Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 1

Letter from the President...

Spring is just around the corner...really. It is a time when the trail reallycomes alive. The increased activity brings lots of our neighbors out to enjoyone of our unique resources in the county. Friends of Long Branch StreamValley is proud of how the communities have rallied around the cause tosupport and pitch in where sometimes funding may fall short.

We are aware there are still issues with low spots that remain very wet aftersignificant rain events. We continue to work closely with the ParkAuthority and other entities to determine where we can make the mostimpact to rectify those areas. As we have come to realize, it's a work inprogress, but we are determined to make improvements.

There are a few other projects we are supporting that will have a significantimpact on the trail and park, including the Stream Restoration Projectlocated at Long Branch Falls and the Long Branch Trail paving project.More details on these initiatives are featured in the newsletter.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that our VicePresident Scott Thaxton will be moving into the role of President ofFLBSV and Bryan Campbell will be moving into the role of VicePresident. I am honored to have worked with an amazing team tostand up the FLBSV community and will remain an avid supporter.

I'd like to personally thank everyone for your past and continuedsupport. I truly believe we have made and will continue to make adifference.

If you're interested in becoming more involved in the group or ifyou have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I look forwardto seeing everyone at the Spring Cleanup Day, April 2. Can'tbe with us on April 2nd? Help out our sister Friends group, theFriends of Accotink Creek who have scheduled several clean upsfrom April 2nd to May 14th. For more info see: Friends of AccotinkCreek Watershed Cleanup Weekends.

Chris BauernshubPresident, Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley

In this issue:Letter from the President p1Cleanup Day Information p2Royal Lake Braddock Nights Concerts to Move to Rutherford Park p3Long Branch Falls Park Stream Restoration p3Volunteers Needed for Royal Lake Wildlife Conservation Efforts p4The Lake Accotink Master Plan Revision Is Off & Running! p5Braddock Road Multimodal Study Project Meeting p5Park Bond Process Now in Progress p6New Friends Group Forming in the Accotink Watershed p6Invasive Species Profile: Periwinkle (Vinca minor) p7The Park in Winter: A Photo Essay p8Our Newsletter & Thanks p8LBSV Contact Information p3

FRIENDS of LONG BRANCH STREAM VALLEY Volume 2, Issue 3 March 2016

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 2

Saturday April 2nd

, 2016

Event Information: 9:00‐9:30 Meet at Canterbury Woods Pool for refreshments, instructions

and supplies.

9:30‐11:30 Cleanup

11:30‐12:00 Return to CW Pool for photos and prizes.

Contact:

Chris Bauernshub (FLBSV President emeritus) chrisbauernshub@gmail.com; 703.597.1701

Somerset South Hidden Creek

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 3

Royal Lake Braddock Nights Concerts To Move To Rutherford Park This Spring, the Department of Public works andEnvironmental Services (DPWES) will begin dredgingoperations of Royal Lake in the Pohick Watershed, which areexpected to last about 12-15 months. One of the impacts ofthat will be the temporary relocation of the Braddock NightsSummer Concert Series from Royal Lake Park to RutherfordPark in the Long Branch Stream Valley as the contractor willuse the area where the concerts usually take place to locatedredging equipment and materials. Lake Accotink ParkBraddock Nights concerts are unaffected. This marks thefirst time both Braddock Nights venues, both Lake AccotinkPark and Rutherford Park will take place in the AccotinkWatershed.

The Braddock Nights Summer Concert Series is a joint effortby the Office of the Braddock District Supervisor (SupervisorJohn Cook), the Fairfax County Park Authority, and theFairfax County Park Foundation. Concerts begin in earlyJuly and run for eight weeks. A flyer from Supervisor Cook’soffice and the Park Authority will be distributed sometime inthe March / April timeframe.

Tony Vellucci

Long Branch Falls Stream Restoration Project

Last April Fairfax County Storm Water Management officials began the process of determininghow to restore the stream that runs through this park. King David Blvd, Windflower Lane,Sabra, and Red Fox bound the park. This project is part of the county’s Watershed ManagementPlan, which is a comprehensive plan on how the county wants to manage all of the streamsrunning through it. As part of the overall plan, the county reviews its list of projects and thisone has now risen to the top.

