Pink Ribbons – Trouble for Larus Park

You don’t need to tell an arborist what a pink ribbon wrapped around a tree means. Rarely does it mean “this is a special tree,” or “this is the tree we want to keep.” Usually, a pink ribbon wrapped around a tree means “This is the one that’s in our way,” or “this is the one that means nothing to us.” I know, because even though I most enjoy my profession when acting as tree caretaker, I have a roll of pink ribbon in my truck for the times when I am asked to be tree undertaker.

Larus Park trees with pink ribbons. Credit: Scott Turner

Thank Goodness for Retired Neighbors

And being busy with all that caretaking and undertaking, I had not yet noticed the pink ribbons around 356 trees at my favorite Richmond park. Enter my neighbor, a Richmond Tree Steward, who calls to me through the property line hedges sometimes when I get out of my truck. She knows I’m in over my head in business, always treading water, so she occasionally calls through the hedges to give me an interesting article or headline about trees. You know, to help me stop and smell the roses, or otherwise take better notice of the natural world as it passes me by. At more important times, she calls through the hedges to let me know the natural world I love so much is being threatened. Again.

The Natural Approach

This Richmond Tree Steward knew that a threatening pink perimeter had been established around 356 Trees at Larus Park in Bon Air. I could have driven there in 5 minutes from my home at the southern end of the Huguenot Bridge. The marked trees are just behind the fire station at Huguenot and Stony Point roads, near a trailhead for the park. But I somehow knew that if I was going to properly feel what the absence of these trees would mean to me, I would need to approach not from the side of progress and development, but from the deeper heart of “unimproved” nature.

The Best 5 Miles in South-West Richmond

Why don’t you throw on some running shoes, and I’ll take you along with me? We can get to the marked trees in 25 minutes by foot. First, we jog past the Huguenot Flatwater section of the James River Park System and under the newly renovated Huguenot Bridge. Most of the car traffic disappears to or from the east of the bridge ramps. Ample space now. Ample peace. The James River to our right is gently sifted through scattered speed bumps of exposed granite at low water, but will not truly begin to tumble over the fall line until the Pony Pasture Rapids a little further downstream.  If you want to walk, run, or cycle through a peaceful riverside sunset, this is the stretch of asphalt for you.

A small waterfall in Larus Park. Credit: Scott Turner

Then it’s a southern turn away from the river and a climb into densely forested hills. We run past the hideaway neighborhoods south of Cherokee Road, where quaint houses and rustic log cabins quietly ride the waves of the eastern face of the Appalachian Mountains. A small parking pullout, rarely used and unmarked, points us to an inviting break in the trees. We accept, exchange pavement for dirt, and soon meet the creek we will follow to its source. Tall trunks of oak, beech, and sweetgum hold up a lush green canopy above the trail. A wooden bridge over the creek, an opening along a powerline right-of-way, and then, abruptly, the Larus Creek disappears into a tunnel.

You’re a bit intimidated if it’s your first time tunneling your way beneath the heavy traffic of Chippenham Pkwy with water at your feet. But look at the green garden that awaits at the other side!  Good that you have a friend with you on your first time under.

Through the dark and into the light, then, and we are now officially in Larus Park, 106.5 acres of native woodland with Appalachian character owned by the city since 1978.

The Heart of Larus Park

The creek runs away from us as we climb a steep wooden staircase, but somewhere in the trees we hear the murmur again of water, rock and gravity playing peacefully together. Though the pace of our run, our “accomplishment,” may be diminished if we pause, and though “going” has become a much more natural state to us than “pausing,” we cannot resist the urge to pause here. In the heart of Larus Park now, at a boulder-strewn creek that would almost be more common or expected a couple hundred miles west of here.

We pause. We stoop. We listen.

Is it trying to tell us something? What does it want us to know?

There! What was that?

Listen. . .Pause  . . Listen.

But no, the quiet murmurings of water over rock remain deliciously incomprehensible. We rise from our pause, and from our stoop. We are no more the wiser, but all the more reverent, and refreshed for the trail.

The Source

Beech and oak give way to larger poplar, and then even larger poplar and sweetgum. The creek has separated into two branches and moves through flatter, soft earth covered in ferns. We are in a bowl just beneath the summit of Larus now. The creek has disappeared into the earth to some underground pond, and the trees here are among the tallest in Richmond. Maybe so massive because they are tapped into that pond. Reverently we tilt our heads back to admire their skyward reach. Their trunks seem too large to be living. To the left of the trail is the closest thing in Richmond to the Ewok Village of Star Wars. But to the right we see the pink. Lots of it.

