Cleanups suspended for present

 I sold the Monongahela Monitor this past weekend.  So, I won't be leading any river cleanups for the present.  Can't really do it without a boat. 

Here's a couple photos.  Going to miss her.

Fireworks on the Fourth

  Sitting on the Mon river in my boat during the fireworks.

Please sign the petition

We only have 13 days to finish the petition drive, and right now only 120 signatures.  That won't impress anyone.  Please sign the petition to get the Army Corps of Engineers to the table to discuss how we can use the cranes on the dam to remove litter from the Monongahela River before it goes downstream. 

The petition is here: 

Here is a blog entry with more information:
http://onthemonongahelariver.blogspot.com/2012/01/whats-up-at-opekiska-dam.html

Well, it didn't happen

Although I had to rush from the Fondue Factory fund raiser over to the river to catch litter from the "debris release" it didn't happen.  And, the Corps of Engineers failed to tell us that it wasn't going to happen, although I had been told that they would release the debris at about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

We had the Monongahela Monitor crewed up and ready to fight litter yesterday evening at 6, but nothing.

I suppose the Corps didn't get as far in their gate inspection, which was the reason for the debris release, as they thought they would.  But for crying out loud, why couldn't they let me know?  I would have stayed at the Fondue Factory and had a few brews with the river supporters who came last night. 

Regardless, here's what I want to say: Thanks to all of you who came to the fundraiser, and to some who couldn't make it but have made donations anyway.  After all these years of working hard to keep the Monongahela River clean in our area, it's sure nice to know that support for this kind of effort is building. 

Debris situation

Just heard from the Corps of Engineers that the debris release is today, Wednesday, June 12.  I'll be at the fund raiser (see below) at 5 p.m., but plan to be at the marina for a cleanup at 6 p.m.   If you are interested in helping with the removal, call me at 304 293-7760. Here's about the last time we did this:  http://onthemonongahelariver.blogspot.com/2011/06/debris-release-june-2011.html
The marina is here.

 Thanks for your interest!

Eat at the Fondue Factory in Morgantown on June 12

Have supper at the Fondue Factory Wednesday evening June 12 and help the Mon River Revival's efforts to clean litter from the river. 

The Fondue Factory is contributing 15% of every check that evening to help this effort, which began in 2006 to remove litter from the river, educate the public about the issue, and improve it for everyone.


We could certainly use the help.  Since the City of Morgantown cut funding because of fiscal issues a couple years ago, I've been paying out of my own pocket for expenses.   There's no money to expand the program; so Capt. Tim and his crew is concentrating river cleanups on just the Morgantown area. 

It's always been a dream to work the entire river, but that would be costly.  So, we're doing what we can.  And this Fondue Factory benefit will really be a big help for this year's expenses.  Plus the food is great!

Have supper at the Fondue Factory, help the river

The folks at the Fondue Factory in Morgantown have agreed to share 15% of their profits on Wednesday, June 12, with the Monongahela River Revival. Wow! This could pay some of the bills for our 2013 summer cleanups on the river.  So, if you are reading this, think about having a nice Wednesday evening in Morgantown.  The Fondue Factory is fun!

Monongahela River Cleanup Schedule, Summer 2013

If you are interested in going out as part of the crew on the Monongahela Monitor for a cleanup, here's the summer schedule.  Usually we leave the dock at 9 a.m. sharp in order to get in before the real hot part of the day.  The dock is located here. An you can park nearby at the parking garage.

One thing: Let me know you plan to come. That way, if I need to cancel for any reason (weather, for example) I can call you. Send me an email here.

Sunday, June 2
Sunday, June 16
Saturday, June 29

Sunday, July 7
Sunday, July 21
Sunday, July 28

Saturday, Aug. 10
Saturday, Aug. 24
Saturday, Aug. 31

Sunday, Sept. 8
Saturday, Sept. 21  (this will be an afternoon trip - begins at 3 p.m.) pre-triathlon

First "quickie" cleanup for 2013

Got out on the Mon with Aaron Sutch of the Mountain Institute last weekend for our first cleanup.

