Sad news out of Maymont yesterday about the passing of its gray fox, Cane. From a press release:

The Maymont family is deeply saddened by the recent loss of Cane, the gray fox, who passed away last week at the age of 14. The long-time resident of the fox habitat had geriatric conditions including significant arthritis in his legs and spine, and he was no longer responding favorably to medical care. Consequently, he was humanely euthanized on Wednesday, November 29. He will be greatly missed by Maymont staff and guests alike.

“Cane was a wonderful ambassador for Virginia wildlife here at Maymont,” said Henry “Buz” Bireline, Director of Habitats and the Nature Center. “We were always amused to see him lounging in the sun directly underneath his species identification sign, which he did often. It was almost like he was posing for pictures with his ‘title’ over his head.”

Cane arrived at Maymont as a rescued kit in October 2003 when he was six months old, and for well over a decade, he has been a favorite animal of school children, photographers, summer campers, guests from near and far, and of course, the Maymont animal keepers and environmental educators. He was featured as a nocturnal species during night hikes and family camp-outs, and he was selected as the 2006 Animal of the Year through the Animal Appreciation Day program with local schools.

Gray foxes in the wild have a life expectancy of one to two years and few live longer than 6 years. In captivity, most resources say the maximum life expectancy is about 12 years.

“His long life is a great credit to our animal keepers and veterinary staff who have worked hard to give him the best care throughout his life,” said Parke Richeson, Maymont Executive Director. “I’m really going to miss spotting those fuzzy ears peeking up over the wall on my walks among the wildlife habitats.”

Maymont staff will seek another gray or red fox in need of sanctuary to live in the habitat, working with the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, wildlife rescue organizations, zoos, aquariums and other similar institutions. 

Virginia State Parks is urging Virginians to skip Black Friday crowds this year and have a Green Friday in one of the Old Dominion’s 37 state parks.

Virginia continues to partner with other state parks across the country, along with outdoor retailer REI Co-op, to participate in #OptOutside, encouraging people to skip shopping and enjoy the outdoor experience the day after Thanksgiving.

A campsite at Powhatan State Park 40 minutes west of Richmond on the James River. Credit: DCR

“Thousands of visitors last year decided to opt-outside as part of their Thanksgiving weekend,” said Virginia State Parks Director Craig Seaver. “The weather will be great, state parks will look beautiful, and it will be a wonderful time for people to focus on what’s really important – family, health and making memories that last a lifetime.”

Visitors over the Thanksgiving weekend are encouraged to participate in the Virginia State Parks #OptOutside photo contest. Photographers can win Virginia State Parks overnight accommodations gift certificates of $50, $100, $250 and $500. Click here for details and the contest link.

The Virginia State Parks partnership with REI includes honoring a store receipt for a free park entrance. REI members also receive additional benefits.

After the holiday weekend, beginning Monday, Nov. 27 through Dec. 20, Virginia State Park gift certificates will be available at a 25 percent discount. Call 800-933-7275 to buy one.

There was interesting news out of Mayor Levar Stoney’s office yesterday that Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities has agreed to purchase 18.2 acres of forest adjacent to Lewis G. Larus Park in South Richmond (near the intersection of Buford and Huguenot roads) to expand water service to nearby Chesterfield County residents.

This became an issue over the summer when word got out that the city was considering developing 1.2 acres of the 106-acre Larus Park and then leasing it to the county for a water pumping station. Residents objected to the taking of parkland (and the slippery slope it might create), the loss of hundreds of trees and what some saw as the raw deal the city was getting from the county in exchange for the land. More than 1,300 residents signed an online petition opposing the original agreement.

In yesterday’s announcement, the mayor presented the purchase, for $420,000 from the Redford Land Trust, as a “better outcome and a win-win for our residents.” As part of the new agreement, Chesterfield would spend $7.5 million to build a new water pumping station on 1.2 acres the county would lease from the city for $1 a year. The county would then be able to increase its water consumption from 27 million to 32 million gallons daily.

The mayor’s office said the agreement could net $4.1 million in additional revenue in the next five years.

From the press release: Residents will get acres of additional, undisturbed, undeveloped park land which can be used for hiking trails and other passive uses. Our successful water utility will upgrade its infrastructure and return an additional $4.1 million in additional revenue over the next five years to help offset operations and maintenance costs to Richmond ratepayers. And we will be doing the right thing by helping our neighbor in Chesterfield.

But the matter hasn’t been decided yet, as city council still must vote on the issue. The land in question falls in Councilperson Kristen Larson’s 4th District. She released this statement yesterday:

Since the beginning I have promised to hold a public meeting in the 4th district before I vote on this ordinance. I hope you will join me for this meeting on November 20th at 6:00 pm at the Huguenot Community Center to learn more and provide feedback.  Representatives from DPU will be there to present the proposal in full and answer any questions. I will be available to listen to your comments.

Stay tuned, as this issue is far from over.

The kayak put-in on Four Mile Creek at Henrico’s Deep Bottom Park. Credit: fourmilecreekproject.com

The Capital Region Land Conservancy announced yesterday that 81 acres, including nearly a mile of stream frontage on Four Mile Creek, in eastern Henrico County are now permanently protected from development. The CRLC facilitated the review and recordation of the conservation easement on the historically significant property in the Varina District. The Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District co-holds the conservation easement with CRLC. This initiative represents Phase I of a multi-phase, multi-year conservation easement project that ultimately will protect 341 acres including nearly one and a quarter miles of Four Mile Creek frontage, over half a mile along Roundabout Creek, and one-tenth of a mile of land adjacent to the James River.

