Announcements 2025.5.5

[Walker, Jane]

1.) Public Participation Opportunities: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Cleanup Studies and Implementation Plans – Various Dates, Starting: TODAY, May 5, 2025
2.) Lynnhaven River Now Cleanup – May 10, 2025
3.) Volunteer Opportunities: Elizabeth River Project – Various Dates, Starting: May 10, 2025
4.) Request for Proposals: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grants
   ++ 2025 Chesapeake WILD Grants Program – Application Deadline: May 13, 2025 
   ++ 2025 Chesapeake Small Watershed Grants – Application Deadline: May 13, 2025
5.) Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI) Announcements – Various Dates, Starting: May 13, 2025
6.) Public Information Meeting: Shenandoah River State Park Master Plan – May 13, 2025
7.) Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) 2025 Webcast Series – Various Dates: Next Webcast, May 14, 2025
8.) 2025 Scenic Virginia Photo Contest – Submissions Due: May 15, 2025
9.) Virginia Association of Wetland Professionals (VAWP) 2025 Scholarship – Submission Deadline: May 15, 2025
10.) Outdoor Teacher Retreat – May 17, 2025
11.) 2025 Choose Clean Water Conference – May 19-21, 2025
12.) Seeking Research Sites in James River Watershed
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See recent announcements and learn more about the Virginia Water Monitoring Council (VWMC) at www.VirginiaWMC.org. Feel free to forward these announcements. When forwarding, please acknowledge the VWMC. If you have a water-related announcement of regional or statewide interest, send it to vw...@vt.edu and ask that it be distributed to the VWMC membership. If someone forwarded this message to you, you can join the VWMC for free by sending your name, water-monitoring affiliation (if applicable), and contact information (email address, mailing address, and phone number) to vw...@vt.edu. Thank you to the VWMC’s intern, Logan Flanagan, for developing today’s announcements. 
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1.) Public Participation Opportunities: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Cleanup Studies and Implementation Plans – Learn more about TMDL studies under development across Virginia at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/water/water-quality/tmdl-development/tmdls-under-development. Learn more about Virginia’s cleanup implementation plans under development at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/water/water-quality/implementation/implementation-plans-under-development/.
   ++ Cleanup Plan: North Fork Rivanna River Watershed (Albemarle and Greene County) – Meeting: TODAY, May 5, 2025 (5:30 pm; Stanardsville, VA); Comment Period: May 5, 2025 to June 4, 2025 -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=41601
   ++ Cleanup Study: Deep Run, Dover Creek, Upham Brook Watersheds (Henrico County, Goochland County, City of Richmond) – Meeting: May 8, 2025 (5:30pm, Glen Allen, VA); Comment Period: May 8, 2025 to June 9, 2025 -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=41600
   ++ Cleanup Study: Crooked Run, Stony Creek and Pughs Run (Shenandoah County) -- Comment Period Ends: May 9, 2025 -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=41418
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2.) Lynnhaven River Now Cleanups – May 10, 2025 – London Bridge Bike Path -- Wear sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing and bring a water bottle. Learn more and register at https://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org/waterway-cleanups/.  
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3.) Volunteer Opportunities: Elizabeth River Project – Learn more about these and other opportunities at https://elizabethriver.org/volunteer/. Interested individuals may also sign up to be an Outreach Volunteer. Organized by the Elizabeth River Project.
   ++ Litter Clean-Ups – May 10, 2025; June 7, 2025 -- Norfolk, VA
   ++ Paradise Creek Nature Park – May 10, 2025 and June 7 &14, 2025 (9-11am) -- Portsmouth, VA
   ++ Landscape Maintenance at Ryan Resilience Lab -- May 15, & 29, 2025; June 12 & 26, 2025; and July 10, 2025 (10am-Noon) – Norfolk, VA
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4.) Request for Proposals: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grants
   ++ 2025 Chesapeake WILD Grants Program – Application Deadline: May 13, 2025 (12pm) – Funding is available to conserve, protect, and restore vital fish and wildlife habitat of the Chesapeake Bay. Information is posted at https://www.nfwf.org/programs/chesapeake-wild. Contact Jake Reilly at jake....@nfwf.org or Tori Sullens at tori.s...@nfwf.org for more information.
   ++ 2025 Chesapeake Small Watershed Grants – Application Deadline: May 13, 2025 (12pm) – Funding is available for projects within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that promote voluntary, community-based efforts to protect and restore diverse and vital habitats of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn more at https://www.nfwf.org/programs/chesapeake-small-watershed-grants.
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5.) Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI) Announcements
   ++ Webinars: Proactive Data Management for Post-Field Season Data Success – May 13, 2025 (4-5:15pm) & May 14, 2025 (11am-12:15pm) – https://www.cuahsi.org/events.
