Balmy November Padddling

Eric S and Wally J (pictured above) met me for a pre-Turkey Day paddle from Kingwood to Byram. The Delaware River was running strong at just over 6' and we had the river to ourselves except for one motorboater near the end. It was rejuvenating just being out on the water, something none of us had done much of recently.

If the predicition of a warmer than normal winter comes true we'll have many more opportunities to paddle the Delaware River and its tributaries over the next 3 months.

Ponyland beckons...

Sunset on Assateague Bay as seen from Assateague Island National Seashore.

Assateagure Island National Seashore is the place I return to for an outstandingly remarkable beach experience and escape from the Piedmont rocks. It's devoid of crowds and the typical shore town blight and has been a favorite, easy-to-reach destination for more that two decades.

And it is always advisable to visit off season when the mosquitos are down and out. This makes the ponies happy and when they are happy, I am happy.

Happiness is a good thing, so we headed to Assateaggue last weekend, staying at the Victorian era Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, MD. Normally we camp next to the dunes, but this time the warmth and ease of the hotel won out.

Only downside was we only had just two days to beach comb and view the sunset.

According to the gage at Riegelsville the river shot up almost a foot so far today. A cursory look at upriver gages such as the Brodhead Creek at Minisink Hills show that the upper watersheds are getting more precipitation out of the storm. The Musconetcong River has been disapointingly low despite the release from Lake Hopatcong. We wait impatiently for it to rise so it can be paddled a few times before winter sets in.

RIP Rivermom

Pic #1 Rivermom does her signature headstand while surfing.
Pic #2 Rivermom was among the 100 notable paddlers of the 20th Century.

Rivermom is gone but her legacy will live on for generations.

A member of the Chicago Whitewater Association (click to visit their memorial page, where the above pictures were borrowed), Marge 'Rivermom' Cline was best known as an American Canoe Association instructor. She was included in Paddler Magazine's list of the 100 most influential paddlers of the twentieth century. Check that link for her writeup, and also take note that Harold Deal appears right below Rivermom.

She came to Phillipsburg during the heatwave of 1998 (or was it '97?) to teach ACA Instructor Trainer and ACA Instructor Certification courses for solo and tandem canoe. I was among the later group of fortunate students to do a cert course under the guidance of one of the nation's most famous and prolific teachers. The course took place over two consecutive weekends at Phillipsburg, Round Valley Reservoir, and Lambertville Wing Dam, where the class was also visited by Harold Deal and Dan House.

Rivermom was a demanding instructor who put a lot of emphasis on teaching & learning theory and requiring her students to demonstrate their teaching skills, as opposed to just focusing on paddling technique. I can also testify that she liked to show off her canoeing headstand - in this case she did it in a solo canoe on a choppy Round Valley Reservoir. She also demonstrated some awesome Freestyle Canoeing technique.

Visit the Chicago Tribune for a wonderful obit. RIP Rivermom.

Kayak, canoe master
Indomitable paddling instructor who drew thousands into the water held safety in high regard, but also knew how to have a good time

By Trevor Jensen Tribune staff reporter
November 1, 2007

A master of canoe and kayak, Marge Cline was one of the top paddling instructors in the country. A stickler for safety and proper technique in her classes, she thrived on the exhilaration of taking on a wild river. Her signature move was a headstand in the bow as her canoe shot through white water...

A Victory for Truth...

Looking upstream toward Devil's Tea Table on a perfect Monday trip with Riverkeeper friends including Katy (pictured), Shannon, Chari (Schuylkill Riverkeeper) and husband Jay, and Fred Stine. Felt great to be back on the water and paddling with such learned company.

Finally, after two years of the local print media regurgitating "the reservoirs did it" myth promoted by the self-proclaimed (and self-serving) "river rats" -- one newspaper -- The Hunterdon Democrat-- gets it right.

Well, they didn't get it completely right, but they have come closest to the truth. The NYC reservoirs did not cause any of the last three Delaware River floods. Permanent voids of 20% in the big reservoirs will NOT PREVENT flooding along the lower Delaware River floodplain.

Will leaving voids in the reservoirs reduce flooding? Maybe yes, maybe no. NOT if the preciptation during a particular storm event falls mostly within the Pennsylvania tributary watersheds and/or downstream from the reservoir drainage areas. The floodplain will flood again. Nothing will change that basic fact. Keeping the reservoirs at 50% won't stop flooding below Easton if the Pocono and Lehigh watersheds are pounded by rain on top of snow melt! The people who live along the river are there at the mercy of the river. Those who take positive action such as raising buildings or seeking a property buy-out are to be commended for accomodating reality.

