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A report prepared by students of VCU ENVS 591: Scenic Resource and Policy Assessment, under the guidance of Dr. James Vonesh and Lynn Crump, assessing a section of the Middle James River from New Canton to Columbia for scenic river designation. The report includes reasons for the study, benefits of designation, scenic evaluations using various criteria, and conclusions with recommendations.
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Prepared by VCU ENVS 591: Scenic Resource and Policy Assessment Charlotte Bieri, Lynn Crump, Courtney Coates, Katie Clemente, Tyler Dagliano, Sophia Edwards, Chris Hobsosn, Grace Lumsden-Cook, Joshua Macauley, Caroline Nyfeler, Paige Punzalan, Leonor Rodriguez- Guevara, James Vonesh, and Raquel Wetzell November 2020
Evaluation Criteria. A. Virginia Scenic River Designation Process A river or river section must contain significant natural, scenic, recreational, and historical attributes in order to be eligible for Scenic River designation under the Scenic Rivers Act, found in Title 10.1, Chapter 4 §§ 10.1-400 through 10.1-418.1 of the Code of Virginia. The Scenic Rivers Act was created as a way to recognize Virginia’s Scenic Rivers as well as their surrounding environments. Scenic River designation is a collaborative effort between the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), cooperating state agencies, local and state governments, and local citizens of the surrounding areas in Virginia, with emphasis on local support. Before evaluating a potential scenic river, DCR must receive a letter from either the local governing body, county administrator, or city or town manager with a statement of request that a study be conducted. Under the Virginia Scenic Rivers Act, there is also an opportunity for community input during a public hearing before DCR submits an official recommendation of designation to the Governor and the General Assembly (§ 10.1- 403 ). The DCR evaluates a potential river or river section utilizing the following Virginia Scenic Rivers Program Field Assessment Evaluation Criteria:
The section began at New Canton Landing and ended approximately 10 miles downstream at Columbia Landing and the Route 690 bridge. Based on physical features of stream corridor, historic sites, natural resources, and recreational opportunities, this section should be considered for designation under the Virginia Scenic River system. For this designation process to move forward, the local governing bodies of Buckingham, Fluvanna, and Cumberland counties must show support for the designation by approving resolutions endorsing the designation. The local boards will then have a state legislator sponsor a bill to designate the river segment as scenic. A. Corridor Study Map The proposed section of the James River is an ~11-mile stretch flowing through Buckingham, Fluvanna, Cumberland, and Goochland Counties, beginning from the New Canton Buckingham County to Columbia Landing to a boat put in/take out in Fluvanna County. An ArcGIS map shows the river corridor through the proposed section (Figure 1).
B. Data Collection Methods and Analysis Traditionally, each person who was evaluating a segment used one paper to make notes of structures and crossings along the trip. Once the section is floated, all of the observers come to an agreement about the visual criteria, which is then combined with the biological criteria which makes up the Virginia Scenic Score. In this approach we piloted, each observer takes multiple samples along different segments of the river. By taking the existing protocol and converting it into ArcGIS’s Esri survey123 application, which was executed by VCU graduate student Ryland Skunkle, it allowed us to collect in-field data which can be directly uploaded into a cloud database. Continuous sampling of the visual elements allows for quantifiable comparisons of scenic scores along the focal segment. Figure 1 : Map of the James River through Buckingham, Fluvanna, Cumberland, and Goochland Counties starting at the New Canton, Va. and ending at the Columbia Road Bridge.
Figure 2. Comparison of Virginia Scenic River Scores for Focal and Random Segments of the James River using R Studio. Figure 3. Founder of Terrain 360, Ryan Abrahamsen (right) and boat operator Ryan Crenshaw(left); in front of the 360-degree photo-capturing raft made by Abrahamsen.
1. Stream Corridor Vegetation The focal segment primarily flows through Deciduous and Mixed Forests, and Pasture and Croplands, shown by the National Land Cover Database data from 2016, collected by the USGS (Figure 4). A geospatial analysis using ArcGIS computed the classifications of land use occurring within a 100’ buffer of the riparian zone along the focal segment. Overall, the vegetation provided a moderate amount of visual complexity, remaining consistent along both riverbanks, and even upon several islands along the segment route. Most of the vegetation provided some amount of shade along their respective banks. Evergreen and deciduous trees and saplings make up about 70% of the riparian zone within 100’ of the river (Figure 5) Figure 4 : Land cover along and around the studied section of the river.
