Greetings from Your Stones River Watershed Association. July 2007.


Third Annual BOAT DAY!  Saturday, July 7.  9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Manson Pike trailhead of the Murfreesboro Greenway. This FREE annual event allows participants to try out a variety of boats on a short section of the Stones River. We bring in boats that are suitable for the slow streams of middle Tennessee as well as water craft suitable for more challenging rivers, including a variety of single and tandem canoes, kayaks, and sit-on-top kayaks plus fishing boats and more. We had 100 participants last year and expect more this time around.

We especially appreciate the participation of Jackson Kayaks of Sparta, TN this year with a complete assortment of their models and Ted Chesnutt of Kaschper Racing Shells, who have his racing sculls on hand for demonstration.  

Thanks to our co-sponsors, Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation, we will have food and drinks available for purchase this year and we're adding a variety of demonstrations and booths to educate and entertain. Hillary Hargrove of Riverdale High School will be demonstrating water quality monitoring with one of the kits that we provided to schools this year, and our own booth will feature our popular Enviroscape watershed model.

Directions: The Manson Pike trailhead is just off Manson Pike/Medical Center Parkway, approximately 1/2 mile from its intersection with Broad St. If traveling from Broad St. toward I-24 on Medical Center Parkway, you will turn right on Searcy St. Watch for the prominent Greenway sign. Map.

If you're planning to come to Boat Day and could devote a little extra time to help out with staffing a booth or registering participants please contact Mayo at 890-2081 or mayo@stoneswatershed.org.

Visual Stream Assessment training. Saturday, July 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Patterson Park Community Center. This will be a repeat of our March training, which was highly successful and well-attended by area water quality professionals. This time we want to work primarily with members of area citizen organizations as well as members of the general public. Our trainer is Beth Chesson, a civil engineer and erosion control specialist with CEC, Inc. in Nashville, as well as a director and founding member of SRWA. The day will begin with a classroom session, followed by field work at several stream sites nearby. Reservations will be required for this training. Please contact Beth at 867-8685 or beth@stoneswatershed.org.

Watershed Summit at Short Mountain, Friday-Sunday, September 14-16. Join us for this weekend retreat at the Short Mountain Bible Camp, located at the very top of Short Mountain in Cannon County. The program will combine educational presentations, skills building and strategy sessions for leaders and members of watershed groups, plus recreational activities for kids and adults. Either dormitory housing or camping is available. Check back for more information about schedule and programing. If you would like to be involved in the planning contact Randle at randle@stoneswatershed.org or 615-969-7769.

Report on the annual meeting. We had a good time and a good turn out for our June 9th Annual Meeting. A hearty crew led by Bob Higman and Toby Francis gathered two huge piles of debris from Stewart Creek before disembarking at the Creek House of the Sam Davis Home. They joined other SRWA members and the public at a series of educational booths arranged by Greg Upham, then we all enjoyed a potluck lunch. The day wrapped up with a business meeting that included both elections and planning for the coming year. SRWA leadership for the coming year includes the following:

Jim Barden:    President
Randle Branch:    Vice President
Gib Backlund:    Secretary
Mayo Taylor:     Treasurer

Directors:

Bob Higman:    River Activities
Beth Chesson:    River Assessment
Richard Baines:    Environmental Oversight
Greg Upham:    Education
Toby Francis:     Smyrna/Stewart Creek representative