This topic of Delaware River flooding is complex and involves many variables. The so-called "river rats" present a simplistic, fear based narrative that distorts both the historical flood record and watershed science. Unfortunately these distortions have become popular myth. They just keep repeating the lies over and over again to kind of catapult the propaganda. Reminds me of....oh never mind.

-- "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."
George W. Bush May 25, 2005

CLEAN WATER ACTION - ACHTUNG!

Here are a few important issues that require your immediate attention.

Clean Water Action is requesting that each of us contact our congressional representatives to express support for the Clean Water Act, which has been seriously undermined by the Smirking Chimp Administration. Click here to find out more.

SUPPORT SPECIAL PROTECTION WATERS for the Lower Delaware

PLEASE consider attending one of the informational meetings sponsored by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on the proposed Special Protection Waters designation for the Wild and Scenic Lower Delaware River. The non-tidal Lower Delaware River extends from the Delaware Water Gap to Trenton/Morrisville. The upper reaches from the Water Gap to Hancock, NY already have these regs in place, which is one of the reasons we have such clean water flowing down to the Lower Delaware.

The New Jersey meeting will be held Thursday October 25, 7:00-9:00pm at the Prallsville Mill, Rt. 29, Stockton. The Pennsylvania meeting will be held Thursday November 1, 7:00-9:00 pm, in Room 315, Acopian Engineering Building at Lafayette College, Easton. Go to the DRBC website for more information.

The FINAL PUBLIC HEARING on DRBC’s proposed SPW designation will be held on Tuesday, December 4, 2:30pm at the DRBC, 25 State Police Drive , West Trenton, NJ. We need to you to attend and speak up for the river and this crucial designation in order to make sure that the high quality waters of the Lower Delaware River are kept clean and waters that need improvement are restored.

Letters in support of Special Protection Waters designation are urgently needed. Please send your letter for the record to DRBC today –deadline for all letters is December 6, 2007. Let the DRBC know you care about the Delaware River!

For a sample letter go to www.delawareriverkeeper.org (see my links list) and look for action alerts.

BACKGROUND
In 2000, the U.S. Congress enacted the “Lower Delaware River Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” which included most of the Lower Delaware River into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network then petitioned the DRBC to designate the Lower Delaware River as Special Protection Waters (SPW), a classification system that is similar to New Jersey’s Category 1 water quality classification and Pennsylvania’s Exceptional and High Quality classification program..

The DRBC collected water quality data showing that that the Lower Delaware has higher water quality than the existing minimum standards. Based on that, the DRBC has decided to move towards permanent SPW for this section to protect that high quality and the exceptional resources that merited it Wild and Scenic status. The goal of SPW is to maintain exceptionally high scenic, recreational, and ecological values or water supply uses.

The SPW regulations address point sources of pollution by requiring higher levels of treatment (Best Demonstrable Technology) for new large discharges that are reviewed by the DRBC. This applies to new and/or expanded discharges to tributaries and the main stem. DRBC will set water quality targets at set points in the river and at the mouth of major tributaries based on the water quality data they collected and analyzed. These targets will establish existing water quality parameters for discharge permits. Once water quality standards are established, it is also required that there will be no measurable change in existing water quality from new discharges for these higher-than-standard quality waters. An alternatives analysis that first considers no-discharge technologies is also required.

The Special Protection Waters program also requires that nonpoint source pollution control plans to be prepared by applicants proposing new discharges and/or new large water withdrawals. Best management practices and infiltration strategies for new development will be required to prevent, manage, and recycle stormwater runoff.

In short -- Please take the time to write a letter to the DRBC supporting Special Protection Waters.

Need more information or inspiration? Email me at rivergeek@verizon.net.

Fall Paddling...

Pony Truss Bridge over the Musconetcong River, one of only two in New Jersey and listed as a National Historic structure.

Today is American Rivers Blog Action Day, which they say is "uniting bloggers from around the world to put one important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment."

Nearly 9,000 bloggers - with an audience reach of 6.5 million subscribers - are blogging about rivers today, so they say.

October through March is when we like to paddle the smaller creeks and rivers. Right now most are still too low but November usually brings a fair amount of rain to bring the flows back up.

