SUMMER 2017 - SURVEY OF EASTERN U.S. STREAMS
In late-July/early-August 2017, I led an awesome team of research assistants on a 2.5 week regional study of Mid-Atlantic and Southeast streams. We started with Paddy Run, a gorgeous little tributary to the North Fork Shenandoah River, located at the Virginia-West Virginia state line. Then we headed slightly east to survey Posey Creek, a core site with the National Ecological Observatory Network (National Science Foundation / Battelle) that flows through the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute near Front Royal, Virginia. From there, we hit the road and headed south to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We enjoyed a little R&R before surveying Fighting Creek, near the Park's Sugarlands Visitor Center. Next, we continued south to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a rest day and a tour of the Tennessee Aquarium. Tuscaloosa, Alabama was our next destination. We surveyed Mayfield Creek, another National Ecological Observatory Network site, and spent a little time milling around the campus of the University of Alabama (my alma mater). Our final stop was a single night in Athens, Georgia, where we checked into the swanky Indigo Hotel and caught a funky band on the roof of the Georgia Theater. The next day, it was back to our starting point in Richmond, Virginia with a lot of new data and 2,500 road miles in the bank. An epic trip!
Scroll down to share a few memories from the trip.
1. Paddy Run, VA-WV State Line
2. Posey Creek, Front Royal, VA
3. Fighting Creek, Gatlinburg, TN
4. Chattanooga, TN
5. Mayfield Creek, Moundville, AL
6. Athens, GA
