Friends of Blackwater has received a grant from the West Virginia DEP to monitor Sand Run, a tributary of the North Fork. Sand Run meets the North Fork right on the edge of Thomas City Park, meaning that the boat docks and other riverside attractions are close to the mouth of the creek, and many people potentially come in contact with the water. The DEP considers Sand Run to be impaired, but a lot has changed in the watershed since that impaired designation, including pH-raising limestone sands places strategically by the DNR, and Friends of Blackwater is hopeful that our up-to-date data may show improvements in the watershed. We will get started on monitoring towards the end of the summer and will continue to monitor Sand Run for the next two years. We will share our conclusions on our website for anyone who is interested.
Sand Run is unlike our other monitoring sites because two of the four monitoring locations are completely inaccessible by car. We will be biking and hiking to this tributary, and, as always, will be extending an invitation for you to come monitor with us. If a short hike through beautiful Thomas City Park to a stream deep in the woods sounds like your idea of a fun time, let us know and tag along.
