CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:12). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-2-18.  TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 4, 2018. This week, we re-visit a mysterious, annual calling of the names—names that, if we’re lucky, will not become infamous this summer or fall. Have a listen for about 25 seconds, and see if you can guess who—or rather, what—is being named. GUEST VOICES - ~27 seconds – Alberto! Beryl! Chris! Debby! Ernesto! Florence! Gordon! Helene! Isaac! Joyce! Kirk! Leslie! Michael! Nadine! Oscar! Patty! Rafael! Sara! Tony! Valerie! William! If you guessed tropical storms or hurricanes, you’re right!  You heard the names planned for the 2018 tropical storm season in the Atlantic basin, accompanied by “Tropical Tantrum” by Torrin Hallett.   The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic tropical storm season runs officially from June 1 through November 30.  But tropical storms don’t always follow the official calendar.  For example, this year, the Atlantic’s first named storm—Subtropical Storm Alberto—formed in late May; in 2017, Tropical Storm Arlene formed in April; and in 2016, Hurricane Alex formed in mid-January, the earliest for an Atlantic hurricane to form since 1938. Tropical storms and hurricanes are two categories of tropical cyclones—rotating storm systems that start in tropical or sub-tropical latitudes.  A tropical cyclone is called a tropical storm—and gets a name—when sustained wind speeds reach 39 miles per hour; at 74 miles per hour, a tropical cyclone is considered a hurricane.  Tropical depressions—with wind speeds below 39 miles per hour—don’t get names, but they can still bring heavy rainfall and flooding. Before a tropical system of any speed or name barges into the Old Dominion...[SOUND - ~6 sec – wind, rain, thunder]...you can get ready by making a written emergency plan, including an evacuation plan; assembling an emergency kit of food, water, and supplies; preparing your home for high winds; and establishing ways to stay informed, especially if the power goes out.  Detailed safety tips for tropical storms and other severe weather are available from the “Safety” link at the National Weather Service Web site, www.weather.gov.  While Hurricane Preparedness Week for 2018 was May 6-12, right now is still a good time to start getting ready for the next tropical storm! Thanks to 14 Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students for lending their voices to this episode, and thanks to Torrin Hallett for this week’s music. MUSIC - ~7 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 “Tropical Tantrum” is copyright 2017 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission. More information about Torrin is available at his Web site, http://www.torrinjhallett.com/.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio. 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 Names and tracks of Atlantic tropical storms in 201

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:09). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-25-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 28, 2018.  This is the fourth of a series of four revisits this month to previous episodes on the watershed connections of western Virginia rivers. MUSIC – ~ 24 sec This week, that excerpt of “Samuel Mason,” by Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand on the 2010 album, “All the Good Summers,” sets the stage for reversing this show’s eastbound opening line, because this episode looks west, away from Virginia’s Atlantic coastline, back to the Cumberland Gap, to the Ohio River Valley, in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico watersheds.  You’ll hear a series of sounds that represent past or present connections between the Ohio Valley, or basin, and Virginia’s land, waters, and people; then I’ll follow each sound with a short description of the connection.  Here goes! SOUND - ~ 3 sec That cannon sound, from the James River Batteau Festival, represents the Ohio Valley’s role in the French and Indian War, between England and France over control of North America.  Virginia’s colonial charter gave it a claim to the area of the upper Ohio River, and George Washington was involved in the conflicts near modern-day Pittsburgh that touched off the war in 1754.  England’s victory in 1763 gave it control over the Ohio valley and validated Virginia’s legal claim, which would become even more important after the Revolution. SOUND - ~ 5 sec This batteau horn sound, again from the James River Festival, recalls the river boats that were one of the ways hundreds of thousands of Virginians traveled into and through the Ohio Valley, during waves of migration from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s.  At that time, much of the area was Virginia’s northwest frontier—for example, Fort Henry, in the Samuel Mason song you heard, was at the site of today’s Wheeling, West Va., which until the Civil War was part of Virginia.  Unlike Samuel Mason, however, most of those leaving Virginia for fortune and fame did not become river pirates, but instead found new places to work and settle. SOUND - ~3 sec Rapids in the Virginia’s New River represent the river corridors and watershed connections that influence the Ohio Valley’s human settlement, navigation, fish, other aquatic organisms, and water quality.  