"State of the Union" - a Message on the Virginia Chapter
by Dr. Mark Hudy

On March 20th and 21st, the Virginia and Virginia Tech Chapters co-hosted an annual meeting in Blacksburg, VA. The meeting was another great example of the health (both professional and financial) of our 12-year old chapter. In spite of severe travel restrictions by many agencies, over 100 participants attended the meeting. I noticed many members came to the meeting on there own “dime” further showing their commitment to the chapter and the profession. The future of the chapter also looks bright, as students made 17 of the 26 presentations (three different universities; Virginia Tech, Randolph Macon and JMU). We continue to have a healthy mix of new blood and “old timers” which bodes well for the future.

The chapter continues to be strong financially with over $3,000 in a checking account and over $10,000 in a savings account. This is after we held the last meeting with no registration fee!

Our committees continue to be active with a full range of activities
including:

1. The development of a slide show for Chapter members to use in presentations to school groups. The slide show presents examples of fisheries’ biologists at work and is intended to peak the interest of young people interested in the profession.
2. A popular raffle with proceeds going to the Virginia Chapter’s graduate and undergraduate student scholarship program.
3. An active awards program recognizing outstanding professional and citizen conservation efforts.
4. Development of a new chapter brochure, intended for use in recruiting new members and elevating the Chapter’s image.
5. A chapter fish fry in conjunction with the Shenandoah River Sojourn. The Sojourn is a 5-day canoe trip down the South Fork Shenandoah River, intended to raise awareness of the biological, commercial, and historic importance of this famous waterway.

These are just a few of the many activities the chapter is involved in. I’m proud to be a member of this chapter and I hope you are too! Keep up the good work!

2003 Chapter Meeting Bowls Over Blacksburg

On March 20th and 21st, the Virginia and Virginia Tech Chapters co-hosted an annual meeting in Blacksburg, VA. The meeting was attended by over 100 professionals and students including Fred Harris, AFS President. Twenty-six presentations were made, seventeen by students. Other activities included: a raffle with proceeds going to the Chapter's scholarship program, a "striking" social and poster session at the Christiansburg SuperBowl, and a Chapter business meeting. At the business meeting, the election results were announced. Steve Reeser has been elected to the president-elect position. Mike Odom is the new treasurer, and Shelly Miller was elected secretary. Mark Hudy officially began his term as president, taking over for past president, Price Smith. Matt Fisher (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Dan Gibson (James Madison Uuniversity) were awarded the graduate and undergraduate student scholarships, respectively. Other Chapter awards were presented including the Professional Fisheries Biologist Award given to Scott
Smith (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), and the Natural Resources Citizen Conservation Award presented to the Clinch River Headwaters Association.

Carolina Franco, Continuing Education liaison, spoke about the AFS Professional Certification Program. Check here for the most recent information: http://www.fisheries.org/Certification.shtml

Pass on Your Passion to Future Generations

Christina Fletcher of the parent society spoke at the chapter business meeting about the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program. The Hutton Program is designed to provide opportunities for young people to learn first-hand about careers in fisheries biology, and it provides professionals with valuable mentoring opportunities. A scholarship of $3000 is awarded to students selected to participate. This program had two chapter participants in the past year, John Copeland and Paul Bugas, both of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. John Copeland's student, Tomas Ivasauskas, was honored at the Chapter business meeting for his accomplishments. Tomas and other participants have been featured in their local newspapers. For more general information about the program and how to participate, visit: http://www.fisheries.org/Hutton.shtml.

Students' Presentations Praised

As is tradition, at the 2003 annual meeting, student papers and posters were judged. The following presentations were determined to be best in their category. Congratulations to the winners!

