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What we’ve been up to:

For over 20 years, Friends has been involved in monitoring various water quality parameters on the North Fork of the Shenandoah. Our organization has focused on special research projects, including trace organics and e.coli, chemical, and biological monitoring.

Friends teamed up with the Izaak Walton League’s Virginia Save Our Streams Program in 2021 for biological, Benthic Macro Invertebrate monitoring of the North Fork and its tributaries. Our certified Virginia Save Our Streams trainers on staff conduct certification training in the spring and fall to build our team of biological monitors. Click here to learn more about this program, see sites currently being monitored, and find out how to get involved. Click the following links to learn more about the Izaak Walton League and their Virginia Save Our Streams Program.

Long-term, on-going monitoring for nutrients is the work of our sister organization, Friends of the Shenandoah River (FOSR).  Water samples collected by trained volunteer monitors are taken to the FOSR lab, located at Shenandoah University in Winchester, whose methods and procedures are certified by the Department of Environmental Quality. The water samples go through a rigorous analysis along with samples from throughout the Shenandoah River watershed in Virginia, which encompasses all or part of Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Page, Warren, Frederick and Clarke counties.  The resultant data is available at www.fosr.org/monitor.cfm.

What projects are underway:

Friends is currently building a team of certified Benthic Macro Invertebrate monitors around the North Fork to collect water quality data to share with the Virginia Save Our Streams national database, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, area conservation partners and the community. Email volunteer coordinator, Julia Sargent at julia.sargent@fnfsr.org to learn about how you can get involved.

Where we want to go from here:

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Science Resources and Articles

Interested in getting involved? Contact our Program Coordinator for more information!