Besides the New, Virginia rivers whose water ultimately flows to the Ohio include the Big Sandy, Clinch/ Powell, and Holston. SOUND - ~ 5 sec The sound of an Ohio River barge in Pittsburgh, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge to form the Ohio, underscores the commercial and industrial role of the Ohio and its tributaries, which comprise over 2800 miles of navigable waterways.  According to the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission, as of 2018 over 180 million tons of cargo were being moved annually on the Ohio River, with coal being the most commonly transported product. MUSIC - ~ 5 sec Finally, a saxophone player on the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, on a windy and rainy baseball-game day, seems a good symbol for the human spirit, independence, and enterprise that—combined with rivers and other defining geographic features—have helped make the Ohio River Valley a key part of the United States ever since it was Virginia’s northwest frontier. 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,

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:47). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-18-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 21, 2018.  This is the third of a series of four revisits this month to previous episodes on the watershed connections of western Virginia rivers. MUSIC – ~ 7 sec This week, we feature a song and a watershed mystery.  Have a listen for about 40 seconds, and see if you know the Virginia water connection to the theme of this song. MUSIC - ~43 sec You’ve been listening to part of “Ohio Valley Rain,” by the Ithaca, New York, band Cornerstone on their 1994 album, “Out of the Valley” from Folk Era Records.  The song mentions Wheeling, West Virginia and the Ohio Valley, so what’s the Virginia water connection? Southwestern Virginia, starting with the New River watershed, is within the larger watershed or basin of the Ohio River.  About 17 percent of Virginia’s land mass—or about 7200 square miles—lies within the Ohio basin, compared to about 83 percent in watersheds whose waters flow to the Atlantic Ocean, either directly or via the Chesapeake Bay or North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound.  Southwestern Virginia watersheds within the Ohio basin include those of the Big Sandy, Clinch/Powell, Holston, and New rivers, with their waters eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico.  So when Cornerstone sings of “the [Ohio] river miles below, drinking rain from far away,” that rain could have fallen on Virginia! Thanks to Cornerstone and songwriters Chris Stuart and Dave Adams for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Ohio Valley Rain.” 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 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 108, 4-30-12. “Ohio Valley Rain” and “Out of the Valley” are copyright Cornerstone and Folk Era Records, used with permission. More information about Cornerstone is available at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornerstone/200573266649741.  This music was previously used in Virginia Water Radio Episode 58, 3-21-11. 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 near Chilhowie, Va. (Smyth County), October 14, 2013. New River near Eggleston, Va. (Giles County), August 13, 2016. Ohio River at Huntington, West Va., Nov. 6, 2011. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON VIRGINIA’S MAJOR RIVER BASINS (WATERSHEDS) The map and information below are from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds. Virginia’s major river basins (watersheds).  The Virginia portions of the Ohio River basin are shown at the lower left: blue for the New River watershed, purple for the Holston watershed, yellow for the Clinch-Powell watershed, and green for the Big Sandy watershed. Areas of Virginia’s Major River Basins (Watersheds) Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Ocean Basins Potomac-Shenandoah - 5,702 sq. miles – Main water bodies: Potomac River, Shenandoah River. Chesapeake Bay Coastal - 2,577 sq. miles – Main water b

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:47). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-18-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 21, 2018.  This is the third of a series of four revisits this month to previous episodes on the watershed connections of western Virginia rivers. MUSIC – ~ 7 sec This week, we feature a song and a watershed mystery.  Have a listen for about 40 seconds, and see if you know the Virginia water connection to the theme of this song. MUSIC - ~43 sec You’ve been listening to part of “Ohio Valley Rain,” by the Ithaca, New York, band Cornerstone on their 1994 album, “Out of the Valley” from Folk Era Records.  The song mentions Wheeling, West Virginia and the Ohio Valley, so what’s the Virginia water connection? Southwestern Virginia, starting with the New River watershed, is within the larger watershed or basin of the Ohio River.  About 17 percent of Virginia’s land mass—or about 7200 square miles—lies within the Ohio basin, compared to about 83 percent in watersheds whose waters flow to the Atlantic Ocean, either directly or via the Chesapeake Bay or North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound.  