Rapidan and Robinson State of the Rivers 2015

Rapidan and Robinson State of the Rivers 2015

A StreamSweepers report to landowners and watershed

supporters

State of the Rivers

• The Land around the Rivers• The River Valleys• The Rivers• Recommendations to Help People and Wildlife

The Land Around the Rivers

Robinson River

Rapidan River

Typical Upper Landscape around Rivers

~80% Forest Cover

Typical Landscape Around Lower River

Under 50% Forest Cover

The River Valleys

Floodplain (without trees)

River Forest Cropland Water Urban Hay/Pasture

Rapidan 29.9% 16.1% 5.5% 3.4% 45.2%

Conway 22.4% 29.3% 0.6% 8.5% 39.3%

Hazel 37.9% 14.4% 1.6% 2.0% 44.1%

Hughes 30.4% 9.5% 0.0% 8.9% 51.2%

Jordan 41.0% 0.5% 0.3% 3.8% 54.5%

Robinson 16.0% 12.8% 1.8% 9.5% 59.9%

Rose 13.7% 1.3% 0.0% 18.0% 67.0%

Rush 42.7% 0.5% 2.0% 4.4% 50.5%

South 16.3% 9.9% 2.6% 7.0% 64.2%

Thornton 30.9% 0.9% 2.6% 7.7% 58.0%

Low Percentage of Trees in River Valley Floodplains

Clear or tan areas are without trees

The Rivers

The Quality of the Canopy, Bed, and Bank

The Rapidan River from SNP to the Rappahannock

Five Sections

The Robinson River from Village of Banco to the Rapidan

Three Sections

Rapidan High Quality

Rapidan Low Quality

Robinson High Quality

Robinson Low Quality

Comparison of 2014/2015 to 2000 Shows Conditions Generally Worsening

Red shows river health decline since 2000

Water Quality Partnership National Cancer Institute

Recommendations• Need more forest and native grasslands in rivers landscapes

– especially in floodplains*• Need new businesses that will pay landowners to grow river

friendly crops• Rivers need ongoing Sweeping – people keep treating rivers

like dump**• Probably need for new comprehensive programs to eliminate

endocrine disrupting compounds getting into environment

* Invasive species becoming real problem** Especially in water supply rivers – tires leach endocrine

mimicking compounds