Too close. Not around the largest trees, but around the ones that form a buffer between this land of green giants and Huguenot Rd.

Too close are the pink ribbons around trees that the original charter for the land claims are untouchable. Too close are the pink ribbons marking the potential location of a water tank to hold and sell water to Chesterfield County. A development deal, if Richmond’s Sierra Club is correct, that is so riddled with hasty and underdeveloped thought that we should not even have to add the argument of green space preservation to see the deal abandoned. But just in case…

Too close. That’s why we came this way. That’s why I brought you this way. When you are the city official making the deal, or the developer “improving” the land, or even the city-dwelling passerby on the street, this chipping away at the edges of our greenspaces must seem very reasonable and perhaps even practical. But when you are an urban forest dweller, and you look out from the shrinking sources of our earthly well-being, from their heart, and when you look out from places that refresh, restore, mystify and replenish, you see the pink ribbons for the threat they represent.

The Opportunity

As the founder of Riverside Outfitters and the owner of Truetimber Arborists, I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that I think Richmond is in the perfect place to showcase everything a 21st century American city can be – history, nature, culture, and even progress. But the places we all love the most are the places where these all are served up in healthy, balanced measure. In Richmond we have designated already what I think are the minimal requirements for greenspace preservation if we are going to lead America forward as a model of healthy urban development. We must be willing to allow places like Larus Park to remain “unimproved” so they can be enjoyed in their pristine beauty.

Are You Still with Me?

Two and half miles from home now, at the summit of our climb, and at the turnaround point. Just through those pink-marked trees is the modern world. The four busy lanes of Huguenot Road moving at 40-70 mph, and a gas station that keeps all those cars going. You can call someone to pick you up there if you’ve had enough nature.

Me? I’m gonna jog back. And maybe pause on the way.

That feeling in your stomach as you’re about to drop into Hollywood Rapid. Floating under the suspension bridge that leads Richmonders to Belle Isle as onlookers enviously wave down at you. Laughing with some of your closest friends as your raft guide tells you that they watched some Youtube videos last night on how to steer a raft. Struggling to reel in that big blue catfish that’s bending the end of your fishing rod. These are experiences that many Richmonders have enjoyed — white water rafting or fishing in the waters of the historic James River over the years.

Youth on a rafting trip BB ran earlier this summer with an organization called Boys to Men. This is a shot of the group cooling off in the James.

Now imagine you are a member of our community who uses a wheelchair or has a visual impairment. It’s possible you’ve gone through your entire life thinking that outdoor adventure just wasn’t meant for you. Maybe you heard people around you say “it’s too dangerous.” The idea that rafting, hiking and fishing is only meant to be enjoyed by a certain portion of our community is something that Beyond Boundaries is trying to change.

Beyond Boundaries is a Richmond-based nonprofit that helps to open the world of outdoor adventure to all members of our community. The mission of Beyond Boundaries is to offer individuals of all ability levels, no matter their physical, cognitive or economic situation, the opportunity to experience outdoor activities within the surrounding community. Beyond Boundaries was created in 2013 by two Richmond natives who have a passion for opening the door to the outdoor world to people who may have not had that opportunity previously. Beyond Boundaries partners with RVA Paddlesports, a commercial rafting & kayak instruction company in RVA, to make all of this possible.

For the past three summers Beyond Boundaries has provided whitewater rafting, hiking and other outdoor activities to a wide range of organizations, from assisting youth and adults with visual impairments to a mentoring group that helps young men who grew up without strong male role models. With all of the great outdoor activities offered around the Richmond area, we are excited to announce the addition of a fishing program this summer.

We still think Outside Magazine was right in 2013 when they named Richmond the “Best River Town”. It’s our mission to make sure that every person in our community has the opportunity to experience our amazing outdoor adventure city.

If you would like more information about Beyond Boundaries or are interested in booking a trip or volunteering to help with a rafting, hiking or fishing program, please visit our website or e-mail us at beyondboundariesrva@gmail.com. Let’s work together to make the trails, rivers and fishing holes of the greater Richmond area accessible to everyone.