Southwestern Virginia watersheds within the Ohio basin include those of the Big Sandy, Clinch/Powell, Holston, and New rivers, with their waters eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico.  So when Cornerstone sings of “the [Ohio] river miles below, drinking rain from far away,” that rain could have fallen on Virginia! Thanks to Cornerstone and songwriters Chris Stuart and Dave Adams for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Ohio Valley Rain.” 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 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 108, 4-30-12. “Ohio Valley Rain” and “Out of the Valley” are copyright Cornerstone and Folk Era Records, used with permission. More information about Cornerstone is available at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornerstone/200573266649741.  This music was previously used in Virginia Water Radio Episode 58, 3-21-11. 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 near Chilhowie, Va. (Smyth County), October 14, 2013. New River near Eggleston, Va. (Giles County), August 13, 2016. Ohio River at Huntington, West Va., Nov. 6, 2011. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON VIRGINIA’S MAJOR RIVER BASINS (WATERSHEDS) The map and information below are from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds. Virginia’s major river basins (watersheds).  The Virginia portions of the Ohio River basin are shown at the lower left: blue for the New River watershed, purple for the Holston watershed, yellow for the Clinch-Powell watershed, and green for the Big Sandy watershed. Areas of Virginia’s Major River Basins (Watersheds) Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Ocean Basins Potomac-Shenandoah - 5,702 sq. miles – Main water bodies: Potomac River, Shenandoah River. Chesapeake Bay Coastal - 2,577 sq. miles – Main water b

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:06). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-4-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 7, 2018.  This is the first of a series of four revisits to previous episodes on the watershed connections of western Virginia rivers. MUSIC – ~7 sec This week, we feature an old-time fiddle tune named for a trio of rivers that connect Virginia to the waters of neighboring Appalachian states, the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and—far downstream—the Gulf of Mexico.  Have a listen for about 25 seconds. MUSIC - ~25 sec You’ve been listening to part of “Three Forks of Sandy,” on the 2009 album “Bobby Taylor Plays Ragged Shirt and Other Favorite Fiddle Tunes from West Virginia,” on Vigortone Records.  The tune is attributed to Ed Haley, a West Virginia native who settled in Kentucky and became a well-known traditional fiddler in the early-to-mid 1900s, despite having lost his eyesight at age three. The tune’s name refers to the three forks of the Big Sandy River: Levisa, Russell, and Tug, all of which have headwaters in southwestern Virginia.  Near Pikeville, Kentucky, the Russell flows into the Levisa, which in turn joins the Tug to form the Big Sandy River along the Kentucky-West Virginia border.  Near Catlettsburg, Kentucky, where Ed Haley settled, the Big Sandy joins the Ohio River, one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks to Bobby Taylor for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Three Forks of Sandy.” MUSIC - ~12 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 162, 5-20-13. “Three Forks of Sandy” and “Bobby Taylor Plays Ragged Shirt and Other Favorite Fiddle Tunes from West Virginia” are copyright by Bobby Taylor and Vigortone Records, used with permission.  Information about Bobby Taylor is available online at his Facebook site, https://www.facebook.com/bobby.taylor.12. 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.  Information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES Virginia’s major river basins.  The Virginia portion of the Big Sandy River watershed is shown in green at the lower left.  Map from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds. Big Sandy River watershed, showing its three main forks, the Levisa, Russell, and Tug. Map by Kmusser via Wikimedia Commons, accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sandy_River_(Ohio_River_tributary)#/media/File:Bigsandyrivermap.png. Made available for public use according to Creative Commons License 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION John Hartford, “Big Sandy River,” in the West Virginia Humanities Council’s “West Virginia Encyclopedia,” online at http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/484.  This article includes information of “Three Forks of Sandy.” Andrew Kuntz, “The Traditional Tune Archive/Three Forks of Sandy,” online at http://tunearch.org/wik