Did the area between Old Lock 10 and the new Morgantown Lock and Dam and also the area near Decker's Creek where we have an information kiosk and litter barrel.  That barrel is working real well.

As you can see, Aaron did most of the work.

It was great to get out on the river and see all the activity. One thing I noticed right away this year: kayak fishing is really taking off.  We saw three people in kayaks fishing when we brought the boat up from Mark's Marine Repair, where she lays up during the winter. Years ago, none.  One person fishing in early May reported landing a 27 inch drum, as the one at left.

By the way, it was nice having Aaron, who is co-chairman of Morgantown's Green Team, aboard.  Not only because he understands environmental issues, but also he can also handle the helm for me.  Very cool.

Some years ago I learned that plastic litter is making its way to the oceans where albatross, for some reason, eat it and die.  Below is a recent trailer for a new movie my daughter brought to my attention.

I've seen lots of photos of dead albatross, with ingested plastic stuff, but I've never seen one actually dying.

It's pitiful. Midway Island is so far away, yet we are managing to destroy life there.
Midway movie.

Petition to Corps of Engineers

Lets see if we can get the government to help us out and get the litter out before it comes down river and goes to the Gulf of Mexico. Click here to sign the petition. Please sign the petition!

Here's an old post related to this.

Getting ready for summer

My river helper Chris with the Monongahela Monitor at Mark's Marine Repair. We got the tarps off her that had covered the boat during the winter, but the top isn't up and in place in this photo.

The Monitor must be laid up each winter for a couple reasons. The 28-foot boat would be a target for large trees that might come down the river in the winter if there's a flood, and also the 130 hp inboard/outboard engine must be drained of water to prevent freezing. It's simply better and safer to have the boat at Mark's during the winter.

Hope to get the boat out this weekend (4/13-14) or next weekend. Then, river cleanups begin in earnest.

Leave a comment, etc, if you want to help out.

Getting the Monongahela Monitor Ready to launch!

The weather is in our favor now, and I'm taking the tarps off the boat and getting her ready to launch soon!

In the grip of Winter

I spell Winter with a capital letter,
and acknowledge that in its fatal "grip"
doth downward the soul descend.

Whether light, that lacketh in the Dim
of darkened Days, is the problem,
I'll admit no knowledge,
Or whether a spirit that dwelleth
in light of the Summer's Sun set the anchor so that,
winds who blow in gray winter taketh away our soul, as did the fish
die and disappear and an epoch change,
and the old die, too.

This, it may well be debated, is Time's trick upon us,
that we must bide the hours slowly as if in Infinity, nay! Eternity.

Ah, summer!

Here are some nice photos sent in by Sue and Jeff from their trip along the river between Morgantown and the Pennsylvania border.  Thanks, Sue and Jeff.

The Flatboat Project

Hey, I'm really excited about the Flatboat Project, sponsored by the Morgantown Museum Commission. We're going to build a flatboat, a common vessel on the Mon River from the late 1700s through much of the 1800s.  It will be at the Ruby Memorial Park in Morgantown, very near where the city's original entrepreneur, Michael Kerns, build boats for pioneers traveling west.  The Flatboat Project begins on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, with a reception and exhibit at the Morgantown History Museum on Kirk street, 7 p.m.  Free and open to the public.  Please come.

Monongahela Monitor is in the boatyard for winter

Got the Monitor into Mark's Marina boatyard just before Sandy hit.  End of the season.  Did a few cleanups of litter on the river this summer, but mostly concentrated on getting two more kiosks up and establishing the no wake zone for Morgantown.  Will miss being out on the Monongahela.  Looking forward to next summer.
Thanks for all you support.

Final kiosk installed at Star City

 I'm going to be honest about this: I'm so glad the final kiosk is finished!

After a number of blisters and cuts and bruises and hours and hours of work, the last of three information kiosks is now in place. (Click for larger views of photos).

I want to thank several people who helped make this idea become a fact: That would include Charlie Huguenard and Joe Douglass at Longview Power Plant for funding, Kevin Nuce and Robert Lloyd at Star City for help in site preparation and Mary Davis with Greenspace Coalition for keeping track of expenses.   Also thanks to Anthony Giambrone for taking the idea to Star City's leadership for support.