In an earlier post I erroneously stated that this year is the Five-year/five-foot drawdown of Lake Hopatcong, which brings steady flows to the Musconetcong River. However, upon checking with Cliff Lundin (former Mayor of Hopatcong and Musconecong Watershed Assoc. Trustee) the five-year drawdown won't happen until 2008. He said "Regular 26 inch drawdown starts Nov 1. It goes at the higher outflow rate until its down 26. Next year is the big one. 60 inch drawdown starts after Labor Day."

OK paddling buds, help me remember that. LABOR DAY '08. This year is only 26" and Cliff tells me that with the drought the lake is already down 7 inches. It won't take long to go down the remaining 19 inches unless we get a big storm. Still, let's remain optimistic that November will be an average precipitation month and if that is the case we'll have many happy, albeit chilly days of creek and small river paddling in store.

Rock Snot On the Move...

Unfortunately, a new and significant invasive alien species has invaded the Delaware River Basin in NY. Click on the hypertext below for a pic. Mind you, this will in no way be as insidious as the prime invasive alien species threat. That would be Bush. Nasty shrub.

Didymo found in trout streams
Saturday, September 29, 2007
By David Figura, Outdoors editor
Syracuse Post-Standard

The presence of didymo, an invasive plant species commonly called "rock snot" by anglers, has been confirmed this week in two well-known trout streams in the Catskills.

Steve Lorence, fisheries manager of the DEC office in Delaware County, said sampling by aquatic biologists has confirmed the presence of the slimy brown-colored plant on at least five sections of the West Branch of the Delaware River, including the confluence with the Beaverkill. In addition, it's been found near the Route 191 bridge in Deposit on the West Branch of the Delaware River.

Unlike many aquatic nuisance plants, didymo or Didymosphenia geminata, grows on the bottom of flowing and still waters. It can develop thick mats even in fast-flowing trout streams. In its presence, fishing becomes difficult, the abundance of bottom-dwelling organisms declines, and trout and other fish that feed on those organisms also decline. It resembles rotting cardboard when it dries and rots.

Its presence in the Catskills, often touted as one of the premier trout-fishing areas of the state, could mean trouble for an area where millions of dollars in tourism related to fishing is spent each year. The microscopic algae cling unseen to waders, boots, boats, lures, hooks, sinkers, fishing line and other fishing gear, and remain viable for several weeks under even slightly moist conditions, according to the DEC.

Absorbent items - for example, the felt-soled waders and wading boots commonly used by stream anglers - can easily spread it. Canoeists and kayakers can also unknowingly contribute to its spread.

Lorence said the Beaverkill, a legendary trout stream, has not been tested yet as workers taking samples in the East Branch of the Delaware did not want to risk spreading the organism into that stream after wading in the other stream.

"Anyone who walks in the East Branch, and then the Beaverkill, could spread it," Lorence said.

It Can Get REAL Low...

Delaware River @ low flow looking upstream from Lambertville-New Hope Wing Dam.

The Delaware River is about as low as it can go in this era of controlled flow. Before the giant drinking water reservoirs were built and began releasing water during peiods of drought, it would have been possible to walk across many shallow sections of the river. An antique postcard depicting the Lambertville-New Hope Wing Dam shows many more exposed rocks than one would find today. For that matter, the Upper Delaware didnt support trout before the reservoirs were built, when the river was exclusively a warm water fishery.

The Delaware River at Belvidere shows the flow to be about 300 cfs below daily average for this time of year.

The following report deserves attention. What would the powers-to-be (the oil oligarchy) do if most of us were dependent on small, localized, renewable sources of energy? What lies would they then have to concoct to keep the military industrial complex beast alive? On the other hand, can we run bombers and ships with renewable energy sources? Solar powered ICBMs?

Study: Best Energy Strategies To Meet Demand For Electricity Are Green, Small And Local
9/25/2007

The wisest energy strategy for the United States, and indeed other countries facing similar challenges, is to move away from their reliance on large-scale centralized coal and nuclear plants, and instead, invest in renewable energy systems and small scale decentralized generation technologies.

According to Benjamin Sovacool from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, these alternative technologies are simultaneously feasible, affordable, environmentally friendly, reliable and secure. His analysis (1) and recommendations are published in Springer’s journal Policy Sciences.


The electricity sector as it currently operates is at the mercy of natural disasters, price fluctuations, terrorist attacks and blackouts. Coupled with other, more long-standing problems such as increasing levels of pollution, growing vulnerability and inefficiency of transmission and distribution networks, and rising electricity prices related to disruptions and interruptions in fuel supply, these challenges add to the need for an evaluation of alternative energy technologies.