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:43). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-4-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 14, 2018.  This is the second of a series of four revisits to previous episodes on the watershed connections of western Virginia rivers. MUSIC – ~7 sec This week, we feature a music selection honoring a southwestern Virginia mountain and a nearby water-carved landmark, both within a major river basin located, in turn, within the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.  Have a listen for about 30 more seconds. MUSIC - ~30 sec You’ve been listening to part of “Clinch Mountain Quickstep,” performed by Timothy Seaman and Phillip Skeens on the 2002 album, “Sycamore Rapids,” from Pine Wind Music.   Clinch Mountain is a prominent ridge stretching across five southwestern Virginia counties and into Tennessee.   It forms the divide between the watersheds of the Clinch River to the north and the Holston River to the south, two of Virginia’s major tributaries to the Upper Tennessee River.  The Tennessee River eventually flows into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky, and the Ohio continues on to the Mississippi. Back on the Clinch River, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has described that area as “one of the greatest hotspots for biodiversity in North America,” containing over 120 fish species and “more species of endangered and rare freshwater mussels than anywhere else in the world.”  This week’s “Clinch Mountain Quickstep” was recorded to honor one of the area’s landmarks: Natural Tunnel State Park.  The park is named after an 800-foot long, 100-foot high tunnel carved over hundreds of thousands of years by groundwater and by Stock Creek, a Clinch River tributary. Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Clinch Mountain Quickstep.” MUSIC - ~18 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 This episode revises and replaces Episode 184, 10-21-13. “Clinch Mountain Quickstep” and “Sycamore Rapids” are copyright 2002 by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  Information on Mr. Seaman is available online at http://www.timothyseaman.com/. 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.  Information on Mr. Cosgrove i s available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Virginia’s major river basins. The Virginia portions of the upper Tennessee watershed are shown at the lower left: light yellow for the Clinch-Powell watershed, and purple for the Holtson watershed. Map from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds. View from inside Natural Tunnel in Scott County, Virginia. Photo courtesy of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, accessed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vadcr/sets/72157603427187845/detail/?page=2. The North Fork Holston River, shown here in Washington County, Virginia, in April 2010, flows along the southern side of Clinch Mountain in Smyth and Washington counties. The Clinch River near Sneedville (Hancock County), Tennessee, just below the Virginia-Tennessee state lin

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:04). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-27-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 30, 2018. MUSIC - ~22 sec – Start of “On a Ship” by Kat Mills This week, we hear from some of Virginia’s stars of tomorrow who one day may be helping to navigate the ship, metaphorically speaking, of the Commonwealth and its water resources.  We drop in on a group of Virginia middle-school and high school students to see what water questions, concerns, or issues are on their mind.  At Virginia Tech on April 21, 2018, 17 students attending Kids Tech University Graduate School, conducted by Tech’s Biocomplexity Institute, participated in a conversation about water’s many connections to living and non-living things, landscapes, human activities, and even worlds beyond earth.  Then they were asked to state what water-related things interest or concern them.  Have a listen for about 45 seconds to some of their responses, with a musical undercurrent of “Driving Rain” by Chamomile and Whiskey of Nelson County, Va. STUDENT VOICES - ~44 sec – Questions asked and issues raised What is the most common disease from water? How are animals affected by poor water quality? How will natural gas pipelines affect our water? How can we give developing countries access to clean water? Can we change the percentage of fresh surface water, and should we? How can we help the water crisis in Cape Town [South Africa]? How can Salem [Va.] make their water softer? Trash in the ocean. Water pollution and runoff. Predicting tropical storms. Effect of melting ice caps. Rising water levels. Who has future rights to water resources? Thanks to these students for lending their voices to this episode, and for using those voices to say what about water is on their minds, from the quality of local water systems to global water issues.  Most importantly, thanks to those students for preparing to navigate our water-based ship of a planet.  We close with af few more seconds of “On a Ship,” by Blacksburg, Va. musician Kat Mills, with Rachel Handman on violin. MUSIC - ~29 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  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 voices heard in this episode were recorded on April 21, 2018, in Blacksburg, Va., at a session of Kids Tech University—Graduate School, conducted by Virginia Tech’s Biocomplexity Institute.  Virginia Water Center thanks the Biocomplexity Insitute and the students attending that day for making this episode possible.  More information about Kids Tech Univesity is available online at http://kidstechuniversity.vbi.vt.edu/; or contact Dr. Shenita Lee at [email protected]. “On a Ship,” from the 2015 album “Silver,” is copyright by Kat Mills, used with permission. Accompanists on the song are Ida Polys, vocals; Rachel Handman, violin; and Nicholas Polys, banjo. This song was previously featured in Episode 296, 12-28-15.  More information about Kat Mills is available online at http://www.katmills.com/ at https://www.facebook.com/katmillsmusic. “Driving Rain,” from the 2012 album “The Barn Sessions,” is copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey and by County Wide Records, used with permission of Chamomile and Whiskey.  More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at http://www.chamomileandwhiskey.c