The Sports Backers recently released a recap of all the bike-related events that took place in May. The highlight is the above video from Bike To Work Day.

It bears repeating (and watching) that Mayor Levar Stoney has made it a stated priority to complete the Missing Link Trail connecting the southern end of the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge and the south side access to Belle Isle. Never heard of the Missing Link Trail or need a refresher on the geography of these places? Watch the video.

This new trail would be a game changer in terms of connecting existing trails and James River Park System parcels.

Click here for more on all that happened in Richmond during Bike Month.

Five years ago, members of the Friends of Bryan Park were facing the seeming inevitability of development of the Shirley subdivision in Henrico County adjacent to the forested section of the park near the Nature Center and Environmental Education Area.

In 1924, the land had been divided into fourteen lots as part of the Shirley subdivision, but had remained mostly undisturbed through the decades.  Suddenly, in 2012, a development proposal would have built 40 modular houses on roughly 6.5 acres, clear-cutting the forest there and creating a highly dense neighborhood tucked into a dead end.  John and Bucci Zeugner, and many Friends of Bryan Park were determined to change the property’s fate. Today their vision became a reality with the recording of a conservation easement on the land they bought to permanently protect.

The Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District co-hold the easement. CRLC will provide ongoing stewardship with annual monitoring visits. Mr. and Mrs. Zeugner, as the property’s owners, retain all rights of ownership except those expressly prohibited by the easement, primarily residential development and industrial or commercial uses.

“Easements in urban and suburban areas are uniquely challenging and the Zeugners have dedicated years of effort to creating this legacy.  Their determination to protect a treasured City Park and actually add to it is an inspiration,” said CRLC Land Conservation Manager Jane Myers.

Under Virginia’s Conservation Easement Act, a conservation easement is a voluntary act of the property owner and must be compatible with the locality’s comprehensive plan. Henrico County’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan lists as an objective the identification and protection of “areas with intrinsic natural, historical, or cultural resources” and encourages “protection of natural and historic resources by the private sector.” It also “encourages the preservation of private open space by supporting the use of conservation and open space easements.”

The 6.5 acres of undeveloped land, now permanently protected by a conservation easement, drains into Upham Brook, a tributary of the Chickahominy River listed as “impaired” by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality. “Maintaining the stands of mature, mixed hardwood trees and understory can only help Upham Brook,” noted HSWCD director Nicole Anderson-Ellis.  “Nothing is better for water quality than forested buffers around our streams.”

Furthermore, the 6.5-acre parcel provides a 600-foot wide buffer zone along a 500-foot long portion of the northwestern boundary of Joseph Bryan Park which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This important forested buffer will ensure that wildlife currently in the park will maintain its habitat without the threat of encroachment.

Since 1994, Friends of Bryan Park has committed to the preservation and improvement of Joseph Bryan Park for use as a public park for all citizens. Belle Stewart Bryan and her sons purchased the 262-acre “Rosewood” farm and donated it to the City of Richmond as a memorial park to her late husband. Reflecting the “City Beautiful” movement and the “rustic aesthetic” of the National Park Service, Joseph Bryan Park established “a naturalistic landscape that afforded visitors a retreat from the City.” (City Annual Report, 1918).

It was about a year ago we last featured urban coyotes doing their thing in RVA — munching on a small dog let out to pee at midnight. Well, now they’re back — let’s be honest, they never left — also on the Southside of Richmond, but this time in Westlake Hills (adjacent to Powhite Park and the Powhite Parkway) as opposed to Forest Hill.

Camera traps in the James River Park System routinely capture images of coyotes.

The Times-Dispatch’s Ali Rockett reported over the weekend that a Westlake Hills resident “saw the animal snacking on a deer in an abandoned lot across from her home.”

VCU biologist Anne Wright offers some good context for those who might be frightened at the prospect of coyotes in our midst (FYI, coyotes live in every single Virginia county): “They really provide good functioning for us in an urban setting. We have too many Canada geese deer and rats, all of which coyotes eat.”

Also interesting from Rockett’s article: Wright said looking at the pictures made her think it might be a coyote-dog hybrid, a coy dog, as opposed to a full-blooded coyote, due to its darker color.

The ospreys in the nest this morning. Credit: RVAospreycam.com

The idea was born a couple of years ago: Showcase the natural wonders of Richmond’s downtown through an osprey cam atop a Richmond-Petersburg Railroad bridge piling. And now, finally, here we are. RichmondOutside.com is excited to announce the RVA Osprey Cam — to our knowledge the only entirely self-sustained (i.e. solar power, remote internet connection) urban raptor cam in America. And it’s in HD!

