.gov/links.shtm.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” subject category.  The previous episode on Chesapeake Bay conditions was Episode 537, 8-10-20,

Following are links to some other episodes on the Chesapeake Bay.
Bay Barometer and other reports – Episode 305, 2-29-16.
Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 115, 6-18-12.
Bay TMDL, Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 475, 6-3-19.
Chesapeake Bay Commission – Episode 496, 10-28-19.
Estuaries introduction – Episode 326, 7-25-16.
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 1) – Episode 279, 8-24-15.
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 2) – Episode 280, 9-7-15.
“Smart” buoys – Episode 538, 8-17-20.
Submerged aquatic vegetation (“Bay grasses”) – Episode 325, 7-18-16.
Winter birds of the Chesapeake Bay area – EP565 – 2/22/21.

Following are other music pieces composed by Torrin Hallett for Virginia Water Radio, with episodes featuring the music.
“A Little Fright Music” – used in Episode 548, 10-26-20, on water-related passages in fiction and non-fiction, for Halloween; and Episode 601, 10-31-21, connections among Halloween, water, and the human body.
“Beetle Ballet” – used in Episode 525, 5-18-20, on aquatic beetles.
“Corona Cue” – used in Episode 517, 3-23-20, on the coronavirus pandemic.
“Flow Stopper” – used in Episode 599, 10-18-21, on “Imagine a Day Without Water.”
“Geese Piece” – used most recently in 615, 2-7-22, on Brant.
“Ice Dance” – “Ice Dance” – used most recently in Episode 606, 12-6-21, on freezing of water.
“Lizard Lied” – used in Episode 514, 3-2-20, on lizards.
“New Year’s Water” – used most recently in Episode 610, 1-3-22, on water thermodynamics and a New Year’s Day New River wade-in.
“Rain Refrain” – used most recently in Episode 559, 1-11-21, on record rainfall in 2020.
“Runoff” – in Episode 585, 7-12-21 – on middle schoolers calling out stormwater-related water words.
“Spider Strike” – used in Episode 523, 5-4-20, on fishing spiders.
“Tropical Tantrum” – used most recently in Episode 580, 6-7-21, on the 2021 Atlantic tropical storm season preview.
“Tundra Swan Song
– used in Episode 554, 12-7-20, on Tundra Swans.
“Turkey Tune” – used in Episode 343, 11-21-16, on the Wild Turkey.
“Wade in the Water” (arrangement) – used most recently in Episode 616, 2-14-22. 

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.

2020 Music SOLs 

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2018 Science SOLs 

Grades K-4: Living Systems and Processes
2.5 – Living things are part of a system.
3.5 – Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems support a diversity of organisms.
4.3 – Organisms, including humans, interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem.

Grades K-5: Earth and Space Systems
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life on Earth.
4.7 – The ocean environment.

Grades K-5: Earth Resources
1.8 – Natural resources can be used responsibly, including that most natural resources are limited; human actions can affect the availability of natural resources; and reducing, reusing, and recycling are ways to conserve natural resources.
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources.

Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment.
6.8 – Land and water have roles in watershed systems.
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.

Life Science
LS.6 – Populations in a biological community interact and are interdependent.
LS.8 – Change occurs in ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms over time.
LS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.
LS.11 – Populations of organisms can change over time.

Earth Science
ES.6 – Resource use is complex.
ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by geologic processes and human activity.
ES.10 – Oceans are complex, dynamic systems subject to long- and short-term variations.

Biology
BIO.2 – Chemical and biochemical processes are essential for life.
BIO.7 – Populations change through time.
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and ecosystems.

2015 Social Studies SOLs 

Grades K-3 Geography Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.
2.6 – Major rivers, mountains, and other geographic features of North America and other continents.
3.6 – Major rivers, mountains, and other geographic features of North America and other continents.

Grades K-3 Economics Theme
2.8 – Natural, human, and capital resources.
3.8 – Understanding of cultures and of how natural, human, and capital resources are used for goods and services.

Grades K-3 Civics Theme
3.12 – Importance of government in community, Virginia, and the United States.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.1 – Impact of geographic features on people, places, and events in Virginia history.
VS.10 – Knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia. 

United States History to 1865 Course
USI.2 – Major land and water features of North America, including their importance in history.

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.9 – Domestic and international issues during the second half of the 20th Century and the early 21st Century.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – Government at the national level.
CE.7 – Government at the state level.
CE.8 – Government at the local level.
CE.10 – Public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 – How selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 – How regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
WG.4 – Types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Government Course
GOVT.7 – National government organization and powers.
GOVT.8 – State and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – Public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT.15 – Role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Friday, July 1, 2022

Episode 631 (7-4-22): Frogs and Fireworks

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:22).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Image
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-30-22.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of July 4 and July 11, 2022.  This is a repeat of a 2016 episode celebrating the July 4th holiday.  The episode features Virginia Tech master’s degree graduate Kriddie Whitmore as a guest voice.