The purpose of the project is to restore the stream to its natural course. Over the years thestream has moved out of its natural course, causing erosion problems and accumulations of siltdownstream. Another goal of the project is to protect homeowners’ property. The property of ahomeowner on King David Boulevard in particular threatens to be undermined by streamerosion. In April the project team should wrap up the design portion of the project. The nextphase of the project is the actual construction, but no money has yet been allotted to this project. The decision on funding the project lies with Supervisor John Cook’s office. Therefore, those of us who have been working with the county on this project implore you to send Cook’s office a letter of support. Use a generic letter as a template from the FLBSV website, or write your own letter.

If you have any questions about the project, please do not hesitate to contact me at Kepley.david@gmail.com.

David Kepley

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley If you see an open position that you would be interested in, please email Scott at friendslbsv@gmail.com

Officers:President Scott ThaxtonVice President Bryan CampbellSecretary Lisa YoungTreasurer Jim Hawkins

Committees:Invasive Management openTrail Management Scott ThaxtonWater Quality Management Joe DicerboEducational Awareness Lisa YoungCommunity Outreach Allison Hagner Braddock District Representative to the Park Authority Board of Directors Tony VellucciMembers-at-Large Roger Hartman

and Dave Rabadan

Community Leads:Bradfield Canterbury Woods Long Branch - David Rabadan Little RunOlde Forge/Surrey Square - Gary and Mimi KrausRed Fox Forest - Lisa Young Hidden CreekSomerset South - Doug Pickford Rutherford Stone Haven - Chris Bauernshub

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 4

Volunteers Needed For Royal Lake Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Royal Lake is scheduled for dredging this year. In all likelihood, the dredging will be a combination of a dry and a wet dredge. The contractor will propose an approach which the Department of Public Works & Environmental Services(DPWES) will accept and approve.

If there is a dry dredge component to the contractor’s dredgingplan, there are several lessons learned from the dredging ofWoodglen Lake last year to be leveraged for Royal Lake. Oneis the amount of aquatic wildlife that can be saved with someadvance planning, and the need for volunteers and volunteergroups to assist in the wildlife conservation efforts.

The draining of Woodglen Lake last year revealed an incrediblefresh water mussel population. While DPWES was able torelocate a good number of fish from Woodglen Lake to LakeAccotink, there was little they could do to relocate the freshwater mussels, and most became a feast for sea gulls and other wildlife. Two factors impacted why more could not be saved. First, no one really knew the extent of the fresh water mussel population because they were not visible until the lake level was drawn down. Second, there was no organized mussel rescue party.

Fresh water mussels are not cute, warm or cuddly, but they do play an incredible and important role in lake ecology – acting as water filtering and purification agents. And for that reason alone, they are worth saving and we should make every attempt to save as many as possible. Given the number of mussels found at Woodglen Lake, and the fact that Royal Lake is about three times larger, a significant volunteer effort will be needed for the Royal Lake Mussel Rescue Party.

At one time, fresh water mussels are believed to have inhabited a number of streams in Fairfax County, however today the only place stream mussels survive is just south of the dam at Lake Accotink. The Friends of Accotink Creek (FACC) and Friends of Lake Accotink Park (FLAP) recently funded a fresh water mussel study to learn more about these amazing organisms that can live to be about 80 years old. The study determined that a primary impact to thriving populations is sediment caused by stormwater run- off. The study is posted on the Friends of Accotink Creek website at www.acctonik.org. The Friends of Accotink Creek are determined to save the fresh water stream mussels in Accotink Creek and have routinely sponsored Mussel Rescue Parties after major storms to go into Accotink Creek and return the mussels to the stream bed after they have been deposited high on the stream banks due to high stormwater levels.

As DPWES finalizes its plan for lake dredging operations and selects a contractor for the lake dredging contract, Stormwater Planning Division, Watershed Planning & Assessment Branch personnel will hold two community meetings. The first is scheduled for April 6th at 7:00 PM at Oak View Elementary School on Sideburn Drive, and will address ecological factors related to Royal Lake dredging operations, outlining the current health of Royal Lake and citizen efforts needed to save as much wildlife as possible. The second will address the overall project, timeline, and logistical factors related to the dredging operations; it’s date/time and location is still to be determined.

Please plan on contributing your time to assist the Friends of Royal Lake with the Royal Lake Mussel Rescue Party, andother wildlife conservation efforts.