For the past few weeks, we, along with can-do partners Riverside Outfitters and local rock climbing legend Connor Riley, have made trip after trip out to the 40-foot granite pillar between the Manchester and T-Pot bridges. We had to climb the beast, rig up ladders, then haul hundreds of pounds of equipment up there — camera, solar panels, batteries, cable and metal frames. Then we had to secure a reliable internet connection. This can only be delivered remotely, since you can’t run an ethernet cable under the James. We owe a debt of gratitude to Rocketts Landing and Sam McDonald at Property Results for letting us use their roofs to facilitate the live stream. We think it looks great.

Connor Riley climbs the bridge piling early on in the osprey cam installation process.

The camera offers 360-degree pan and 30x zoom functions, so periodically we’ll pan around and check things out on the river. Maybe we’ll focus on a raft trip coming downstream or zoom in to see what’s going on at the Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge. Dominion Riverrock will be a great time to pan over to Brown’s Island to check out the action.

But of course, the birds will be the main attractions. We’ll get to watch them mate and lay eggs; we’ll watch those eggs hatch and the young eat the shad and herring the parents bring back to the nest. Then we’ll watch them fledge. Ospreys are migratory, but they won’t leave this area until the fall. We’ll have the whole spring and summer to get to know them and their young. Maybe we’ll even have a naming contests for the babies!

We plan to add some features to the site, FAQs, chat, ask the expert, etc., in the coming weeks. And we’ll be sending out highlights to anyone who signs up for the newsletter. Missed the eggs hatching because you were away from your desk? Not to worry. We’ll send you an email blast with the highlights. If you have any questions or suggestion for the cam or the webpage, feel free to email me at andy@richmondoutside.com.

In the meantime, RVA, meet your new neighbors. You can find them at RichmondOutside.com and RVAOspreyCam.com

Connor Riley attaches the new sign to the downstream side of the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge.

Yesterday was an exciting day on the river for RichmondOutside.com.

For a couple of years now we’ve batted around the idea of putting a camera on an osprey or eagle nest somewhere in Richmond. Yesterday we got serious. Together with Dave Fary of Riverside Outfitters and local climber/data science entrepreneur Connor Riley, we headed out onto the James from Tredegar Beach with two missions: 1) Reinstall the sign under the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge that led boaters to the safest passage through the Vepco levee and 2) begin preparations for mounting an osprey cam on one of the old Richmond-Petersburg Railroad Railroad bridge pilings.

Both missions were huge successes. The second we think will allow us to show off not only downtown RVA’s abundant wildlife in an intimate way, but the abundant human activity taking place on that stretch of the river as well. In short, we think this osprey cam will be a one-of-a-kind addition to RVA’s river scene.

Riley rock climbs to the top of a Richmond-Petersburg Railroad Bridge piling in the James River.

For mission one, Fary guided our company raft through the Vepco levee underneath the T Pot and into an eddy below one of the bridge pilings. Dozens watched from the above as Riley, a former Navy demolitions expert and experienced rock climber, repelled from the bridge and hung a blue “Falls of the James” sign in place of the “Ashland” sign that had hung there for years.

To get to mission two, Fary navigated the boat through a few small rapids to the now-defunct Richmond-Petersburg Railroad Bridge piling that we’d been told has had an active osprey nest for the past few years. (If you’re standing on the T Pot, it’s the fourth stone piling from the north bank of the James). We’ll eventually need a camera, a solar panel and the battery that the panel charges up there, and the goal for the day was to secure a reliable route to bring the hardware up to the top of the piling.

First impression: this granite beast looks much taller when you’re standing at the base of it. It must have been close to 40 feet to the top. It was slow going, as we set a 27-foot ladder in place and Riley attached anchors to the granite wall. When he reached the top of the ladder, Fary belayed for Riley, who rock climbed the remaining 10-12 feet to the top. From there he could set anchors for the hardware we’ll install hopefully later this week. When we were done, we ran Pipeline Rapids to our takeout at 14th Street.

I’ll be writing more about the osprey cam as we get closer to the launch date. If you happen to be down on Brown’s Island or on the T Pot during the day on Friday, look for us out on the water. We’ll be the guys climbing a giant bridge piling trying to give all of us the best view of bird life — and river life — in Richmond.

