Friends Of The Middle River

06/05/2026

Happy World Environment Day from your Friends Of The Middle River! 💚🎉

05/16/2026

Last Saturday, a group of thirteen paddlers enjoyed our very first float trip of the year! According to trip leader Don Kain, "We’ve had such a dry spring that our normal Middle River choices for the May 2026 float trip just did not have enough water. As a backup, we went to the North River in Bridgewater and paddled the flat water upstream of the dam at Wildwood Park. It was a fun, relaxing float with perfect weather, nice scenery, good company, fine birding, and even a little fishing."

Thanks to everyone who joined us! Our next float trip will be held on Saturday, June 13th and will be fishing themed.

05/08/2026

**𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡**

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality(DEQ) will be holding a community meeting to kick off the development of a water quality study (also known as a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL) of Back Creek, Eidson Creek, and Jennings Branch in Augusta County this Monday, May 11 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at Buffalo Gap High School (1800 Buffalo Gap Hwy, Swoope).

These streams were recently placed on Virginia’s impaired waters list, when monitoring of aquatic insects by DEQ showed that something was “bugging the bugs.” These aquatic insects act as a barometer of stream health, warning us of potential pollutants that may be entering our waterways. This meeting will serve as an opportunity for local residents to learn about the condition of the streams, share information about the area, and become involved in the process of local water quality improvement.

The water quality study to be developed will identify likely pollutant(s) that are negatively impacting stream health and will recommend reductions in these pollutant(s) to meet a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for these impaired waterways. A TMDL is the total amount of a pollutant a water body can contain and still meet water quality standards. Through this process, Virginia agencies will partner with interested local stakeholders to identify pollutant sources in the watersheds, and the reductions needed from these sources to meet the TMDL. Landowner input and engagement in this process is critical to its success.

Please consider attending and giving your input as concerned community members.

Thank you for helping us protect the Middle River watershed!

05/02/2026

Thursday's 3rd Annual Tire Collection Day with New Hope Ruritans was a great success! Our volunteers collected 600 tires that went straight to the dump. Special thanks to Accurate Excavation Co. for supplying us with a truck, New Hope Grocery for keeping our crew fed & hydrated, and to our volunteers: Mason, Greg, Bob, Cowboy, and Jack.

04/21/2026

Save the date & bring your tires! FOMR and New Hope Ruritans are teaming up again for our 3rd Annual Tire Collection Day as part of the Augusta County Spring Cleanup. We will be at New Hope Community Center on April 30th from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. See you next Thursday!

04/10/2026

Our friends at Shenandoah Green are hosting another 𝐂𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐩 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟐-𝟒 𝐩𝐦. Their cleanup crew will meet at Sunspots Stage at 1:45pm (Corner of Lewis/Byers St.). They will supply gloves and bags. Join them to help beautify downtown Staunton!

Send a message to learn more

03/28/2026

Save the date & bring your tires! FOMR and New Hope Ruritans are teaming up again for our 3rd Annual Tire Collection Day as part of the Augusta County Spring Cleanup. We will be at New Hope Community Center on April 30th from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. See you there!

02/20/2026

Curious about the status of FOMR’s Benthic Monitoring sites? A few weeks ago, we updated our website with data from Fall 2025. You can view the data any time at https://www.friendsofthemiddleriver.org/benthic-data-1

01/19/2026

01/06/2026

If you were tuned in to WHSV - TV 3 tonight, you may have caught this photo of some of our FOMR team as part of a feature on Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative's Operation Roundup Grant Program! Thanks to Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative for the $90,000 you donated to local nonprofits last year - including FOMR. We are so grateful for the $1,000 we received through Operation Roundup for educational materials in 2025.