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:42). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-20-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 23, 2018. This week we feature a waste-disposal mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds, and see if you can guess what’s going on in this series of sounds.   And here’s a hint: If nearby fish heard this coming from your household, they would thank you, if they could. SOUNDS - ~15 sec That’s the sound of unused and expired medications being disposed of without flushing them down a drain or toilet.  Proper disposal of medications helps prevent unintended drug use and keeps pharmaceuticals from reaching waterways.  If medications are flushed into the wastewater system, at least some of the chemicals in the medications may remain after wastewater treatment and be discharged to waterways, where they can potentially harm aquatic life.  So instead of flushing unused medications, look for options to return them at your community’s pharmacies or other establishments.  If return centers aren’t available and you must dispose of medications, here are the disposal steps recommended for most medications: Put the medication in a sealable plastic bag; add cat litter, coffee grounds, or other material that make the medications less recognizable and that would deter pets and children from eating the contents; then seal the bag and put it in the trash.  And be sure to remove all identifying personal information from prescription containers. You should also check to see whether any local ordinances prohibit disposal of medications in household trash in your area.  Note that the federal Food and Drug Administration currently recommends flushing for certain medicines that pose a particular risk from improper use, and a list of those medications is available at that agency’s “Flushing of Certain Medicines” Web site.  But that recommendation is challenged by some people, including some staff at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, because of the potential impacts on aquatic systems. Now here’s another option: April 28, 2018, is the next National Prescription Drug Take-back Day.  The event is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration, and conducted by law-enforcement agencies nationwide, whose officers are available at designated locations to accept medications for proper disposal.  To see if a take-back event is happening near you, call your local police or sheriff’s department or visit the Justice Department’s “Prescription Drug Take-back Day” Web site, where you can search for the take-back location nearest you. SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek 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 This episode updates and replaces Episode 107 (4-16-12). 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. IMAGE From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines,” online at https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm101653.htm. EXTRA FACTS ABOUT THE WATER IMPACTS OF DRU

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:49). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-13-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 16, 2018. This week, we feature a springtime mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds to an April 2017 recording, and see if you can guess what bird is making the two-note, buzzing song, which you’ll hear along with a repeating song from another bird.  And here’s a hint: if you have birding FE-ver, your answer may BE correct. SOUNDS - ~17 sec If you guessed an Eastern Phoebe, you’re right!  And if you also recognized the repeating song of a Carolina Wren, you may indeed have birding fever.  The Eastern Phoebe is one of two phoebe species known in Virginia, and it’s one of over 30 North American species in the bird family of flycatchers, known for their habit of hawking, that is, flying out from a perch to catch passing insects. The Eastern Phoebe is a summer breeding resident in most of Virginia and a year-round resident in the southeastern corner and Eastern Shore.  It’s found in woodlands, often near water sources.  Its nest of mud, moss, grass, and leaves typically is found on rock outcrops or on various human structures, like building eaves, bridges, and culverts, specifically in places somewhat protected from predators.  Those nest predators include raccoons, black rat snakes, chipmunks, mice, coyotes, and various birds. Eastern Phoebes, meanwhile, feed on a variety of flying insects along with other invertebrates, some fruit and seeds, and occasionally fish.  