The cargo raft on its way to the 14th St. takeout after a successful day on and above the water.

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Virginia State Parks helped stimulate more than $224 million in visitor spending in 2016. The figure comes from a new economic impact report compiled by the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business as part of an ongoing partnership with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the agency that manages Virginia State Parks.

First Landing State Park. April 26, 1607, the first permanent English settlers landed here. 

“In 2016, Virginia State Parks hosted over 10 million visitors, more than a million of whom spent the night in our world-class cabins and campgrounds. These important economic drivers support more than 3,500 private and public jobs across Virginia and improve quality of life in our Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe. “Last year, out-of-state visitors spent around $98 million as the result of our state park system – an incredible return on only $19.8 million in general fund appropriations.”

In addition to a substantial impact on the value of nearby real estate, the report found that the economic activity stimulated by Virginia State Parks yielded approximately $19.6 million in tax revenue for the Commonwealth last year.

“For every $1 we receive from the General Assembly, Virginia State Parks generate 99 cents in tax revenue,” said Virginia State Parks Director Craig Seaver. “Sales taxes, business taxes and state income taxes all help to make state parks nearly budget neutral.”

“This report gives us a new baseline from which we’ll measure all state parks economic activity in the future,” said Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Director Clyde Cristman. “Previously, we used decades-old calculations and multipliers to arrive at the numbers. We are continuously collecting customized spending information from thousands of visitors on line and in writing. We’re also using a special computer program, called IMPLAN, for our calculations. With this new process in place, we expect to have more precise figures that we’ll continue to refine every year.”

For the full Virginia State Parks Economic Impact Report 2016, click here.

This weekend my wife and I took our kids out to Larus Park for a hike. Off Chippenham Parkway and Huguenot Road, Larus is an underused gem in Richmond’s park system. We hiked in from the Beechmont Road entrance and soon found RPS trails manager Mike Burton and a team of volunteers working on a new bridge over a creek in the park. Another set of volunteers was hauling rock to armor a creek crossing that had eroded badly.

It reminded me how much work it takes to build and maintain the outdoor resources we love here in Richmond. Trails aren’t static things. They’re dynamic, constantly changing based on use and weather. They require constant maintenance and, even when you can rely heavily on volunteers, maintenance costs money. Burton said, for instance, that the money that paid for the bridge materials came from a fundraiser at Outpost — the bike shop/grocery store on Forest Hill Avenue.

This is a roundabout way of saying “thank you.” If you purchased one of our vintage-style James River-focused art products last year — a poster or pint glass, maybe — a portion of the proceeds went toward projects like the one we happened upon last weekend.

Because of your love of Richmond’s natural areas, RVA MORE, James River Outdoor Coalition, the Blue Sky Fund and the Maymont Foundation all received funds that will help them sustain their missions –building trails, improving river access, getting inner city kids outdoors and more.

So, thanks, Richmond, for helping us celebrate our incredible natural areas and give back to groups that keep them incredible.

Registration opened yesterday for the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger. The April 1st event will be capped at 30,000 participants, and, as Vic Dorr of the Times-Dispatch reported this morning, it will include some significant course modifications.

Because of the ongoing construction to Monroe Park, a process that has just begun and is expected to last 12-18 months, the traditional finish line will have to be moved. As Dorr wrote: “…though nothing is 100 percent confirmed…the turnaround (at the western end of the course) likely will be moved one block west to Staples Mill. Such a change would allow organizers to move the finish line from its customary location (the intersection of Laurel and Franklin), near the northwest corner of Monroe Park) to a site near the junction of Franklin and Shafer.

The current registration rate of $30 for adults, $20 for youth 14 and under, and $55 for the YMCA 10k Training Team is available for the first 7,500 registrants. After it hits 7,500, the price will increase. This will be the 18th running of the event and it is the fourth-largest 10k in the United States. Registration is available at www.sportsbackers.org<http://www.sportsbackers.org>.
A new addition this year is the ‘Virtual 10k Training Team<http://www.sportsbackers.org/training-team/ymca-10k-training-team/>’-participants receive the organized plan and guidance from coaches that goes along with the 10k training team, even if they’re unable to make it to the group runs on Saturday mornings. They can train on their own and still enjoy many of the team perks.