Figure 6.1: Western most section of the New Canton near Bremo Power Station Figure 6.2: East, Past Bremo Figure 6.3: Northeast to Spicer Island Figure 6.4: Spicer and Boatwrights Islands to Columbia Rapids Figure 6.5: Easternmost Portion, Columbia Rapids to Columbia Road Bridge
2. Riverbed and/or River Flow Modifications There are no major riverbed or river flow modifications along this section of the river. The reason for this criterion is to understand whether a river has been significantly channelized by an unnatural impoundment(s). There are only a few minor rock formations, which also do not impede the flow nor make it inaccessible to boaters. Naturally formed islands provide a place to rest on the meandering river. A section of the river on the right side is impounded by a metal fence due to the construction of a water compressor station which is being developed by the James River Water Authority just before the Columbia Road Bridge (Figure 7) Figure 7: A metal fence has been erected by the James River Water Authority along river right in Cumberland Co. 3. Human Development of Visual Corridor Urban and rural development are evaluated separately in this section. Urban development is evaluated as city and town related commercial and industrial structures. Houses, cabins, barns, industrial buildings or clusters are listed as rural development. On this portion of the James River, there was a significant amount of urban development present: power lines, a construction site (Figure 9), Bremo Power Station (Figure 8 ), and a bridge. Although residential development is not
Figure 9: The construction site for the James River Water Authority’s water compressor station Figure 10 : A house sits along the bank of the James River in Cumberland County, Va.
4. Historic Features The New Canton to Columbia segment of the James River is located in central Virginia between what is now Charlottesville and Richmond. Notable historical significance of the river segment includes the Monacan settlement and capital, Rassawek, which is located at the confluence of the James and Rivanna rivers. The Naive American capital has gained recognition as being one of the nation’s cultural treasures in being an integral part of this land’s history, this past year. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Rassawek one of their 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. A recent proposal for a water compression station by the James River Water Authority is set to be constructed on top of Monacan ancestral burial mounds. The mounds signify generations of Monacan peoples who have been laid to rest in this ceremonial ritual which serves as a testament to the long line of ancestors who have a shared sense of place for the sacred land (Taylor et.al., 2020). As Europeans began to move west in the 1600s to the 1700s, some of the Monacan people retreated to Bear Mountain just west of Rassawek in present-day Amherst County, Virginia where they reside today (Monacan Indian Nation, 2015). Despite the numerous attempts to erase the Monacan peoples’ culture and identities, even up to as recent as the 20th century, the Monacan Indian Nation has still shown a resilience that has been able to preserve the culture and customs of their ancestors. Today, they continue to ensure that future generations of Monacan people are able to honor the lifeways that have been cultivated before them by having an annual Powwow, visiting sacred burial mounds, and becoming federally recognized as a Native American tribe in 2018 (after an almost two-decade long struggle). Being federally recognized does not ensure that treaty rights will be upheld, however, it does give the Nation greater representation and qualifies them for financial assistance, if need be. In the colonial era, the town of Point of Fork was established in the same location, and eventually became the town of
Figure 1 1 : There is only one distance zone (foreground) in this viewshed, giving the landscape a “limited variety”. Figure 1 2 : You can see two distance zones in this viewshed (foreground and middle-ground) which gives it a “moderate landscape variety”.
6. Quality of Fishery According to the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), the New Canton to Columbia segment is “a predominantly flat stretch with little fast water” and very popular amongst floating fish. DWR conducted a Middle of the James River Report in 2019 in which they took samples of fish along the ~130 mile stretch categorized as the “middle James River”, from Lynchburg to just above the fall line at Richmond. Samples of two catfish species (Channel and Flathead), four species of sunfish (Bluegill, Redbreast, Rock Bass, and Redear), and Smallmouth Bass were taken and recorded along this stretch in the Fall of 2019. Bluegill Sunfish, Smallmouth Bass, and Channel Catfish show to have the highest populations of the total 922 fish that were collected (Hatcher, 2019). The majority of the Smallmouth Bass caught were juveniles, showing that there may be a productive future ahead for the species in the Middle James. As for the sunfish populations, the
Bluegill species made up the largest majority (75%) of the catch in 2019. On the other hand, Redbreast showed a significant decline in populations compared to previous years, representing only a fifth of all the sunfish caught. The Rock Bass and Redear populations showed to be least abundant, making up a minor percentage of the total sunfish caught. As for catfish, both Channel and Flathead populations are both stable with juvenile and adult populations at healthy numbers. Channel catfish show to make up about three quarters of all the catfish sampled, however, the Flathead populations that were collected had a greater range in size, and thus age. So, both species of catfish should have relatively high catch rates (Hatcher, 2019).
7. Special Natural Flora and Fauna New Canton to Columbia section offers adequate habitat for native avian and game species, particularly deer and turkeys. Annual bird observations are available for Buckingham, Cumberland, Fluvanna, and Goochland counties via the Cornell Ornithology Lab bird observations database. Along the riparian buffer which extends 1,000 feet of the river’s edge, there are also three vascular plants which are considered critical natural resources (Lynn Crump. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. pers. com.)