Tony Vellucci

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 5

Braddock Road Multimodal Study Project Meeting

The task force looking at the potential widening of Braddock Road and associated issues has been meeting for several months. The formal name for this effort is the Braddock Road Multimodal Study, and the public will have an opportunity to learn more about this project at a Community Meeting, currently scheduled for Monday, April 25, at Lake Braddock Secondary School.Roger Hartman

The Lake Accotink Master Plan Revision Is Off & Running!

The Park Authority recently hosted an open house community meeting on March 14, 2016 at Cardinal Forest Elementary to introduce the master plan revision project, receive input from the community, and share a wealth of information about Lake Accotink Park. Thank you to the nearly 100 people who came out on a drizzly night to meet with us! This is indicative of how much Lake Accotink Park is loved and appreciated and hints at the robust role the community will play in the planning process.

Were you unable to attend the meeting on March 14th? No problem. The presentation from that evening has been posted to the project webpage and is available for review. A summary of the meeting will be added to the web page soon.

Be sure to mark your calendars now to join the Park Authority again on May 16, 2016 at Kings Glen Elementary School from 7:00-8:30 p.m. We will present the results of the year-long lake study and explore opportunities to make Lake Accotink more sustainable - both environmentally and financially. We hope you will be part of this important discussion. Follow the progress of the Lake Accotink Park Master Plan Revision and take a quick survey at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/

Julie Tahan

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 6

Park Bond Process Now In Progress

The 2016 park bond process is currently in progress and park staff is identifying projects that will comprise the planned $87.5M park bond referendum that county residents will vote upon in the November general elections.

In November 2015, park staff developed a prioritized list of projects totaling about $238M for Park Authority board review and comments. In December that list had been whittled down to about $109M and in January 2016, the list had been further streamlined to about $92M.

Park staff is continuing to refine the project list and anticipates finishing up by late April or early May. The Board of Supervisors will authorize the budget amount for the bond and its placement on the ballot for the November general elections incidental to the annual county budget approval which is also scheduled for late April. Once bothare approved, park staff will then provide category allocations and prepare the ballot question and get approvals. Park Authority staff will also conduct a public outreach campaign to make residents aware of the 2016 bond package.

Presently, there are four categories of spending which include Land Acquisition, New Facilities, Renovations, and Stewardship; park staff has identified a $1.5M line item for Lake Accotink Park for general improvements, under Renovations.

The Park Authority Board encourages residents to share their concerns as residents are invited to speak at the start of regular Park Authority Board meetings. The Board will hear testimony from residents on any park topic except issues related to litigation or personnel matters. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. in Suite 941 of the Herrity Building located at 12055 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, Va.

There will be time for up to five speakers. Speakers are allotted three minutes to testify. Speakers will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis with registration beginning on the Monday prior to the Board meeting. Walk-in speakers will be accommodated only if time slots are available when the meeting begins.

Register via e-mail to Parkmail, or call the Public Information Office at 703-324-8662, or sign up in person at the Herrity Building, Suite 927, by noon on the day of the meeting.

Tony Vellucci

New Friends Group Forming In The Accotink Watershed

A new Friends group has formed up in the Braddock District, and more specifically, in the Accotink Watershed. The Friends of Oak Hill Park held their kick off meeting on February 29th at Braddock Hall, meeting with Park Authority representatives to discuss a number of issues ranging from park maintenance to trails, to encroachment.

Oak Hill Park is a 10 acre, two-trail park near the Braddock Road/Wakefield Chapel Road intersection and can be accessed from Tarheel Way and Queen Elizabeth Boulevard; the park leads to Wakefield Park where individuals can follow Accotink Creek along the Cross County Trail and loop around Lake Accotink.

Several individuals are very concerned with the condition of Accotink Creek and Lake Accotink Park and are lookingforward to working with both Friends of Accotink Creek and the Friends of Lake Accotink Park.

