CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:46). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-13-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 16, 2018. MUSIC – ~12 sec This week, that music opens a repeat of a July 2013 episode on marshes, a kind of habitat found around the Chesapeake Bay and in many other areas where water and land meet.  This week’s episode is the first of a two-part series this month on marshes.  Have another listen to the music for about 50 more seconds. MUSIC – ~ 47 sec You’ve been listening to part of “The Prettiest Marsh,” by Teresa Whitaker on “Singing the Chesapeake,” a 2012 songbook and album from Finding Home Productions.  The Chesapeake region has many marshes, ranging from freshwater ones along tidal sections of rivers to grass-dominated salt marshes along the Bay shorelines. Marshes are an example of wetlands, a diverse group of habitats where saturation by water largely determines the soils and living things found there.  Besides marshes, several other kinds of wetlands occur throughout Virginia, including bogs, fens, pocosins, seeps, and swamps.  Topography, climate, water level and timing, and water chemistry all influence the variety and amounts of living things one finds in marshes or other wetlands.  And in any wetlands, you’ll find specially adapted plants and—as Ms. Whitaker sang about—a lot of animals that creep, crawl, whirr, and croak. Thanks to Teresa Whitaker and to Frank Schwartz for permission to use this week’s music. We close this week’s episode, and leave a hint about the next marsh episode, with a few more seconds of “The Prettiest Marsh.” MUSIC - ~15 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.   For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This episode revises and replaces Episode 169, 7-18-13, which has been archived.  Minni Gupta wrote most of the script for that episode in the fall 2010 semester as a Virginia Tech English Department intern at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center. “The Prettiest Marsh” and “Singing the Chesapeake” are copyright by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz, used with permission.  More information about Ms. Whitaker and Mr. Schwartz is available online at https://www.facebook.com/Teresa-Whitaker-Frank-Schwartz-162112866077/.  “Singing the Chesapeake” is songbook and album collection of songs by Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner, and Teresa Whitaker, published by Finding Home Productions, online at www.findinghomeproductions.com.   More information about Mr. Wisner is available from the Smithsonian Folkways “Artist Spotlight” at http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/tom_wisner.aspx; and from the following obituary: Thomas A. Wisner, 79: 'Bard of the Chesapeake' sang about the bay he loved, Washington Post, 4/4/10.  “The Prettiest Marsh” was previously recorded by Ms. Whitaker on “We’ve Got to Come Full Circle: Chesapeake Song and Story for Young Hearts,” a 1984 album with Mr. Wisner on Smithsonian’s Folkways Records (http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.aspx). Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegra

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:37). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-22-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 25, 2018. MUSIC – ~10 sec This week, that excerpt of “To the Wild,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, from their 2017 album “Wild as We Came Here,” opens the second in a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways which are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND – ~8 sec That’s the sound of the Big Otter River, below a highway bridge near the Campbell County community of Evington on June 15, 2017.   The Big Otter starts from headwaters in the Peaks of Otter, a series of summits along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Bedford County.  The river flows through Bedford and Campbell counties and then joins the Staunton River—the name given to one section of the Roanoke River—just downstream of the town of Altavista. The Big Otter isn’t particularly big; its watershed area, for example, is only about 390 square miles, compared to over 10,000 square miles in the James River watershed, Virginia’s largest.  The Big Otter’s regional significance, however, is sizable: the otter name applies to several regional landmarks, such as the Peaks of Otter; the Big Otter is a main source of public water for Campbell County and a supplemental source for the town of Bedford; and the river’s headwater area is home to the Peaks of Otter Salamander, a species known only from that part of Virginia. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and in keeping with the wild nature of rivers and the wildlife name of the Big Otter River, we close with about 25 more seconds of “To the Wild.” CLOSING MUSIC – ~28 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.   For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “To the Wild,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2017 album “Wild As We Came Here,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the Big Otter River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 15, 2017, at the Route 682 bridge near Evington, Va. (Campbell County). Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Big Otter River at bridge on Route 682 near Evington in Campbell County, Va., June 15, 2017. Big Otter River at U.S. Route 460 in Bedford County, Virginia, June 15, 2013. Watersheds and land uses in the Big Otter watershed, as of 2006.  Figure 2 (page 6) from “Big Otter River Watershed TMDL Implementation Plan Summary,” Big Otter IP Steering Committee et al., July 6, 2006, online (as PDF) at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/TMDL/ImplementationPlans/otterip.pdf. EXTRA FACTS RELATED TO THE BIG OTTER RIVER AREA On the Big Otter Watershed “The [Big Otter River] Basin (388 sq. miles) lies in portions of Virginia's Bedford and Campbell counties and encompasses the City of Bedford and suburbs of Lynchburg.   The

