Save the Potomac.org News: February 17, 2005 Northern snakehead on the U.S. endangered list? – Commissioners from Utah want the Northern Snakehead in the Potomac listed as an endangered species to make a point with eastern folk.  Read More! Duel-sex fish in the Cacapon Creek -- get the "Bassmaster" looking hard at endocrine disrupters in the Potomac Basic and elsewhere.  Read More! New 10-year, $500 million Virginia proposal vs. “flush tax.” – a Centreville delegate describes how the Virginia House majority views what is needed to clean up the Potomac and the Chesapeake.  Read More! Prince William Virginia parks as regional treasures – nearly 40% of the county is planned as open space.  Many of the parks are important to the entire watershed.  Read More! Mirant sues Alexandria over new regulations – the old power plant on the banks of the Potomac has sparked a battle between the power company and the City. Read More! New water main controversy in Great Falls – would likely spawn more intense development along the Potomac on the Virginia side. Read More! New giant water main for PG County – would connect the Potomac and the County via a “big dig” though lower Montgomery.   Read More! http://www.gazette.net/200507/bethesda/news/260333-1.html A haunted watershed? – many of Virginia’s most haunted places are along the Potomac.  Read More! Rural Legacy funds approved in Maryland – Governor Bob Ehrlich has announced over $1.4 million in open space protection finds some of which are targeted to the Potomac Watershed.  Read More! Proposed Georgetown University boathouse --  stirs controversy between rowers and parkland enthusiasts.  Read More! Development plans in Colonial Beach -- area include 1,200 new home and condos and restoration projects including beach improvements.  Read More! Governor Ehrlich’s performance -- on smart growth and open space protection reviewed by Tom Horton. Read More! Coyotes in the watershed --  by land and by sea!  Snakeheads are in the water and now Coyotes are frequenting Rock Creek Park and other places in the Potomac Watershed.  Read More! Canal journey -- What do Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro and the 184-mile long Chesapeake and Ohio Canal have in common?  Read More! Highway alternatives sought -- Smart growth groups argue for less land- consuming alternatives to the Cross County Connector as Maryland considers options to link I-95 and I-270.  Read More! River Keeper takes a second look -- at whether litigation is needed to solve Hagerstown sewage plant and system woes.  Read more! PG County takes a one-year pause -- to look at smart growth and conservation of its less-developed areas.  Read More! The Chesapeake Bay Executive Council takes important steps -- in January to improve the overall condition of the Bay and tributaries including the Potomac River.  Emphasis is being placed on fisheries and watershed restoration.  Read More! Chapman’s Forest state park land gets caught up in sale to Charles County.  Does it bode ill for eventual development of the land or is it just to provide public playing fields?  Read More! Shenandoah Valley invaded by aliens!   At least that's what Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise would have us believe!    Read More! New railroad bridge across Quantico Creek -- will help rail commuters and freight traffic while seeking to protect fish spawning areas near the Creek’s mouth on the Potomac.  Read More! Updated Virginia hiking guide reveals Great Falls wonders -- to writer and former reporter and gets rave reviews.  Read more!   Governor Ed Rendell named chair of Chesapeake Bay Executive Council.  He is the first Pennsylvania Governor to hold the post.  Read More! Dead zone in the Bay and Lower Potomac still a mystery to experts -- even as oxygen returns to the lower River and the Bay scientists look for reasons for worst conditions in 20 years.  Read more! Cancer-causing rocket fuel chemical found in our Potomac drinking source  -- traces of a rare chemical additive to rocket fuel that can cause thyroid cancer is found in local water supplies.  Read more! Tainted water in Maryland headed for Potomac? -- Drinking supplies in Frederick County are showing high levels of chemical contaminants.  Read more! Navy Department project at East Potomac Park stirs intrigue --  a recently occupied four-acre site at Hains Point has people talking and the Park Service hushed.   Read more! Trees in the Monacacy indicate watershed conditions -- the health of the watershed is being assessed through a new method involving trees.  Read more. State purchases land near Antietam Battlefield -- a new land acquisition will help preserve the Battlefield area.  Read more! A $1.2 billion sewage pumping station -- will reduce the amount of raw sewage that gets into the Anacostia by 40%.  In the past three years. 91 million gallons of untreated sewage water has gone into the River.  Read More! Invasive plants in the watershed – “outsider” plants often overrun large areas of the watershed and expel native vegetation.  Read More! Mercury threat in Potomac headwaters – a new EPA study finds that “every lake and stream” in West Virginia is to some degree contaminated with mercury and the fish people take from these waters are tainted.  Read More! Report warns of Potomac water shortages -- Maryland will need to improve its cooperation with Virginia in light of regional population growth according to a report on future water needs.  Read More! Website Challenges Lost River Tributary Dams -- Bradley Walker has developed an information and action site called www.savelostriver.org designed to inform people in the region about five large dams proposed in the Lost River area in West Virginia. Check it out! Potomac eel population declining -- scientists are working hard to figure out what is happening to these mysterious inhabitants of the Potomac ecosystem.  Read More!

Save The Potomac -- News and Events The Potomac Riverkeeper with SaveThePotomac.org News and events throughout the Potomac Watershed