A more detailed article on the formation of the Friends group can be found on the Annandale Blog by Ellie Ashford at http://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2016/01/friends-group-forming-for-oak-hill-park.html

Tony Vellucci

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 7

Invasive Species Profile: Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

Native Range: EuropeU.S. Introduction: 1700sLife Cycle: evergreen perennialMeans of Spreading: rapid vine growthCommercially Available: yesControl Method: hand-pull, may use garden knife to loosen soil near roots;repeatedly mow large plots Good Alternative Species: wild ginger (Asarum canadense), woodland phlox(Phlox divaricata), prairie phlox (P. pilosa), moss phlox (P. subulata)

Comments:Fond of the purple spring flowers and dark, evergreen leaves, people importedperiwinkle to America during the eighteenth century. Periwinkle proved so hardyand easily grown under many conditions that folks used it on low-maintenance areas, such as graveyards. Some archeologists even seek living Vinca plots when hunting for lost burial ground and homestead sites!

These days, people usually apply periwinkle monocultures as unoriginal groundcovers. Without natural predators, parasites, or diseases to manage periwinkle, this vine can get out of control. In a garden setting, periwinkle earned its invasive reputation by spreading quickly and overtaking other low-lying plants. Likewise, Vinca effortlessly escapes cultivation when the vines creep out of gardens and cross into natural areas. Invasive Management Area (IMA) volunteers found periwinkle mats that neighbors unfortunately threw upside down onto parkland. Instead of dying and rotting, new periwinkle shoots grew from and flourished throughout this pile! While the volunteers sent that mess to anincinerator, please remember never to dump yard waste into the parks or other public land for any reason. Elsewhere inRoyal Lake Park, IMA volunteers already eradicated periwinkle infestations from three long-established plots. Pulling and bagging the weeds is the most effective disposal method. Former periwinkle sites need monitoring to remove sprouts from root remnants. Periwinkle should never be composted unless it is completely dried and killed first.

Folks wanting an ornamental substitute to this cemetery weed have many options. For shade, consider wild ginger (Asarum canadense, unrelated to the ginger spice). Come spring, look carefully at ground level for its burgundy, ant-pollinated flowers. Wild ginger produces a richly foliated groundcover during the growing season. Many Phlox species grace the forest floor with purple or pinkish springtime flowers. Woodland phlox (P. divaricata) is best suited in shaded or partly sunny locations while hardy moss phlox (P. subulata) prefers sunny areas and loves rocky soil. Prairie phlox (P. pilosa) likes sun to partial shade; its pink blossoms open in mid-spring. While the above mentioned plantsare all Fairfax County natives, creeping phlox (P. stolonifera) is a tough, evergreen vine found in Virginia’s mountains. Throughout the year, all of these species get along with other plants to both protect against erosion and provide a beautiful, ecologically healthy landscape. Check this list for some native nurseries stocking these alternatives: http://www.grsykes.com/pdf/native_vendors1.pdf.

Greg Sykes Learn more at: Invasive Species Profile: Periwinkle ( Vinca minor) or greg@grsykes.comNeed some ideas for your spring plantings? Check out Some Native Plant Suggestions.

One of the many excellent native alternatives is woodland phlox. Pictured here, blooming wild type clusters stand on 10-inch-tall stems.

Lesser or dwarf periwinkle blooms in early spring.

Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley, March 2016 8

The Park in Winter: A Photo Essay

A couple of days before the big snow, my wife and I took our customary walk through the park. The weather was very cold and snow was clearly on the way. We crossed over a culvert near Guinea Road and I was transfixed by how the icehad frozen and refrozen to form concentric rings, like the rings of a tree. I hustled back the next day to gently brush thesnow off of the ice, which was eggshell thin. Armed now with my camera and tripod, I snapped these pix. Beauty is where you find it, even in a humble culvert!

Clockwise, starting to the left: The Petroglyph, Icy Curves 1, An Icy Bloom, Icy Curves 2, Icy Curves 3

David Kepley

Our Newsletter The Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley Newsletter is distributed to members and the civic associations at Olde Forge / Surrey Square, Somerset South, Rutherford, Hidden Creek, Little Run, Long Branch, Bradfield, Red Fox Forest, Canterbury Woods and Stonehaven. It comes out quarterly, in March, June, September and December. We would love your submissions - photos, comments and articles about the stream valley. Send them our way. Submissions received by May 15th 2016 will be included in the June edition. Please send them to the editor, Allison Hagner at friendslbsv@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you! You can keep up with our project on our website: http://longbranchstream.weebly.com/. Thank you to all of our contributors: Chris Bauernshub, David Kepley, Greg Sykes, Roger Hartman, Tony Vellucci and Julie Tahan.