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:45). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-6-18.  TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 9, 2018. MUSIC – ~8 sec This week, that excerpt of “Heartbeat,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, from their 2017 album “Wild as We Came Here,” opens the last of a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways that are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND – ~11 sec That’s the sound of the Jackson River, at a public boat launch in Covington, Va., on June 3, 2017.  Described as “the jewel of Virginia’s Alleghany Mountains,” by the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson River starts from headwaters near the Highland County town of Monterey.  Flowing between mountain ridges, past two state wildlife management areas, and through national forest, the upper Jackson is a scenic trout-fishing river. Just upstream of Covington, the river becomes Lake Moomaw, a flood-control and recreation reservoir formed by the Army Corps of Engineers’ Gathright Dam.  Cold, high-oxygen tailwaters below the dam provide other popular fishing areas, but certain stretches have been the subject of dispute over recreational use, stemming from claims that colonial-era King’s Grants give the grantees ownership of the riverbed. Besides being a valuable fishery, the Jackson has been a key water resource in the history, industrial development, and present-day economies of Covington, including its paper-making industry, Alleghany County, and the towns of Clifton Forge and Iron Gate.  And at its most downstream point, the Jackson is connected to what’s perhaps Virginia’s most important river: the confluence of the Jackson with the Cowpasture River in Botetourt County forms the James River. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and in honor of the wild, vital, and persistent nature of the Jackson River and other flowing waters, we close with a few more seconds of “Heartbeat.” MUSIC – ~17 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Heartbeat,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2017 album “Wild As We Came Here,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the Jackson River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 3, 2017, at the public boat launch beside the Route 18 bridge in Covington, Va. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Jackson River in Covington, Va., June 5, 2017. Confluence of the Jackson River (left background) and the Cowpasture River (right background) to form the James River in Botetourt County, Va., July 19, 2009. EXTRA FACTS ABOUT THE JACKSON RIVER On the Jackson River Fishery From the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Jackson River,” online at https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/waterbody/jackson-river/. “The J

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:14). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-30-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 2, 2018.  This is a repeat of a 2016 episode celebrating the July 4th holiday. SOUND - ~ 4 sec. This week, for Independence Day, we drop in on a most unusual July 4th conversation: two Gray Tree Frogs, surrounded by fireworks, are debating U.S. water history.  Sound unimaginable?  Well, just have a listen. SOUND - ~2 sec. Frog 1 – There those humans go again, shootin’ off their fireworks and makin’ it hard for us frogs to hear each other’s calls!  What’s all the ruckus about, anyway? Frog 2 - Why, it’s July Fourth!  They’re celebrating this country’s Declaration of Independence in 1776 from Great Britain.  I think it’s cool—at least it’s a break from hearing YOU guys calling every evening. Frog 1 – And just why are YOU so excited about the birthday of this big, bustling, human country?  Seems to me that it’s been nothing but trouble for aquatic habitats and creatures like us since those first ships came over here from that Europe place.  Everywhere we try to hop, there’s polluted rivers and lakes, lost wetlands and other habitats, and hot, dry pavement. Frog 2 – Well, yeah, you’re right, partly.  This country’s waters have had a pretty hard history.  And we amphibians have had the worst of it in some cases and places, with this permeable skin we have.  But you’re forgetting about some positive things.  The humans’ Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, and a bunch other important acts, too.  And right here in this state, Virginia, the constitution says it’s the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction. Frog 1 - Have all those things done any good? Frog 2 – Well, not always or everywhere.  Just in Virginia, hundreds of water bodies are impaired and need expensive clean-up programs.  For instance, I’ve got cousins living over near that Chesapeake Bay, and they tell me every year it’s some things good, other things fair, and still others needing a ton of work.  But many rivers and lakes certainly are in better shape than they were 40 or 50 years ago; the Potomac River’s one example.  Those humans have many competing interests, so sometimes what they do isn’t so good for water, or lands, or creatures like us. But other times, it is.  People have learned a lot over the years about using and managing natural resources more sustainably, and all kinds of people work hard trying to do that. Frog 1 - Yeah, I guess you’re right.  You know, it’s not easy being a frog, but I guess it’s pretty tough being a person, too. Frog 2 – Now that’s a pretty realistic call! SOUND - ~ 2 sec Hey, there’s the fireworks finale.  And that sounds like the Air Force Concert Band playing one of my favorites, “The Washington Post,” by John Philip Sousa.  Let’s have a quick listen, then we better get back under cover.  All the humans will be coming back from the fireworks soon. Both - Happy July 4th! MUSIC - ~ 14 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  And thanks to Kriddie Whitmore for lending her voice to this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:14). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-30-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 2, 2018.  This is a repeat of a 2016 episode celebrating the July 4th holiday. SOUND - ~ 4 sec. This week, for Independence Day, we drop in on a most unusual July 4th conversation: two Gray Tree Frogs, surrounded by fireworks, are debating U.S. water history.  Sound unimaginable?  Well, just have a listen. SOUND - ~2 sec. Frog 1 – There those humans go again, shootin’ off their fireworks and makin’ it hard for us frogs to hear each other’s calls!  What’s all the ruckus about, anyway? Frog 2 - Why, it’s July Fourth!  They’re celebrating this country’s Declaration of Independence in 1776 from Great Britain.  I think it’s cool—at least it’s a break from hearing YOU guys calling every evening. Frog 1 – And just why are YOU so excited about the birthday of this big, bustling, human country?  Seems to me that it’s been nothing but trouble for aquatic habitats and creatures like us since those first ships came over here from that Europe place.  Everywhere we try to hop, there’s polluted rivers and lakes, lost wetlands and other habitats, and hot, dry pavement. Frog 2 – Well, yeah, you’re right, partly.  This country’s waters have had a pretty hard history.  And we amphibians have had the worst of it in some cases and places, with this permeable skin we have.  But you’re forgetting about some positive things.  The humans’ Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, and a bunch other important acts, too.  And right here in this state, Virginia, the constitution says it’s the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction. Frog 1 - Have all those things done any good? Frog 2 – Well, not always or everywhere.  Just in Virginia, hundreds of water bodies are impaired and need expensive clean-up programs.  For instance, I’ve got cousins living over near that Chesapeake Bay, and they tell me every year it’s some things good, other things fair, and still others needing a ton of work.  But many rivers and lakes certainly are in better shape than they were 40 or 50 years ago; the Potomac River’s one example.  Those humans have many competing interests, so sometimes what they do isn’t so good for water, or lands, or creatures like us. But other times, it is.  People have learned a lot over the years about using and managing natural resources more sustainably, and all kinds of people work hard trying to do that. Frog 1 - Yeah, I guess you’re right.  You know, it’s not easy being a frog, but I guess it’s pretty tough being a person, too. Frog 2 – Now that’s a pretty realistic call! SOUND - ~ 2 sec Hey, there’s the fireworks finale.  And that sounds like the Air Force Concert Band playing one of my favorites, “The Washington Post,” by John Philip Sousa.  Let’s have a quick listen, then we better get back under cover.  All the humans will be coming back from the fireworks soon. Both - Happy July 4th! MUSIC - ~ 14 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  And thanks to Kriddie Whitmore for lending her voice to this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Jennifer Gagnon for revi

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:05). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, an image, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-15-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 18, 2018. MUSIC – ~ 30 sec This week, that excerpt of “Find Your Mountain,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, opens a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways which are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND - ~8 That’s the sound of the South Fork Holston River, near the Smyth County community of Sugar Grove on June 11, 2018.  Beginning in this area, the South Fork flows southwestward through Smyth and Washington counties to merge with the Middle Fork Holston River near Washington County’s border with Tennessee.  This combined river becomes South Holston Lake, a water-supply and hydroelectric reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Further downstream at Kingsport, Tennessee, the South Fork joins the North Folk to form the mainstem Holston River, which in turn is a tributary of the Tennessee River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. Back upstream in Virginia, the South Fork Holston is “one of the premier trout streams” in southwestern Virginia and one of the Commonwealth’s “most beautiful rivers,” according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  The Holston name comes from an 18th Century explorer and Revolutionary War soldier named Stephen Holstein. Before that, native tribes in Virginia called the upper river “Hogoheegee,” a name now applied to a high school athletics district in the area. By any name, the South Fork Holston River remains a resource worth finding among the mountains and valleys of southwestern Virginia. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Find Your Mountain.” MUSIC – ~ 33 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Find Your Mountain,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2015 album “Leave Some Things Behind,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the South Fork Holston River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 11, 2018, along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES South Fork Holston River along Teas Road near Sugar Grove in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. The audio for this episode of Virginia Water Radio was recorded at this location. U.S. Forest Service fishing access sign for the South Fork Holston River along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. Upper Tennessee River watershed in Virginia, including the Holston River forks.  Map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), accessed on the Web site of the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, online at http://www.uppertnriver.org/

