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2015 Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Conference – Shenandoah University

Bridging the Water Quality Data Gap

The Friends of the Shenandoah River is pleased to announce it is one of the hosts of 2015 Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Monitoring Conference on August 6-8 at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.

11080645_433789316781694_8836620194275976748_oA chance to share and learn form other monitors and programs, this conference will highlight citizen volunteer water monitoring efforts from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. A variety of special events and breakout sessions have been planned as well. There is an early bird canoe trip scheduled on Thursday, and on Friday evening enjoy screenings at the first biennial Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Monitoring Film Festival.

The director of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, Mr. David Paylor; and Nickolas DiPasquale, Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program are the keynote speakers of the conference.

The importance of volunteer water quality monitoring groups has grown significantly in this day of incessant budget cuts, and the rise of pollution reduction programs. Representatives from state and local government will talk about how helpful our groups have been to them

We are excited that the Saturday program includes two tours of our own water quality laboratory at Shenandoah University named in honor or Fran Endicott . Our local partner, The Downstream Project, will be showing a couple of short videos and sharing the successes of the C Spout Run partnership in the habitat restoration of Clarke County’s Spout Run.

For people not familiar with karst geology and its impact on water quality (certainly not us from the Shenandoah Valley!), there will be a tour of one of our karst cave formations and a discussion of karst and it’s role in our regional history.

So please mark your calendars for those dates, August 6 – 8 and register by July 23 to ensure you have a space for the conference! Three local hotels are offering reduced rates.  Details about reserving a room and other conference information is available on Facebook.

Download Conference Flier and Agenda

Welcome Urbie Nash to the FOSR Board of Directors

Urbie retired in 2007 after 34 years as a professional environmental engineer. He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. During his professional career he worked in industrial and municipal water and wastewater treatment plant design, construction and operation. He also was a project and program manager on multimillion dollar EPA, US Navy and private contracts for the investigation and clean‐up of hundreds of hazardous waste sites. Most of his work experience was with large, multiple‐delivery order environmental programs that included technical analysis, environmental compliance, site characterization and investigation, remedial design, and remedial action services in the hazardous waste, solid waste, water, and wastewater fields. He managed and provided engineering expertise for feasibility and treatability studies, engineering design, construction, and operation of a wide range of industrial municipal and groundwater treatment systems.

Urbie has been heavily involved in professional and volunteer conservation organizations for 40 years. He is past president of the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Past President of the Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited, and past member of the Trout Unlimited National Board of Directors and member of the National Executive Committee. He is also a past member of the State of Virginia Water Plan Advisory Committee, past member of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Forestry and Wildlife Advisory Committee and past member of the Upper North River Water Plan Advisory Committee, past president of the Unitarian Universalists Fellowship of Waynesboro, past president of the Riverfest Committee and a member of the Invista Citizens Advisory Committee.

He presently serves as chairman of the South River Steering Committee, a group of local volunteers focused on restoring a trout fishery in the South River near Waynesboro, Virginia and on the executive committee of the Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited. He is also presently the chairman of the City of Waynesboro’s Stormwater and Flood Control Commission.

 
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