   ++ Stakeholder-Informed Spatial Modeling for Hydrologic Sciences Workshop – Application Deadline: May 16, 2025; Workshop: August 18-19, 2025 – Nahant, MA -- https://www.cuahsi.org/workshops/stakeholder-informed-spatial-modeling-for-hydrologic-sciences.
   ++ Hydroinformatics Innovation Fellowship – https://www.cuahsi.org/grant-opportunities/hydroinformatics-innovation-fellowship.
   ++ Instrumentation Discovery Travel Grant – https://www.cuahsi.org/grant-opportunities/instrumentation-discovery-travel-grant.
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6.) Public Information Meeting: Shenandoah River State Park Master Plan – May 13, 2025 (6pm) – Front Royal, VA – Participants will learn more about the master plan process and have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. Learn more at https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=41625.
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7.) Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) 2025 Webcast Series – Various Dates: Next Webcast, May 14, 2025 – Wednesdays (1pm) -- Webcasts are recorded and a link to the recording is provided to registrants.  Learn more and register at https://cwp.org//2025_webcast_list.php.
   ++ May 14, 2025 -- Stream Restoration: A Holistic Approach
   ++ June 11, 2025 -- From Detection to Prevention: Tackling Illicit Discharges
   ++ July 16, 2025 -- Managing PFAs in Stormwater: Strategies and Solutions
   ++ September 17, 2025 -- Incorporating landscaping into stormwater practices
   ++ October 15, 2025 -- Impacts of Climate Change on Rainwater Harvesting Systems
   ++ November 12, 2025 -- From Regulations to Implementation: Achieving MS4 Compliance
   ++ December – TBD – Accepting suggestions.
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8.) 2025 Scenic Virginia Photo Contest – Submissions Due: May 15, 2025 –Accepting photographs of Virginia’s landscapes. Categories include Cities & Towns, Coastal & Chesapeake Bay, Farms & Open Spaces, Highways & Byways, Mountains & Valleys, Rivers & Waterways, Scenic Trees, and Vistas with Wildlife. Learn more and submit a photo at https://www.scenicvirginia.org/2025-photo-contest. See the winning photos from 2024 (https://www.scenicvirginia.org/photo-contest-gallery-1) and 2022 (https://www.scenicvirginia.org/photo-contest-gallery-1-1). Greeting cards that feature winning photos from previous years can be purchased by contacting em...@scenicvirginia.org or calling (804) 643-VIEW (8439). Contest organized by Scenic Virginia, and proceeds from the sale of cards support the work of Scenic Virginia.
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9.) Virginia Association of Wetland Professionals (VAWP) 2025 Scholarship – Submission Deadline: May 15, 2025 – Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Virginia institutions pursuing research focused on wetland science, natural resources, or related environmental science fields are eligible. Learn more about and apply at https://vawetlands.org/education-committee/. Contact Eli Wright at ewr...@w3env.com with questions.
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10.) Outdoor Teacher Retreat – May 17, 2025 (8:30am-4pm) – Great Falls, VA – Workshop topics include earth skills and bushcraft, student portfolios and documentation, social emotional skills in nature, and plant ID skills. Participants will receive a professional development certificate at the conclusion of the event. Learn more and register at https://anbe.org/OTR-VA. Organized by the Association for Nature-Based Education.
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11.) 2025 Choose Clean Water Conference – May 19-21, 2025 – Harrisonburg, VA – Theme: “Hills and Valleys: Our Journey for Clean Water” – Participants will learn about innovative restoration approaches and clean water efforts. Learn more and register at https://www.choosecleanwater.org/our-conference. Organized by the Choose Clean Water Coalition.
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12.) Seeking Research Sites in James River Watershed – Researchers at Virginia Tech and UVA are seeking ~6 stream sites within the Upper & Middle James River watershed where they can collect data and connect with ongoing community water monitoring data. Their goal is to create a spatial framework to help prioritize locations for stream restoration.  The researchers would need permission to access the site to collect water and soil samples and to install temporary wells next to the stream (4-inch diameter holes about 6-feet deep with PVC pipe showing above ground - the researchers would remove pipes and fill holes at the completion of the study, which is anticipated to last approximately 1 year and begin in Fall/Winter 2025).  Contact Ashleigh Kirker at aki...@vt.edu or 540-231-1560 if interested in potentially helping with this research project.
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The VWMC announcements are provided with support from the Virginia Water Resources Research Center. Thank you to our sponsor!

You too can sponsor the VWMC announcements.  Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the VWMC to support information updates and other VWMC activities.  Make checks payable to: “The Virginia Tech Foundation” and on the memo portion of the check include “VWMC Fund #872802.” Mail contributions to the Virginia Water Resources Research Center (0444, Attn: Jane Walker) at 210 Cheatham Hall, Virginia Tech; 310 West Campus Drive; Blacksburg, VA 24061.