This took longer than I expected, but it's hard to do weekend projects such as river cleanups and kiosk construction and also work for WVU.  Regardless: Number one is at Deckers Creek (finished in 2010); number two is at Walnut Street (completed in spring 2012) and the Star City riverfront kiosk is number three (completed in late summer 2012).  I can tell you that the one at Deckers Creek (for which Charlie and Joe actually dug post holes) is definitely working: we've emptied the litter barrel several times this summer.

You can see our messages about litter if you click on the photo to enlarge.  The left side has a river history, an appeal for better public consciousness about litter, and a no wake notice (regarding the Morgantown no wake zone).  The right has DNR information on invasive aquatic fishes and the fish tagging program, sent by Frank Jernejcic of the WV DNR.

Special thanks to Chris Wilson and Biao Qiu who helped with construction and some very tough digging at the Walnut Street location. Aslo Jennie Terman, my daughter, and David Helsabeck helped with the final stages of the Star City installation.

NOTICE: Our river cleanup schedule for September is:  Sept 2, Sept. 9, Sept 16.  If you want to be part of the crew, let me know.  Contact me at tterman@mail.wvu.edu. These will begin at the Morgantown Marina docks at 9 a.m. and we usually finish around 1:30 p.m.

A nice scene

Last Sunday I took a joy ride on The Monongahela Monitor downriver to the Greer fleet, which is just below the power plant on Beechurst Avenue.

I noticed a motor boat along the west bank across from Deckers Creek with a man, woman and two children. The kids and dad were fishing, quietly sharing some quality time in the shade of the big sycamores and paw-paw trees.  I also saw a guy in a kayak fishing.  That's something that takes some coordination, I believe.  Regardless: it was good to see.

I have often thought of the Mon River at Morgantown as our Cheat Late. People are so into recreation on Cheat Lake, but for those of us who live in Morgantown, well, the river's a lot closer.  And now, with our no wake zone from just below the Westover bridge to the lock and dam, it's a lot more peaceful.

An example, pretty good sized cruiser passed me while I was at the Greer fleet at a pretty good clip. He had a jet-ski zooming along behind him.  So, I was curious about what would happen when he went around the bend and encountered the no wake buoy.

It was perfect.  The jet ski did a couple of doughnuts and they both came about and headed back down the river.  Now, just imagine if that buoy and no wake zone were not there.  The guy fishing in the kayak and the family fishing along the west bank would have been pounded by the wake of the cruiser and jet ski.  I think everyone was well served by our new no wake zone.

Oh, I also watched a heron.  These birds seem to pose for me: I came up to one along the west bank across from Ruby McQuain Park and watched it spread its great wings and fly to a branch further upriver. Then, it posed, its long neck and legs, dagger-like beak and top crest, gray and back-lit against the green trees. Then, it flew off again, posing in the air, swooping just above the water, reflecting in the river, to another branch, where, of course, it posed again as my boat overtook it. Herons along the Mon River do this; flying as you approach, then posing, then flying, posing, flying, as your boat get closer again and again.

The folks in fast boats, bouncing everyone around as they pass, don't get to see this.  Too bad, I guess.

Hey, maybe I'll see you down at the river!

Anyone lose a pickup bed liner?

We wondered how something like this bed liner came to be in the Monongahela River. No good answers. It's among the largest items we've pulled out; probably second to the car bumper from a couple years ago. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Anyway, we had a good day of "fishing" for litter on the Mon and really got the Morgantown harbor area looking good.  In this photo you see the liner and our other ''catch" with crew members Carol on the left and Hannah on the right.

Thanks, Carol and Hannah. They worked hard, as you can see in this photo, left. Each bottle, Bud Lite can, etc., must be picked up individually. There's no other way. So this is labor intensive, and it takes a real commitment to the environment and the Earth and the Monongahela River, to get this job done.

Below, the crew cleaning up the decks of the Monongahela Monitor back at the dock after our Saturday morning effort.