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Check Out Six High Country Watershed Happenings Planned for the Coming Weeks

 

Dozens of folks attended a stream bank repair workshop in a previous year. Photo by Donna Lisenby
Dozens of folks attended a stream bank repair workshop in a previous year. Photo by Donna Lisenby

Wendy M. Patoprsty, Natural Resources Extension Agent in Watauga County, compiled a list of six “High Country Watershed Happenings” that are planned for the coming weeks.

Check them out below:

1) Project WET Workshop – (Free) August 28th at New River State Park 221 Access.  Led by Ranger Tom Randolph and Wendy Patoprsty, participants will learn hands-on activities to teach about water pollution, watersheds, water conservation, water cycles, river habitats and more.  For more info please click here.  To register, contact Wendy Patoprsty at (828)264-3061 or wendy_patoprsty@ncsu.edu

2) Whirling Disease has tested positive in rainbow and brook trout in the Foscoe area of the Watauga River.  You can help!!!  Never move fish or aquatic life from one body of water to another without obtaining a permit, dispose of fish parts by burying deeply or burning completely, contact the Wildlife Commission if you observe deformities, strange swimming behaviors or other signs of disease in trout.  For a full article and more info on this disease please click here.

3.) Watauga County River Clean Up will be held on Sept 19th from 9am – 1pm.  Prizes, awards, and all supplies provided.  Click here for more information or contact Wendy_Patoprsty@ncsu.edu to sign up.

4.) FREE Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is now available through the Watauga County Cooperative Extension.  Please click here to see what it looks like and contact Wendy_Patoprsty@ncsu.edu to pick some up.

5.)  A new stream guide, Small-scale Solutions to Eroding Streambanks, is now available and gives you the tools to choose the best option for your situation.  Click here to get your copy!  Created by the NC Cooperative Extension Backyard Stream Repair team and funded through the Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the North Carolina Forest Service, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Southern Region.

6.) Operation Medicine Cabinet and Hazardous Household Waste Day are set for October 10, 2015 from 10-2pm at all Watauga area Food Lion Grocery Stores.  Mark your calendars and clean out the cabinets and garage!  Help us keep pharmaceuticals and control-substance drugs off the streets and out of the rivers!  No questions will be asked, and any prescription and over-the-counter medications and medical supplies can be turned in anonymously.