Best Student Poster - Ira Poplar-Jeffers, Biology Department, James Madison University, "Impacts on Eastern Hemlock Dominated Riparian Ecosystems by the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid: A Long-term Case Study in Appalachian Headwater Streams"

Best Undergraduate Paper - Dan K. Gibson-Reinemer, Biology Department, James Madison University, "Fish Passage at Road Crossings in the Upper Greenbrier River Watershed, West Virginia: It's Not Just Dams and Salmonids Anymore"

Best Graduate Paper - Timothy Copeland, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, "A Comparison of Relative Weight and Physiological Status Among Four Members of a Fish Community"

Fisheries InfoBase Available Online

AFS is pleased to announce its newest service - Fisheries InfoBase. Fisheries InfoBase adds an additional 10 years (1988-1997) of our journal articles to the existing AFS online database (1998-current). AFS Journals Online contains electronic versions of the complete contents of the following AFS journals:

1) Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
2) North American Journal of Fisheries Management
3) North American Journal of Aquaculture
4) Journal of Aquatic Animal Health



Fisheries InfoBase is available immediately as a separate subscription, running through December 2003. 2003 rates are $15.00 for individual subscribers, and $190.00 for libraries and institutions. (2004 rates will be $25.00 for individuals and $380.00 for libraries and institutions).

You may search, access, and download all full-text articles from all four AFS journals from the years 1988-1997. You have unlimited access to the database during the term of your subscription. Please go to http://www.fisheries.org/publications/afs_journal.shtml for additional details and to subscribe.

Chapter Award Names Changed

The Executive Committee has approved name changes for three of the Chapter awards. Namesakes or their survivors have been contacted and were supportive and honored with the selections. The new names are as follows: 1) Robert Donald Ross Graduate Scholarship, 2) Robert E. Jenkins undergraduate scholarship, and 3) Eugene Surber Professional Fisheries Biologist Award.

Chapter Members Get Blitzed!

Four VCAFS members participated in this year's BioBlitz. The BioBlitz is an event organized to increase awareness of biodiversity issues and increase our understanding of the status of biodiversity in an area. The BioBlitz is comprised of an intensive survey for all taxonomic groups in a defined area and scheduled and public outreach. This year's event was held at Douthat State Park in Bath County on May 17 and 18. Despite the nearly constant rain, fish team participants found 22 species of fish, 1 snake, and 2 salamanders. Overall, BioBlitz participants identified 985 species! It's a great opportunity to meet and learn from other field biologists. Look for more information about next year's event in future newsletters.

Outreach Committee Stands Out

The Outreach Committee was recently approved as a standing committee within the Chapter. The committee has not wasted anytime getting started. They have organized or participated in several events including the 2003 BioBlitz and the Shenandoah Sojourn. The Sojourn is a 5-day canoe trip down the South Fork Shenandoah River, intended to raise awareness of the biological, commercial, and historic importance of this famous waterway. Participants will include students, farmers, politicians, industry reps, teachers, and government officials. The Chapter is intending to sponsor a fish fry at the event. To learn about another exciting outreach activity, read the article below.

Recruiting Future Fishheads!
by Chas Gowan

You may be surprised to learn that membership in the AFS parent society has declined in recent years. This is sadly amazing. How can membership be going down when the amount of work to do keeps increasing and when the problems we face in conserving fish get more difficult every day? One answer is that we simply are not attracting enough new biologists to the profession. Bright young people are choosing other careers. What can we do as a Chapter? I have an idea. Most of us periodically visit our kid's schools to give talks about fish or water or nature. I bring lots of slides and specimens and usually have a great time. I always slip in a message about, "Hey, working with fish is a cool job. Maybe you should think about it as a career." But, I always feel that my message would be stronger if I could give the kids a more complete picture of the options. I work with trout, so they hear about what I do with trout. But what about what someone else does with eels? Or someone else with species in the Bay? Or someone else with mussels? I know that in Virginia alone we have a wealth of examples that could make aquatic biology look like the best career imaginable. But, I don't know what all those examples are, and I don't have the pictures to bring the examples alive.

So, I'm asking for help. I am putting together a "canned" talk that gives examples of the really cool things fisheries biologists get to do in their jobs. Those of you at the recent Chapter meeting in Blacksburg saw a rough draft that included just two examples. But, I need more. Think about the best, most fun experience you had as a professional biologist (remember, this is for kids!), and drop me an email about it. Include a few digital pictures. I'll collect all the examples and put together a PowerPoint show, with script, demonstrating the amazing variety of interesting, fun, and important things that fish biologists do in their jobs. The show will be posted on the Chapter website so that anyone visiting a school has a ready-made talk. With a bit of work, we can reach a lot of kids. And maybe some day, one of them will take your job!

Chas Gowan can be reached at cgowan@rmc.edu.