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:37). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-22-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 25, 2018. MUSIC – ~10 sec This week, that excerpt of “To the Wild,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, from their 2017 album “Wild as We Came Here,” opens the second in a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways which are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND – ~8 sec That’s the sound of the Big Otter River, below a highway bridge near the Campbell County community of Evington on June 15, 2017.   The Big Otter starts from headwaters in the Peaks of Otter, a series of summits along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Bedford County.  The river flows through Bedford and Campbell counties and then joins the Staunton River—the name given to one section of the Roanoke River—just downstream of the town of Altavista. The Big Otter isn’t particularly big; its watershed area, for example, is only about 390 square miles, compared to over 10,000 square miles in the James River watershed, Virginia’s largest.  The Big Otter’s regional significance, however, is sizable: the otter name applies to several regional landmarks, such as the Peaks of Otter; the Big Otter is a main source of public water for Campbell County and a supplemental source for the town of Bedford; and the river’s headwater area is home to the Peaks of Otter Salamander, a species known only from that part of Virginia. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and in keeping with the wild nature of rivers and the wildlife name of the Big Otter River, we close with about 25 more seconds of “To the Wild.” CLOSING MUSIC – ~28 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.   For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “To the Wild,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2017 album “Wild As We Came Here,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the Big Otter River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 15, 2017, at the Route 682 bridge near Evington, Va. (Campbell County). Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Big Otter River at bridge on Route 682 near Evington in Campbell County, Va., June 15, 2017. Big Otter River at U.S. Route 460 in Bedford County, Virginia, June 15, 2013. Watersheds and land uses in the Big Otter watershed, as of 2006.  Figure 2 (page 6) from “Big Otter River Watershed TMDL Implementation Plan Summary,” Big Otter IP Steering Committee et al., July 6, 2006, online (as PDF) at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/TMDL/ImplementationPlans/otterip.pdf. EXTRA FACTS RELATED TO THE BIG OTTER RIVER AREA On the Big Otter Watershed “The [Big Otter River] Basin (388 sq. miles) lies in portions of Virginia's Bedford and Campbell counties and encompasses the City of Bedford and suburbs of Lynchburg.   The

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:05). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, an image, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-15-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 18, 2018. MUSIC – ~ 30 sec This week, that excerpt of “Find Your Mountain,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, opens a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways which are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND - ~8 That’s the sound of the South Fork Holston River, near the Smyth County community of Sugar Grove on June 11, 2018.  Beginning in this area, the South Fork flows southwestward through Smyth and Washington counties to merge with the Middle Fork Holston River near Washington County’s border with Tennessee.  This combined river becomes South Holston Lake, a water-supply and hydroelectric reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Further downstream at Kingsport, Tennessee, the South Fork joins the North Folk to form the mainstem Holston River, which in turn is a tributary of the Tennessee River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. Back upstream in Virginia, the South Fork Holston is “one of the premier trout streams” in southwestern Virginia and one of the Commonwealth’s “most beautiful rivers,” according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  The Holston name comes from an 18th Century explorer and Revolutionary War soldier named Stephen Holstein. Before that, native tribes in Virginia called the upper river “Hogoheegee,” a name now applied to a high school athletics district in the area. By any name, the South Fork Holston River remains a resource worth finding among the mountains and valleys of southwestern Virginia. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Find Your Mountain.” MUSIC – ~ 33 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Find Your Mountain,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2015 album “Leave Some Things Behind,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the South Fork Holston River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 11, 2018, along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES South Fork Holston River along Teas Road near Sugar Grove in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. The audio for this episode of Virginia Water Radio was recorded at this location. U.S. Forest Service fishing access sign for the South Fork Holston River along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. Upper Tennessee River watershed in Virginia, including the Holston River forks.  Map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), accessed on the Web site of the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, online at http://www.uppertnriver.org/