Sovacool studies in detail the current technological composition of, and challenges faced by, the American electric utility industry. He then evaluates the broad portfolio of energy technologies available to American electricity policy makers, against five criteria: technical feasibility, cost, negative externalities (or impact on human health and the environment), reliability and security.

Sovacool’s detailed analysis shows that three other sets of technologies – energy efficiency practices (like more efficient appliances), renewable energy systems (such as generators that create electricity from sunlight, wind, and falling water), and small-scale distributed generation technologies (such as generators that produce decentralized and modular power close to its point of consumption) – appear to offer many advantages over large and centralized nuclear and fossil fueled generators.

Sovacool’s paper shows how these alternative approaches can offer policy makers solutions to curb electricity demand, minimize the risk of fuel interruptions and shortages, help improve the fragile transmission network, and reduce environmental harm. He concludes that “it is these miniature generators – not mammoth and capital-intensive nuclear and fossil fuel plants – that offer the best strategy for diversifying electrical generation in a competitive energy environment.”

1. Sovacool BK (2007). Coal and nuclear technologies: creating a false dichotomy for American energy policy. Policy Sciences; 40:101-122 (DOI 10.1007/s11077-007-9038-7).
SOURCE: Springer Policy Science Journal

How Low Can It Go?

Sinepuxent Bay sunset as seen from Assateague Island National Seashore. I hope to be there communing with the ponies this October.

Every stream in the Delaware River Basin, including the Delaware River is currently running below the median daily flow. Glaring example is the Musconetcong at Bloomsbury, where the gage reads 98 cfs. I don't recall seeing it that low since I've been reading this gage, and that's been about 14 years (oh mein godt!).

With no precipitation predicted any time soon, will the drought watch be revived?

Trickle down...

Chris and Sue Meyers shoot the last rapid before Lackawaxen, PA.

Sip sip sip...that's the sound of a parched landscape thirsting for for a real rain, which as of this morning has been but a mere drizzle. We could use a half inch of slow soaking rainfall, but it will more likely be a brief deluge.

Enjoyed a trip to the Upper Delaware last Saturday. Stayed at the Lackawaxen Inn where the Pike County Republicans were dining. Place was crawling with Banana Republicans -- stiff hair and all! (WHY ME LAWD?) And I had just received a new shipment of the bumper stickers and didn't have them with me. "Buck Fush" "Lobotomies for Republicans: It's the Law!" "Blood for Oil" Oh well.

We paddled two tandem canoes (I borrowed Wally's Dagger, a sweet canoe) from Narrowsburg to Lackawaxen. It is such a beautiful 12-mile stretch of the river. Looking forward to an autumn trip to the Upper Delaware.

Watching Gabrielle...

Harvesting grapes at Amwell Valley Vineyard. Gabrielle does not appear in the photo. That would be Rosalita. However, Gabrielle may appear as a tropical storm or... worse.

The lovely dry weather continues but that may be interrupted by tropical storm Gabrielle brewing east of Florida, one that foreCATsters suspect might ride up the coast. We could stand a soaking as long as it's brief. Trouble may be brewing though and the weather man says beware...this could become an East Coast Hurricane.

Says AccuWeather: As the high moves over the Atlantic it will bring the low pressure closer to the East Coast....Meteorologists are concerned the system will reach hurricane strength before reaching the East Coast, likely impacting coastal areas from South Carolina to southern New England.

Helped out with the harvest of Gewurztraminer, Ravat 51 and Marechal Foch yesterday. We crushed about 6 tons of grapes. It looks like 2007 will be a good vintage, what with all the California like weather we're enjoying.

Looking forward to an overnighter in Lackawaxen and canoe trip on the upper Delaware this weekend. Balm for the soul.

Drought Watch on PA side of river

Musconetcong River at Bloomsbury as it looked during the 1999 drought, just a month before Hurricane Floyd took the river well out of its banks.

Pennsylvania declared a drought watch for all counties except the eastern part of the state several weeks ago. The eastern portion of the state was added to the watch last week. Most of eastern PA flows to the Delaware River.

Looking around the Delaware River Basin most streams are running at or slightly below normal.

Of course, the calendar is nearing the peak of the hurricane season (Sept. 10) and this is when tropical storms are most likely to form. Indeed, Tropical Storm Felix may be forming right now.

A few of our recent droughts have been broken by tropical storms and hurricanes, notables being Hurricane Floyd and Tropical Storm Allison.

Let's hope for rain to come after the hurricane season ends.