The combined acreage is adjacent to Henrico’s Deep Bottom Park where two boat launches provide public access for canoes/kayaks at Four Mile Creek and motorized boats at the James River. The Virginia Capital Trail and Four Mile Creek Trailhead are within a mile of the properties. The land’s permanent protection from residential and commercial development provides a buffer for adjacent natural resources, recreational uses, and scenic views from the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail within the James River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

Although parts of this property are managed for timber, the portions of the property adjacent to Four Mile Creek protect a large area of high-quality bottomland hardwood forest and non-tidal marshes and wetlands providing vital protection of stream ecosystems from non-point source pollution, sedimentation, stream bank erosion, and increased temperatures.

The Four Mile Creek Trailhead on the Virginia Capital Trail is nearby.

“We’re thrilled by the opportunity to protect these 81 acres of the James River watershed,” said Nicole Anderson Ellis, Vice-Chair of the Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District.  “This easement advances our mission — to protect clean water and healthy soils – in numerous ways, including the preservation of a broad forest buffer along Four Mile Creek.”

Portions of the property are said to have been part of “Claymount,” owned by Stephen B. Sweeney (1799-1863) and included in his earthenware pottery operation with several kilns and a hotel along today’s Route 5, a Virginia scenic-byway. Other portions of the property were owned in the 1850s by Titus C. Rice and operated as Deep Bottom Landing with a ferry crossing the James River to Chesterfield County.

The property displays evidence of three Civil War battles — First Deep Bottom (Jul 27-29, 1864), Second Deep Bottom (Aug 13-20, 1864), and Chaffin’s Farm (Sep 29-30, 1864), when Union troops advanced on Richmond using pontoon bridges connecting to Jones Neck. The 4^th United States Colored Infantry Regiment along with the Union X Corps advanced across the property to victory at New Market Heights. Terms of the conservation easement include protection of historic resources, including no ground disturbance areas around identified rifle pits and remnants of a winter hut and a strict prohibition on relic hunting. A cemetery on the property, which includes the gravesite of WWI African American veteran Paul Morris, Jr., also will be protected in perpetuity.

Planned trails connecting the property’s historic features and scenic views will accommodate visitor access. Future educational and environmental interpretation will allow visitors of all ages to enjoy an enriching outdoor experience.

If you’re feeling kinda wonkish this lovely Friday morning, maybe even a little nerdy in an outdoorsy way, you’ll enjoy this low-budget, high-information video from Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities. It’s about the Combined Sewer Overflow system that Richmond (and most other older East Coast cities) has. Never heard of CSOs? Basically, in ye olde days, cities created systems that took the waste from your house and the waste from rain events and put them in one pipe. When large rain events took place, that pipe had overflow nodes that opened into the river. That’s right: Straight sewage, straight into the river. Richmond and the state have spent a lot of money over the past decades to limit those overflow events, and this video explains how — and how the whole system works.

I told you it was nerdy. But it’s also about we keep our lifeblood, the James River, healthy. Check it out.

Yesterday local bird lover Bert Browning brought us the story of the area’s newest bluebird nest box trail. Browning is a recent graduate of the Pocahontas Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program, and his story reminds us that every day, all over the area, nature lovers are working to protect and grow Central Va.’s  wildlife and natural resources.

With that in mind, the Pocahontas Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program is now accepting a limited number of applications for the 2018 Basic Training Class from now until October 31 or whenever
the class is filled. Training will be held from early January to the end of April. There will be a fee of $125 to cover the instruction costs.

The Virginia Master Naturalist Program is a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities.  The Pocahontas Chapter conducts projects primarily in Chesterfield County.

Master Naturalists go through 40 hours of basic training and field trips. The curriculum includes: basic ecology, geology, herpetology, botany, ornithology, dendrology, native species, entomology, mammalogy, ichthyology and more. The Classes will typically be held on Tuesday evenings at:

Pocahontas State Park
10301 State Park Rd.
Chesterfield, VA 23832-6355.

For more information, contact Lesha Berkel at pocahontasvmn@gmail.com.

On Wednesday, the James River Association and Chesapeake Bay Foundation co-hosted a Clean Water Forum with the candidates in the race to be Virginia’s next governor. Ed Gillespie and Lt. Governor Ralph Northam discussed issues ranging from the restoration of Virginia’s waterways and environmental education, to coal ash and river access.

It wasn’t a debate, technically. The candidates took the stage separately and responded to questions. The Times-Dispatch’s Robert Zullo estimated the crowd to be about 235 and described the candidates’ views as not having much “daylight” between them.

If you missed the event or this is the first you’re hearing about it, you’re in luck. You can watch it in its entirety by clicking here. Want to know what our next governor thinks about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, cleaning up coal ash, sea-level rise and others issues? Give it a look.

A river otter scratches an itch somewhere in the James River Park.

I was poking around the Friends of the James River Park’s Facebook page the other day and found something I’d forgotten about for months. A couple of years ago, the Friends installed a number of trail cams — motion-activated video cameras — throughout the James River Park System’s over 500 acres. Since they’ve been active, the cameras have captured everything from red foxes to beavers to river otters to deer to coyotes (and much, much more) going about their business along the James River.

There’s so much good video, it has it’s own Facebook page, and it’s a great reminder of the incredible amount of wildlife that calls the city of Richmond home. Click here to check it out.