VMRC Votes Against Permit to Supply Reservoir

On May 14, 2003 the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 6-2 to deny a permit application submitted by the City of Newport News. This permit application was related to the King William Reservoir and would have allowed the construction of an intake pipe on the Mattaponi River that would supply a 12.2 billion gallon reservoir. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not yet posted comment on the action.

Check with the following websites for regular updates:
http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/kwr/King-William-Reservoir.htm
http://www.mrc.state.va.us/

Gambusia Touted in Media as "Secret Weapon" Against Mosquitoes and WNV

Several media sources in Virginia have recently given a small fish a very big job-rid Virginia of mosquitoes, in general, and the West Nile Virus, specifically. The fish in question is the eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki. This species is native to the Atlantic Slope drainages of the Coastal Plain and parts of the Piedmont in Virginia and has been introduced outside of its range in past mosquito control efforts. However, there are fears that further introductions, even within its range, will severely reduce existing amphibian, fish, and insect populations and may disrupt the natural systems already in place. It is a prolific breeder and highly adaptable, which makes it a formidable predator of mosquitoes and other native species.

The Virginia Deptartment of Game and Inland Fisheries is not advocating the use of mosquitofish for mosquito control but is permitting localities to use it as one part of their overall mosquito control plan in specific situations. Those situations include stormwater management ponds, golf course ponds, and ornamental ponds that don't already have a well-established community of fish, amphibians and aquatic insects and are not connected to other waterbodies. Visit the Department's website at http://www.dgif.state.va.us/ to view more information on the subject and the agency's position.

More information on this species can be found in Jenkins and Burkhead's Fishes of Virginia and at the following website: http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/poeciliidae.html

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Be Warned!

On March 16, 2003 Governor Mark Warner signed into effect HB 2752, the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species Act. This bill creates the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species Act within the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. It declares the zebra mussel and northern snakehead fish as nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species and authorizes the Board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to declare other nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species. This act also makes it illegal to knowingly import, possess, transport, sell, purchase, give, receive, or introduce into state waters, any nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species without a permit.

Permits may be issued for research by recognized academic institutions or government agencies upon receiving satisfactory assurance that adequate safeguards will be maintained to prevent the escape or introduction of any such species into state waters. Any person who violates this Article or who knowingly obstructs the Director in carrying out his duties, shall (1) be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000, and (2) be liable for the costs of investigation, control, and eradication incurred by any state agency or local government of the Commonwealth as a result of such unlawful conduct.

Visit the following sites to find complete text on this subject:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?031%2Bful%2BCHAP0446%2Bpdf
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?031%2Bful%2BCHAP0446

New Forest Plan Unveiled
by Dawn Kirk

The Proposed Revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the Jefferson National Forest is "the blueprint for improving the health, productivity, and enjoyment of the Jefferson National Forest." A major change from the 1985 Jefferson National Forest plan is in the management of riparian areas. Rather than just buffering them from other management activities, they have been designated their own Prescription or "management area". Riparian Corridors (Prescription 11) include streams, lakes, wetlands, and floodplains. This management prescription is allocated to approximately 73,600 acres (10%) across the Jefferson National Forest. Riparian corridor widths are designed to encompass the riparian area defined on the basis of soils, vegetation and hydrology and the ecological functions and values associated with the riparian area. The minimum width for the corridor adjacent to perennial streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, springs, or seeps is 100 feet (increases with slope). The minimum width for intermittent streams is 50 feet (increases with slope).

The emphasis of the Riparian Prescription is to retain, restore, and/or enhance the inherent ecological processes and functions of the associated aquatic, riparian, and upland components within the corridor. Channeled ephemeral streams receive protection from management activities under the Forest-wide standards. There is a 25-foot wide zone along channeled ephemeral streams where active management is limited. The Summary, Proposed Revised Land and Resource Management Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and Appendices are available electronically at http://www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/gwj/forestplan/.


These documents are also available at many local public libraries and all Jefferson National Forest offices. You may also request a hard copy of the documents from us as available. Please bear in mind these documents contain 1,342 pages.

The comment period will close July 3, 2003. You should send your comments to: Jefferson National Forest Content Analysis Team, PO Box 221150, Salt Lake City, UT 84122 or e-mail to: jefferson@fs.fed.us. Electronic comments submitted directly to Forest Service employees will not be accepted.