SOUNDS - ~ 4 sec – Gray Treefrogs and fireworks.

This week, for Independence Day episode, we drop in on a most unusual July 4th conversation: two Gray Treefrogs, surrounded by fireworks, are debating U.S. water history.  Sound unimaginable?  Well, just have a listen.

SOUNDS - ~2 sec – Frogs and fireworks.

Frog 1 – There those humans go again, shootin’ off their fireworks and makin’ it hard for us frogs to hear each other’s calls!  What’s all the ruckus about, anyway?

Frog 2 - Why, it’s July 4th!  They’re celebrating this country’s Declaration of Independence in 1776 from Great Britain.  I think it’s cool—at least it’s a break from hearing YOU guys calling every evening.

Frog 1 – And just why are YOU so excited about the birthday of this big, bustling, human country?  Seems to me that it’s been nothing but trouble for aquatic habitats and creatures like us since those first ships came over here from that Europe place.  Everywhere we try to hop, there’s polluted rivers and lakes, lost wetlands and other habitats, and hot, dry pavement.

Frog 2 – Well, yeah, you’re right, partly.  This country’s waters have had a pretty hard history.  And we amphibians have had the worst of it in some cases and places, with this permeable skin we have.  But you’re forgetting about some positive things.  The humans’ Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, and a bunch other important acts, too.  And right here in this state, Virginia, the constitution says it’s the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction.

Frog 1 - Have all those things done any good?

Frog 2 – Well, not always or everywhere.  Just in Virginia, hundreds of water bodies are impaired and need expensive clean-up programs.  For instance, I’ve got cousins living near that Chesapeake Bay, and they tell me every year it’s some things good, other things fair, and still others needing a ton of work.  But many rivers and lakes certainly are in better shape than they were 40 or 50 years ago; the Potomac River’s one example.  Those humans have many competing interests, so sometimes what they do isn’t so good for water, or lands, or creatures like us. But other times, it is.  People have learned a lot over the years about using and managing natural resources more sustainably, and all kinds of people work hard trying to do that.

Frog 1 - Yeah, I guess you’re right.  You know, it’s not easy being a frog, but I guess it’s pretty tough being a person, too.

Frog 2 – Now that’s a pretty realistic call!

SOUNDS - ~3 sec – fireworks.

Frog 2  – Hey, there’s the fireworks finale.  And that sounds like the Air Force Concert Band playing one of my favorites, “The Washington Post,” by John Philip Sousa.  Let’s have a quick listen, then we better get back under cover.  All the humans will be coming back from the fireworks soon.

Both frogs – Happy July 4th!

MUSIC - ~ 14 sec – instrumental.

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Virginia Water Radio episode replaces Episode 323, 7-4-16, and Episode 427, 7-2-18.

Virginia Water Radio thanks Kriddie Whitmore, a 2016 master’s degree graduate in Forestry from Virginia Tech, for participating as the guest voice in this episode.

Thanks also to Jennifer Gagnon, Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Conservation, for reviewing a draft of the episode.

This episode’s frog and fireworks sounds were recorded Blacksburg, Va., around 9:30 p.m. on July 4, 2015.

This episode’s music was an excerpt of “The Washington Post,” written by John Philip Sousa in 1889, and performed here by the United States Air Force Concert Band on their 2001 album “I Am An American,” accessed online at http://www.allmusic.com/album/i-am-an-american-mw0002256231, as of 6-29-22.  Information about “The Washington Post” is available from the United States Marine Band, “Sousa-The Washington Post” (3:30 video), online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxrh1CrMmTY; and “The President’s Own/John Philip Sousa,” online at http://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Our-History/John-Philip-Sousa/.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGE

(Unless otherwise noted, photographs are by Virginia Water Radio.)

Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) on the deck of a residence in Blacksburg, Va., Sep. 23, 2009.

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT CONSERVATION IN THE VIRGINIA CONSTITUTION

Following are the four sections of Article XI, “Conservation,” of the Virginia Constitution, as accessed at the Virginia Legislative Information System, online at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article11/, on June 30, 2022.

Section 1. Natural resources and historical sites of the Commonwealth.

To the end that the people have clean air, pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate public lands, waters, and other natural resources, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and utilize its natural resources, its public lands, and its historical sites and buildings.  Further, it shall be the Commonwealth's policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.

Section 2. Conservation and development of natural resources and historical sites.

In the furtherance of such policy, the General Assembly may undertake the conservation, development, or utilization of lands or natural resources of the Commonwealth, the acquisition and protection of historical sites and buildings, and the protection of its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, by agencies of the Commonwealth or by the creation of public authorities, or by leases or other contracts with agencies of the United States, with other states, with units of government in the Commonwealth, or with private persons or corporations.  Notwithstanding the time limitations of the provisions of Article X, Section 7, of this Constitution, the Commonwealth may participate for any period of years in the cost of projects which shall be the subject of a joint undertaking between the Commonwealth and any agency of the United States or of other states.