It’s known to respond to occurrences of high insect populations, including aquatic insect hatches and swarms of midges. We close with a few seconds of music that celebrates springtime’s more active life by birds and by many other creatures, including two-legged ones. Here’s part of “Spring Fever,” by John McCutcheon, from the 1999 album “Springsongs.” MUSIC - ~ 30 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  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 Eastern Phoebe sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on April 16, 2017, in Blacksburg, Va. “Spring Fever,” from the 1999 album “Four Seasons: Springsongs,” is copyright by John McCutcheon and Rounder Records, used with permission.  More information about John McCutcheon is available online at https://www.folkmusic.com/. 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. PHOTOS Eastern Phoebe in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, April 4, 2017.   Photo by N. Lewis, National Park Service, public domain. Accessed online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/snpphotos/33741643103/.  John James Audubon painting of the Pewee Flycatcher—also called Pewit Flycatcher, both of which are older names for Eastern Phoebe—originally published between 1827 and 1838 in Birds of America (plate CXX [120]), as reprinted in 1985 by Abbeville Press, New York.   Photo taken April 16, 2018, from the reprint copy (no. 6 of 350 copies printed in 1985) owned by Special Collections of Virginia Tech Libraries.  Virginia Water Radio thanks Special Collections for permission to photograph their copy and for their assista

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:27). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-6-18. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 9, 2018. This week, we’re focusing on a new, potentially serious insect pest, the Spotted Lanternfly, a member of the insect order of true bugs.  It’s not an aquatic species, but its potential effects on many tree species—including maples, oaks, sycamores, and willows—could, in turn, have consequences for watersheds or water bodies near such trees.  To learn about this emerging issue, I’m joined by Eric Day, who runs Virginia Tech’s Insect ID Lab in Blacksburg. Eric, welcome to Virginia Water Radio. E.D.: Thank you, Alan.  It’s a real pleasure to be here today and speaking about this very important invasive insect. VWR: What’s the origin of the Spotted Lanternfly, and where’s it being found in the United States? E.D.: The origin appears to be northern China, and initially it was found in southeast Pennsylvania in 2014.  And we’ve been carefully watching it there because it is emerging as a pest of grapes and peaches, and also of hops.   And then now, starting in 2018, it’s been discovered in Virginia. So now we’re starting to gear up our work, gear up fact sheets and other information to deal with the new pest here. VWR: Why is the discovery of it such a concern? E.D.: There’s several issues in the pest status.  One is it’s a pest of fruit: tree fruits, the grapes, peaches, and hops I mentioned earlier, also on apples.   It’s also a huge nuisance pest, and it is in backyards causing a lot of issues, because it produces a lot of what’s called honeydew, which is this clear, sticky, sugary material, and then sooty mold grows on that, too.   So it is a big backyard issue. It also feeds on Tree-of-Heaven, which is also known as Ailanthus, which is an invasive species as well, so it [the invasive Spotted Lanternfly] is coupled with another invasive species.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t control Ailanthus, it just hitches a ride on Ailanthus and gets its way across the state in that manner. VWR: What actions are federal or state scientists or officials taking in response to the discovery in the States? E.D.: Several things.  The state [Virginia] is about to issue a quarantine, so there’ll be quarantines in place where this infestation occurs.  In addition, the federal government is going to be doing eradication, combined eradication of Ailanthus and the Spotted Lanternfly. But what we’ve seen, unfortunately, in other states and in other countries, too—it’s invaded in other countries, as well—is the Spotted Lanternfly is very hard to eradicate, because it feeds on a wide range of trees and shrubs.  That means it spreads out into the woods and it’s virtually impossible to eradicate.  We can slow its spread, much like we’ve done for Gypsy Moth, but ultimately it’s going to establish itself as a pest—yet another thing that farmers and backyard growers will have to deal with. VWR: Well how can listeners identify this insect? E.D.: This is a very easy insect to identify.  The name pretty much tells it all.  It looks like a tropical moth, with spots on its wings.  The immature stages are black, with either white or red spots. So, compare it to pictures on the Internet, and you’ll find it to be a very easy insect to identify. If you think you have it, report it.  You can report it to any number of sources: your local Cooperative Extension office, your county office; you can also report it to the Department of Agriculture, either the federal or the state; or the [Virginia] Department of Forestry.  All [these] people are aware of this and all [these] people are looking for it. VWR: All right, Eric Day, of the Virginia Tech Insect ID Lab, thank you for