Symposium highlight
Don Orth
(Virginia Tech) hosted
the symposium's plenary session
Thursday, November 29 • 8:00am - 12:00pm
The theme of Don Orth's round table was "Water for Wildlife: Emerging Issues in Virginia and West Virginia Waters."
Don Orth moderated a panel of experts from Virginia and West Virginia universities, state agencies and private companies. The panel presented research findings, case studies, and overviews of the issues that affect aquatic communities.
John Staelin, Chair of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Water Resources Policy Committee, was the luncheon speaker.
The William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow Award was awarded during the luncheon.
Plenary session speakers:
- Vicki S. Blazer, US Geological Survey: "Endocrine Disruption and Reproductive Health of Bass in the Potomac Drainage and Selected Out of Basin Sites"
- J. Todd Petty, West Virginia University: "Watershed Scale Ecology and Management of Central Appalachian Brook Trout"
- Rick Webb, University of Virginia: "Changes in the Chemistry of Virginia Brook Trout Streams Following Reductions in Acidic Deposition"
- Madeline Schreiber, Virginia Tech: "Mobilization and Transport of Arsenic in Agricultural and Mined Watersheds"
- William Hopkins, Virginia Tech: "Mercury Pollution: An Understudied Threat to Amphibian and Reptile Populations in Virginia"
- Donald G. Kain, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Steve Reeser*, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: "Shenandoah River Fish Kill Investigations"
- Ralph G. Stahl, Jr., DuPont Company, on behalf of the South River Science Team: "Mercury Investigations on the South River, Virginia"
- Jess Jones*, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Richard Neves, US Geological Survey and Virginia Tech: "Patterns of Recovery and Decline of the Freshwater Mussel Populations in the Clinch and Powell Rivers of the Southeastern United States"
- C. A. Dolloff*, Virginia Tech and W. M. Aust, Virginia Tech: "Vegetated Buffer Strips for Protecting Water Quality"
- John Kaufman, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: "Summer Flows Control American Shad Spawning Success"
Luncheon speaker
- John Staelin, Chair, Shenandoah Valley Regional Water Resources Policy Committee: "Water Science Questions and Local Government Needs"
John Staelin is Chair of the ten county Shenandoah Valley Regional Water Resources Policy Committee that is working to develop a strategic plan for improving water quality in the river and ensuring that enough water is available in the future to serve the Valley's growing population.
The William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow Award
During the luncheon, Mrs. William R. Walker presented the William R. Walker Award to Christina C. Davis, PE, a doctoral student in the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech.
The award, named after the founding director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, is offered by the center to individuals who pursue a graduate degree in a field different from the field of emphasis as an undergraduate or to individuals who have returned to graduate school after some real-world experience. The recipient is selected through a statewide competition that is open to graduate students from all of Virginia’s colleges and universities.
Professor William R. Walker passed away in March 2007.