Section 3. Natural oyster beds.

The natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals in the waters of the Commonwealth shall not be leased, rented, or sold but shall be held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth, subject to such regulations and restriction as the General Assembly may prescribe, but the General Assembly may, from time to time, define and determine such natural beds, rocks, or shoals by surveys or otherwise.

Section 4. Right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest game.

The people have a right to hunt, fish, and harvest game, subject to such regulations and restrictions as the General Assembly may prescribe by general law.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Chesapeake Bay Program, online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/; and “Slight improvements in Bay health and new economic data added in 2021 Chesapeake Bay Report Card,” June 7, 2022, news release, online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/slight_improvements_in_bay_health_and_new_economic_data_added_in_2021_chesa.

Commonwealth of Virginia, Constitution of Virginia, “Article XI Conservation,” accessed online at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article11/.

John D. Kleopfer and Chris S. Hobson, A Guide to the Frogs and Toad of Virginia, Special Publication Number 3, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (now Department of Wildlife Resources), Richmond, Va., 2011.

Bernard S. Martof, et al., Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1980.

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, “Water Quality Monitoring in the Potomac Estuary,” online at http://www.mwcog.org/environment/water/potomacestuary.asp.

Thomas V. Cech, Principles of Water Resources: History, Development, Management, and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., 2003.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
“National Aquatic Resources Surveys,” online at https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys;
“Summary of the Clean Water Act,” online at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Water Quality Assessments/Integrated Report,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quality/assessments/integrated-report.

Zygmunt J. B. Plater et al., Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minn., 1998.

For More Information about Amphibians in Virginia and Elsewhere

AmphibiaWeb, https://amphibiaweb.org/index.html.

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org.

J.C. Mitchell and K.K. Reay, Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Virginia, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries/Richmond (1999); available online (as a PDF) at https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/atlases/mitchell-atlas.pdf, courtesy of the Virginia Herpetological Society.  (Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles.)

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries):
“A Guide to Virginia’s Frogs and Toads,” online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/frogs-and-toads/;
“A Guide to the Salamanders of Virginia,” online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/salamanders/;
“Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/ (the Gray Treefrog entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=020007&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=19173);
“List of Native and Naturalized Fauna in Virginia, August 2020,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf;
“Virginia is for Frogs,” online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/virginia-is-for-frogs/;
“Wildlife Information,” online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/.

Virginia Herpetological Society, “Frogs and Toads of Virginia,” online at https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/frogs_and_toads_of_virginia.htm.

For More Information about Federal Environmental and Natural Resources Laws

Cornell University Law School/Legal Information Institute:
“Environmental Law,” online at https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/environmental_law;
“Natural Resources,” online at https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/natural_resources.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Laws and Regulations,” online at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations.  The section for the Clean Water Act is online at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act; the section for the Endangered Species Act is online at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-endangered-species-act; the section for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is online at https://www.epa.gov/nepa.

For More Information about Virginia Natural Resources Laws

Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Web site, online at http://naturalresources.virginia.gov/.  See the “Agencies” link to access the various Virginia state agencies involved with resources regulation and management.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Amphibians” and “History” subject categories.

Following is the link to another episode on Gray Treefrogs.

Episode 528, 6-8-20
.

Following are links to other episodes done for July 4th.

Episode 168, 7-1-13
– Water and the Revolutionary War.
Episode 220, 6-30-14 – Water origins of Virginia Declaration signers.
Episode 273, 7-6-15 – The Great Road on the Virginia Peninsula.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION 

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.

2020 Music SOLs 

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2018 Science SOLs 

Grades K-4: Living Systems and Processes
K.7 – Plants and animals have basic needs and life processes.
1.5 – Animals, including humans, have basic life needs that allow them to survive.
2.5 – Living things are part of a system.
3.5 – Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems support a diversity of organisms.
4.3 – Organisms, including humans, interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem.

Grades K-5: Earth and Space Systems
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life on Earth.

Grades K-5: Earth Resources
K.11 – Humans use resources.
1.8 – Natural resources can be used responsibly, including that most natural resources are limited; human actions can affect the availability of natural resources; and reducing, reusing, and recycling are ways to conserve natural resources.
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources.

Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment.
6.8 – Land and water have roles in watershed systems.
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.

Life Science
LS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science
ES.6 – Resource use is complex.
ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by geologic processes and human activity.
ES.10 – Oceans are complex, dynamic systems subject to long- and short-term variations.

Biology
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and ecosystems.

2015 Social Studies SOLs

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.9 – Domestic and international issues during the second half of the 20th Century and the early 21st Century.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – Government at the national level.
CE.7 – Government at the state level.
CE.10 – Public policy at local, state, and national levels.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.14 – Political and social conditions in the 21st Century.

Government Course
GOVT.7 – National government organization and powers.
GOVT.8 – State and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – Public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT.15 – Role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.