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:05). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, an image, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-15-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 18, 2018. MUSIC – ~ 30 sec This week, that excerpt of “Find Your Mountain,” by the Harrisonburg, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels, opens a series of episodes on three relatively small Virginia rivers.  The series highlights waterways which are less widely known than big rivers like the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah, but which still contribute in big ways to Virginia’s common wealth of water, aquatic life, scenic beauty, and human activity. SOUND - ~8 That’s the sound of the South Fork Holston River, near the Smyth County community of Sugar Grove on June 11, 2018.  Beginning in this area, the South Fork flows southwestward through Smyth and Washington counties to merge with the Middle Fork Holston River near Washington County’s border with Tennessee.  This combined river becomes South Holston Lake, a water-supply and hydroelectric reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Further downstream at Kingsport, Tennessee, the South Fork joins the North Folk to form the mainstem Holston River, which in turn is a tributary of the Tennessee River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. Back upstream in Virginia, the South Fork Holston is “one of the premier trout streams” in southwestern Virginia and one of the Commonwealth’s “most beautiful rivers,” according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  The Holston name comes from an 18th Century explorer and Revolutionary War soldier named Stephen Holstein. Before that, native tribes in Virginia called the upper river “Hogoheegee,” a name now applied to a high school athletics district in the area. By any name, the South Fork Holston River remains a resource worth finding among the mountains and valleys of southwestern Virginia. Thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Find Your Mountain.” MUSIC – ~ 33 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Find Your Mountain,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2015 album “Leave Some Things Behind,” used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The sound of the South Fork Holston River was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on June 11, 2018, along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES South Fork Holston River along Teas Road near Sugar Grove in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. The audio for this episode of Virginia Water Radio was recorded at this location. U.S. Forest Service fishing access sign for the South Fork Holston River along Teas Road in Smyth County, Va., June 11, 2018. Upper Tennessee River watershed in Virginia, including the Holston River forks.  Map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), accessed on the Web site of the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, online at http://www.uppertnriver.org/

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:24). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, an image, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-9-18.  TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 11, 2018. SOUND - ~4 sec That crying-like call is this week’s amphibious mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 10 more seconds, and see if you can guess what makes this call.  And here’s a hint: the name sounds like, but has nothing to do with, the collective name for chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. SOUNDS - ~13 sec If you guessed a Fowler’s Toad, you’re right! Y ou heard this species of amphibian calling along the James River near Howardsville, Va., on an evening in July 2009.  Named for S.P. Fowler, a Massachusetts naturalist who identified the species in the mid-1800s, Fowler’s Toad is found throughout the eastern half of the United States. It’s one of five toad species found in Virginia.  In the Commonwealth, the species is found statewide and is particularly common in the Coastal Plain region. During breeding season from March or April into July or August, the males’ mating call—sounding somewhat like a human baby’s cry—can be heard in shallow water near rivers, along lakeshores and roadsides, or in fields or gardens.  Breeding produces long strands of eggs numbering several thousand, which develop into tadpoles in about a week, turn into juvenile toads—or toadlets—in about two months, and become reproductive adults in two years. Juvenile and adult Fowler’s Toads eat a variety of insects and other invertebrate animals, and in turn are prey for some snakes and birds, American Bullfrogs, and raccoons. The toad’s toxic skin secretions sometimes result in a surviving toad and a disappointed predator. We close with one more sample of the distinctive call of Fowler’s Toads, from The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads, by Lang Elliott’s NatureSound Studio and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. SOUND - ~ 8 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first two recordings of Fowler’s Toad sounds heard in this episode were recorded on July 12, 2009, along the James River near Howardsville, Va. (Albemarle County). The closing sounds were from The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads CD, by Lang Elliott’s NatureSound Studio and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 2008, used with permission.  Information about that CD is available online at http://www.shopdgif.com/product.cfm?uid=1928838&context=&showInactive=N; or contact the Department at 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230; phone: (804) 367-1000 (VTDD); e-mail: [email protected].  Lang Elliott’s work is available online at his “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. PHOTO Fowler’s Toad calling beside the James River near Howardsville, Va. (Albemarle County), 9 p.m., July 12, 2009. EXTRA FACTS ABOUT FOWLER’S TOAD The current scientific name for Fowler’s Toad is Anaxyrus fowleri. Here are some points about Fowler’s Toad, excerpted from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife I