Virginia Wildlife

2005·4.8 MB·English

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Commonwealth ofVirginia
MarkR. Warner,Governor i
L HUNTING & FISHING
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ICENSEFEED
Subsidized thispublication
WilliamL. Woodfin,Jr
SecretaryofNatural Resources
n the December 2004 Di- emergency situations, in on- W. TayloeMurphy,Jr.
rector's Column, I spoke road and off-road environ- Department ofGameand
withyouaboutthecreationof ments. Theyalso learnhowto Inland Fisheries
the Department's new state safely and effectively operate William L. Woodfin,Jr., Director
certified Law Enforcement All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)
Training Academy for game and an array ofwatercraft, in- MembersoftheBoard
warden recruits. As stated, cluding everything from SherrySmithCrumley, Buchanan;BoardChs
this effort was truly a "new kayaks to larger patrol boats. CecilT. Campbell,Warrenton
beginning" for our Depart- Wardens also have to endure C. Marshall Davison, Hague
JamesW. Hazel, Oakton
ment. specialized training, such as Randy Kozuch,Alexandria
OnApril7,2005this "new Tactical Man-Tracking, Officer Survival, Will McJN.eelyCharlottesville
beginning" came to fruition as the Vir- Hunter Education Instructor, Mountain JohnW. Montgomery,Jr.,Sandston
ginia Department of Game and Inland Biking, Waterfowl ID, specialized en- Richard E. Railey, Courtland
Fisheries swore-in the first graduates forcementandmanyothertopicalareas. JackT. Shoosmith,Chester
from theAcademy. Eachnew recruit, 15 Being a game warden is very much a CharlesS.Yates, Cleveland
men and one woman, endured an ex- unique occupation. In—fact,being a game Magazine Staff
tremely competitive hiring process that wardenisnotjustajob it'sawayoflife. LeeWalker, Editor I
not only tested their character, but also In other professions you take off your Mel White, Ron Messina,JuliaDixon,
their patience and endurance. Each had "workhat" whenyou gethome.Agame Contributing Editors
to successfully complete a 33-week warden is always wearing that "work EmilyPels,ArtDirector
training period that tested physical, hat." When they go to town, they are Carol Kushlak, ProductionAssistant
mentalandemotionalstrength. often known as "The Game Warden." StaffContributors: BruceLemmert
The Academy training offered an Whenattendingchurchorcivicactivities, Color separations and printing by Nittai
ideal blend of natural resource law en- they are easily identified as "The Game ValleyOffset,StateCollege, PA.
forcementand general lawenforcement Warden." Wardens musthave a genuine
thatincluded courses ofinstructionthat understanding of this to be effective in IVyirbgiynitaheWilVdilrigfien(iaISDSNep0a0r4t2m6e7n9t2)oifsGpuabmleishaenddmIonlnati
addressed 1,351 Department of Crimi- their assigned county. Theywill getcalls Fisheries. Send all subscription orders and addre
nal Justice Services mandated training at home, and constantly be asked ques- cIhoawnage51s5t9o1-V0i4r7g7i.niaAdWdilrdelsifse,alPl.oOt.heBroxco7m4m77u,niRceadtiOoa
objectives and met 249 Department of tions while at a ball game, shopping at concerningthispublication to Virginia Wildlife,P.
Criminal Justice Services performance theirlocalmarketorwhiletryingtohave Box 11104, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmon
outcomes.TheAcademyalsoutilized71 a quiet dinneroutwith their family. This Voinregiyneiaar,23$22330.-91510f4o.rStuwboscyreiaprtsi;on$2r.a0t0espaerree$a1c2h.9b5af
gfraommeowtaherrdedinviinssitornusctwoirtsh,i4n0tihnestDreupcatrotr-s isalIltpwaarstowfibtehingrgeaatgaprmiedewaarnddenh.onor for $Nis2os4u.e9r,5efsfuuobnrjdeoscntefotyroeaaarvmaoaiulnandbtilsmiutysl.etssObuetth-poaafni-dc$o5i.un0n0tU..rSv.Torfautsneuc
ment, and 12 instructors from other me to have addressed this history-mak- scribe, call toll-free [phone]. Postmash
local, state and federal agencies to ac- ing group ofnew game wardens as they PP.lOe.asBeoxse7n4d77,allReadddOraeks,sIcohwaang5e1s591to-0V4i7r7g.inPioastWailgdel!i
complish the instruction of all of these graduated from the Department's first periodicalspaidatRichmond,Virginiaandadditio
courses, training objectives and per- BasicTrainingAcademy.Tolearnmoreof a]entryoffices.
faonrdNmtaohniwcnekdootnhu'atttcbogmeetecsot.hmeinwgroanggaimmeprweasrsdieonn wcreahatadetdnleiixfnetdwmivaoisndtulhaikslesi,fsosIruetehnoifcsoVgiurrrgoaiungpieaoWyfiolddueldiitf-oe TCaafohnfpdeoyrIrDdnielgtpaohantradlt2lFm0iep0sen5hrtebsriyooefnsts.GheaaAnlmVlieerrqgiauignnahildtasaIDrcneeclspeaesanrsrdvtetFmdoi.esDnhetepriaoefrstGmsaheri
simply happens by sitting in a class- and the article "Game Warden Acade- programsandfacilitieswithoutregardtorace,col<
room, readingbooksand takingwritten my." The article is an up-close look at breelliigeivoen,thnaattivoonaulhoarivgeinb,edeinsadbiilsictryi,msienxa,toerdaaggea.inIfstyi
tests.Thereisalsoabarrageofhands-on what life was like for the Department's any program, activity, or facility, please write I
training that is unique to the job. The newest wardens during their 33-week Virginia DepartmentofGame and Inland Fisherii
driving course alone includes 80 hours training, and was written by one of our AP.TOT.NB:oxCo1m11p0l4i,aRniccehmOfofnidce,r,Vi4r0g1i0niWae2s3t230B-r1o1a0d4.Strei
traininginhowtoeffectivelyoperatepa- newest game wardens, officer Rich Lan- "This publication is intended for general inform
trolvehiclesinbothemergencyandnon- ders.Youwon'twanttomissit. tionalpurposesonlyandeveryefforthasbeenma<
to ensure its accuracy. The information contain*
hereindoesnotserveasalegalrepresentationoffc
and wildlife laws or regulations. The Virgin
M.issiun Statement Department ofGame and Inland FisheriesJoesn
TomanageVirginia'swildlifeand inlandfish tomaintainoptimumpopulationsofallspeciestoservetheneeds assumeresponsibility foranychangeindates,regi
of theCommonwealth; toprovideopportunityforall toenjoywildlife, inlandfish,hoatingandrelatedoutdoor lations, orinformation thatmayoccurafterpublic
mnation;topromotesafety lorpersonsandproperty inconnectionwithhoating, huntingandfishing tion."
Dedicated to the Conservation ofVirginia's Wildlife and Natural Resources
VOLUME 66 NUMBER 6
OTS
Virginia's Potomac
byBruceA.Lemmert
JustwhodoesownoneofAmerica'smost
historicrivers?
RememberWhen?
Aboutthecover:
Seenfromthe byTeeClarkson
Virginiasideof DaysgonebyatCustisMillpondhavecreated
thePotomac arichsportingheritagethatisstillenjoyedby
Riveriswildlife manytoday.
artistRobLeslie's
1998Virginia
Wildlife Paparazzi
Waterfowlprint
ofmallardsflying byJasonSwensonand
overGreatFalls Dr.MarcellaJ.Kelly
Park.Theparkis Wildlifemanagersareturningtocameratrap-
locatedatthe pingasanewtoolforfocusingontheunseen
headwatersofthefalllineofthePo- worldofwildlife.
tomacanddisplaysremainsofthehis-
toric,PatowmackCanal,whichal-
lowedboatstonavigatearoundthe Hearts andSpades
fallsduringthe 18thcentury.Formore
byMarcN.McGlade
informationaboutGreatFallsPark
visithttp://wavw.nps.gov/gwmp/grfa/. Oftenreferredtoas"bluegillonsteroids,"the
Atlanticspadefishhassaltwateranglersaround
Virginiaallpumpedup.
CanoeCamping
V byBruceIngram
IRGIN Upacreekwithoutapaddlethissummerlook-
ingforfunthingstodo?Whynotgivecanoe
campingatry.
Magazine
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NaturallyWild
Wh/teCatfish
Potc
Virginia's
Often referred to as
"the Nation's River"
the Potomac has played an
important role in the history of
the Old Dominion,
CaptainJohnSmith, onbehalfoftheRoyal
VirginiaCompany, exploredandfishedthePo-
tomacin1608. (TheLibraryofVirginia)
"
^«u^
i.
:
©DwightDyke Far[eft: ThisearlymapofthePotomacRiverand
ChesapeakeBayregionwaspublishedin 1719by
mac JohnSenex, askilledcartographerandengraver
Cabot's1497voyage,makinghimthe ofthetime. (TheLibraryofVirginia)
Above:George Washington'sPatowmacCompany
"first" to touch the mainland. Still,
Byrd'sassertionwasnotthatmuchof builtacanaltogoaroundtheGreatFallstoallow
commercialboattransportofgoodsbetweenthe
astretch.TheVirginiaCharterwasre- upperPotomacandtidewater. Washington'svi-
vised in 1609 to include all the land sionthatthePotomacRiverwouldbecomea
two hundred miles north and two grandcommercialarterynevermaterialized.
hundred miles south from Point However, Washington'sinfluencetoplacethe
byBruceA. Lemmert Comfort,extending"westandnorth- nation'scapitalonthePotomachashadamuch
west " from sea to sea, including all moreprofoundinfluenceonthePotomacValley.
islands within one hundred miles of
William
Byrd, one of the eithercoast." Asyouknow,SirWalter'sventure
foremost colonial au- England's Virgin Queen honored mysteriously failed and this set the
thors and an important the new land with her name, Vir- stage for the Royal Virginia Compa-
figure in the establishment of Vir- ginia. It was a slow start. Not until ny venture of 1607 led by Captain
ginia once remarked; "In the begin- 1584 did the English take a serious ChristopherNewportontheflagship
ning, all America was Virginia." It stab at establishing a settlement on Susan Constant. The stockholders of
does seem preposterous today, that the new shore. Sir Walter Raleigh's theVirginiaCompanywerenaturally
virtually a whole continent, one al- LettersPatententitledhim "todiscov- interested in profits, but the Royal
ready occupied at that, could be er searclifynde out and vieioe such re- Charter included an expectation of
claimed simply by planting a flag. mote heathen and barbarus landes Con- "redemptionofsouls."
Indeed England's claim to the North tries and territories not actually pos- Claiming a continent was one
American continent rested on John sessedofanyChristianPn/nce. thing, but holding a continent was
JUNE 2005
CaptainJohnSmith'smapofVirginia was
quite another. The Spanish, Por- found no evidence ofgold in the Po- firstpublishedinOxford, England, in 1612.
tuguese, French and Dutch were not tomacRiverValley.ThePotomacwas Itwasoneofthefirstrecordeddocumentsof
sitting idly by. Chief Powhatan and also not to be a northwest passage. itskindthatofferedalookatthe "New
his cohorts also had otherideas. The Smith noted that the Piscataway In- World."(TheLibraryofVirginia)
Virginia Company'sJamestownwas dians on the Potomac seemed to be
a thin and precarious thread anchor- much more friendly than the some- Newfoundland, but found the cli-
ing England's claim. This thread times surly and unpredictable mate too cold and the soil too rocky.
came close to severing on more than Powhatanstothesouth. TheVirgini- George Calvertwas a shareholderin
oneoccasion. ans traded for venison, bear meat the Virginia Company, so he was fa-
Captain John Smith was a bold and corn with the Piscataway Indi- miliar with that land. The Baron of
and resourceful man, and it is in no ans. Smith's crew caught fish in Baltimore did some kingly "arm
smallparttoSmith'screditthatearly abundance. Smith noted, "...neither twisting" to secure the Maryland
Jamestown did hold on. Ayear after betterfish, moreplenty, normorevariety grant, totally within the charter of
thearrivalin Virginia, Smith led a 14 forsmallfish, had anyeuerseene in any Virginia. Instead ofseparatingMary-
man crew on anexploratory expedi- placesoswimmingin thewater". Smith land from Virginia at the middle of
tion uptheChesapeake, and onJune traded for beaver, otter, bear, marten the "River Patowmack", Charles I
16, 1608, they entered the mouth of and otherfurs. called for the dividing line to be the
the Potomac, which they estimated In 1632, Cecil Calvert, the second fartherbankofsaid riverand follow-
to be seven miles across. Smith's Lord Baltimore, became heir to the ingit.
records indicate that they explored Maryland Charter, granted by King In February 1634 when Calvert's
and mapped the Potomac as far as Charles I, successor to King James. the Ark and the Dov'e dJropped an-
they could. This was presumably to TheMarylandcharterwasthefruitof chor at Jamestown, they faced a
J
LittleFallsaboveAnacostia. Cecil Calvert's father, George. somewhat cool reception. Not only
Likely to the chagrin of the Vir- GeorgeCalvert,FirstLord Baltimore, did the Virginians see the Maryland
ginia Company stockholders, Smith had tried to establish a settlement in claim tobeausurpationoftheirown
VIRGINIA WILDLIFE www.dgif.virgmia.gov
came Governor of Virginia in 1677.
Nearlythreeyearslater, theKinghad
to order Culpeper to leave England
and actually go to Virginia and gov-
ern. MostVirginians, asitturnedout,
would have preferred that Culpeper
stay in England. Governor Culpeper
had little concern for the actual wel-
fare of Virginians but was more con-
cerned withhisownpecuniary inter-
ests. Hewasthoughtbymanytobea
dilettante and a scalawag with avari-
cious intentions. At any rate, in 1688
Culpeper secured a charter from
King James II on the Northern Neck
that included and overlapped Mary-
land'sclaimonthePotomacRiver,in-
cludingtheislands.1
So, in leading up to and after the
American Revolution, both Mary-
land and Virginia claimed and used
the Potomac. The conflicting grants
Onhistrip up thePotomacRiverCaptain naturally lent themselves to contro-
land claims, the Calverts were also JohnSmithdocumentednumerousNative versy between the two states. "The
Catholics.In1629,GeorgeCalvert,on American villagesandbuildingslining chief problem which concerned
an exploratory visit to Jamestown bothshoresbelowthefalls. (TheLibrary Maryland was the practice of the
was asked by the Virginians to take ofVirginia) Commonwealth of Virginia to levy
the Oath ofSupremacy (to recognize tolls upon vessels proceeding to
the ultimate authority of the king in Maryland through the Virginia wa-
English ecclesiastical affairs). Calvert ginia Governor, John Harvey, the tersoftheChesapeake".2
promptly left and returned to Eng- King'sdirectivewaslargelyignored. In the afterglow of the colonies
land. The Virginians were under in- Thestagewasjustaboutset. Enter winning independence from Eng-
structions from the King to give Thomas Lord Culpeper, Baron of land, and prior to the heady work of
friendly aid, but other than the Vir- Thoresway Culpeper officially be- developing a constitution and nam-
ing a first president, Virginia and
Maryland officials agreed to meet on
matters of the Potomac River. The
meeting began on March 20, 1785, in
Alexandria, in the midst of a raging,
late winter snowstorm. The Virginia
delegation was to be represented by
George Mason; his friend and neigh-
bor in Fairfax County, Alexander
Henderson;James Madison; and Ed-
mund Randolph. Maryland was to
send Thomas Stone; Samuel Chase;
Washington's friend and neighbor,
Thomas Johnson; and Major Daniel
ofSt.ThomasJenifer.
Due to poor communications at
thetime,onlyMasonand Henderson
represented Virginia. TheonlyMary-
lander not making the meeting was
FromaKingsGrant, ThomasLordCulpeper GeorgeMasondraftedthe VirginiaBillof Thomas Johnson. After four days of
wouldeventuallyownmostofthelandthat RightsathislibraryatGunston, on thePo- meeting in Alexandria, Mason's
stretchedbetweentheRappahannockand tomac. MasonwascentraltotheMaryland-Vir- neighbor, George Washington, gra-
Potomacrivers, andalltheislandswithinthe giniaCompactof1785whichguaranteedVir- ciously invited thegroup to continue
riverorwhatisnowknownastheNorthern ginia'sfishingandriparianrightsonthePo- the meeting at Mount Vernon. Four
Neck. (TheLibraryofVirginia) tomacRiver. more days of negotiation at General
JUNE 2005
"LifeofWashington: TheFarmer,"shows
Washington's house produced an George Washingtononhisfarmalongthe ercisedbythecitizensoftheonestate, tothe
agreement that is now often referred PotomacRiver. (TheLibraryofVirginia) hindranceordisturbanceofthefisherieson
to as The Maryland, Virginia Com- Right:MountVernon, thehomeofGeorge theshoresoftheotherstate;andthatthecit-
pactof1785orsimplytheCompactof Washingtonformorethan45years, was izens ofneither state shall have a right to
1785. builtoverlookingthePotomacRiver. fish with netsorseines on theshoresofthe
The representatives of Maryland other.
and Virginia met at the Mount Ver- Eighth. Alllaw>sandregulationswhich
non Convention like the neighbors tolls on vessels entering the Virginia may be necessaryfor the preservation of
they were. Prior to the revolution, capes of the Chesapeake to do busi- fish, orfor the performance ofquarantine,
Maryland and Virginia were simply ness in Maryland. The meeting pro- in the river Potowmack, orfor preserving
neighboring colonies. During the ceeded amicably. The negotiations andkeepingopen thechannel and naviga-
war the two colonies were allies in proceeded to spell out the develop- tion thereof,oroftheriverPocomoke,with-
cause and force. Now after victory ment and maintenance of naviga- in thelimitsofVirginia, bypreventingthe
overKingGeorgeIll'stroopsatYork- tional aids on the waters of mutual throwing out ballast, or giving any other
town and at the advent of the adop- concern. Piracies, crimes and other
tion of a constitution, Maryland and offenses on the waters were ad-
Virginia were sister states and true dressed. Valuation offoreign curren-
neighbors. cy, trade and tariffs were addressed.
^
Despite the jurisdictional divide SectionssevenandeightoftheCom-
between Maryland and Virginia, the pact of 1785 deal with fishing and FAIRFAX STONE
Potomac had by 1785, long been a otherriparianrightson thePotomac.
unifying influence on the tidewater These sections deserve to be quoted The Fairfax Stone 0/2 MLE).
communities of the two states. The infull. marking the Potomac's head-
waters, was a corner of Lord
Potomac Valley was joined by cus- Seventh. Thecitizensofeachstatere- Fairfax'svastestate. The line
tom, trade, similar agriculture and spectively shall havefull property in the of 1736 was checked in 1746
architectural practices, and by inter- shores ofPotoivmack river adjoining by a survey pn which Peter
marriage. The Mount Vernon Con- theirlands, withallemolumentsandad- (Jefferson, father of Thomas
vention was a meeting of friends vantages thereunto belonging, and the Jefferson, was engaged.
looking for a win-win agreement. privilege of making and carrying out
Theresultswerecommonsensecom- wharves and other improvements, so as
promises thathave served and bene- nottoobstructorinjurethenavigationof
fited the citizens of both states for the river; but the right offishing in the
TheFairfaxStoneofficiallydesignatedasthe
overtwohundredyears. rivershallbecommon to, andequallyen- birthplaceofthePotomaconcemarkedthe
VirginiansMasonandHenderson joyed by the citizens ofboth states. Pro- westernboundaryoftheFairfaxEstate.
quickly conceded to the dropping of vided, thatsuchcommon rightbenotex-
VIRGINIAWILDLIFE www.dgif.virgmia.gov
"
obstruction thereto, shall be made with
mutual consent and approbation ofboth
states.
Contrary to what one would be-
lieve today, itwas Maryland notVir-
ginia that insisted on the fishing
agreement. "The idea of the right of
fishingonbothshoresofthePotomac
River is one the Marylanders are not
fond of parting with." Of course it
should be noted here that Virginians
never, ever, considered that they
could not fish or use the Potomac. It
was simply a birthright. In addition
to theMasons and the Washingtons,
other prominent Virginia families
that grew up on and used the Po-
tomacincluded theLees, theFairfax-
esandtheCarters.
JustastheRevolutionclarifiedthe
control thattheBritishCrownwould
henceforth have on the Americans,
the Compact of 1785 clarified what
effect previous King's grants would PictureofthePotomacatHarpersFerry, WVa. "ThepassageofthePatowmacthroughthe
haveonownershipanduseofthePo- BlueRidgeisperhapsoneofthemoststupendousscenesinnature. Thissceneisworth the
tomac. Despite Lord Culpeper's voyageacrosstheAtlantic,"wrote ThomasJefferson. Thisscenetodayis whereMaryland,
grant on the Northern Neck that in- West Virginiaand Virginiajoin.
cluded the Potomac River, Virginia
conceded ownership of the entire MountVernonConvention.Thiswas the Potomac. Henry Lee probably
river to Maryland, to the Virginia affirmedasrecentlyas2003whenthe bestdescribed publicsentimentwith
shore. Maryland in turn, conceded United States Supreme Court recog- respect to George Washington, "first
equal fishing and riparian rights on nized Maryland's sovereignty over in war, first in peace, and first in the
the Potomac to citizens of Virginia. the entire riverbed of the Potomac, hearts ofhis countrymen." Washing-
Maryland owned the Potomac, but but also recognized Virginia's ripari- ton D. C. is little more than a silver
Virginia and Maryland can each use an right to extend water pipes to the dollar's throw from Mount Vernon.
theriver.That, inessenceistheCom- middleoftheriverandtakewater. President Washington, in 1790, was
pactof 1785. Subsequentcourt cases By 1785, Virginianshadbeenfish- verylikelytogetwhathewanted.
have upheld the agreement of the ingand using thePotomacfornearly Washington D. C. was a 10-mile
two hundred years. The Compact of squared area on the Potomac River,
1785 affirmed in writing that this formed in 1791 from lands in both
would never end. Riparian rights Maryland and Virginia. By anActof
were of course important to the Vir- Congress in 1846 theVirginia section
ginians, but their collective gazewas of the District of Colombia was
decidedly westward. At the time of "retroceded" to the State of Virginia.
the Mount Vernon Convention, the This was done under the simple
Virginians saw the Potomac River premise that the nation's capitol did
valley as the corridor of empire. Al- not then need, nor was it likely to
most exclusively, prominent Virgini- ever need, that amount of land. The
ans owned the Ohio Company, and ActofCongress,saidinpart, " ...allof
some saw the company as almost an that portion ofthe District ofColumbia
extensionofVirginiagovernment. cededto; the UnitedStatesby theStateof
It should be a surprise to no one Virginia, (present day Arlington
thatournation'scapitolendedupon County and Alexandria City) and all
the Potomac where it did. George rights and jurisdiction therewith ceded
Washington, "Father of Our Coun- over thesame, be, and thesamearehere-
TheFairfaxStone, nearThomas, WVa.Thissite, try," and a proud Virginian (I might by, ceded andforever relinquished to the
inaddition tothehistoncimportance, symbol- add),hadduringasix-yeartimespan State of Virginia, in full and absolute
izestheinnumerablewatersourcesforthe ofthe revolution, notbeenable tore- rightandjurisdiction,aswellofsoilasof
Potomacwatershed. turntohisbelovedMountVernon,on person residingortoresidetheron.
JUNE 2005
So in 1846, with all rights re- water line of the Potomac River on low water mark on the Potomac to
served, citizens of the county of the WestVirginia side. Thiswas con- whichVirginiahasarightinthesoil,is
Alexandria carried on as Virginians, sistent with the previous court rul- to be measured from the low-water
including fishing the Potomac. This ingsbetweenMarylandandVirginia. markatoneheadlandtothelowwater
was hardly noticed or talked about And, West "by God" Virginians markatanother,withoutfollowingin-
until 1988. On January 1, 1988, the maintain their riparian and fishing dentations,bays,creeks,inletsorafflu-
DistrictofColumbiaissued theirfirst rights on the Potomac as per the ent rivers." The Black-Jenkins Award
fishing licenses, and indicated that Compact of1785. The court has was surveyed in 1927. The survey
there were no exceptions to the li- maintained that the King's grants often times strikes across open water
cense law, including Virginians fish- andsubsequentagreementsbetween instead of simply meandering with
ingthePotomacwithavalidVirginia Virginia and Maryland, made prior theriver.
fishing license. Had the Potomac ri- to 1863, do in fact apply to WestVir- Perhaps the most profound coop-
parian rights of Virginians been ginia. erative agreement on the Potomac
usurped for the first time since John Theexactlocationofthestateline River happened on March 25, 1634.
SmithfishedthePotomacin1608? betweenMaryland andVirginia con- Governor Calvert's Dove landed on
The lateVirginia gentleman,John tinued tobedebated until independ- the Potomac among the Piscataway
Richards, owned and operated Po- ent arbitrators were appointed by Indians. The Marylanders expressed
tomac Arms Corporation at Zero each state in 1877. This arbitration peaceful intentions to the natives and
Above:PictureofthePotomacatAlexan-
Prince Street, in Alexandria on the dria, atwhatisnowPotomacArms. John onemightthinktheywerestunnedby
Potomac for over fifty years. A few Richardsoperatedafirearmsstoreherefor the response. A chieftain on the Vir-
years ago I asked John if he thought over50years. Thebuildingnowsitsondry giniaside,said,"Wewilluseonetable.
theDistrictcould requirehim topur- landduetotheriver'severychanging My people shall hunt for my brother,
chase a District of Columbia fishing shoreline. Right:Historicalsceneofabun- and all things shall be in common"
license to fish the Potomac off his danceoffishcaughtonlowerPotomac, (Brugger, 1988, 9). In themindsofthe
dock in Alexandria. I believe John neartheresortcityofColonialBeach. Piscataway Indians, the land, the
spoke for many Virginians when he (TheLibraryofVirginia) water and indeed the universe, be-
smiled, rolled his eyes and said, "I longedtoeveryone.
don'tthinkso." ThePiscatawayconceptisnotcom-
When a 1910 disagreement be- held in Alexandria, affirmed Vir- pletely lost. Indeed, communal re-
tween Maryland and West Virginia, ginia's "right to such use of the sponsibility for the Potomac is an old
overthelocationoftheboundarybe- river. .asmaybenecessarytothefull idea. In 1940, thePotomacRiverBasin
.
tween those two states, reached Fed- enjoyment of her riparian owner- Commission was created to deal with
eralCourt, thecaseturnedonthehis- ship." This arbitrated agreement be- endemic pollution in the Potomac.
torical relationship between Virginia came known as the Black-Jenkins Sections of the river were considered
and Maryland.' West Virginia Award of 1877. The agreement also dead. In places, the Potomac was
evolved fromVirginia in 1863, as did stipulated that theboundary line be- nothing more than an open sewer. All
her law and history. The actual state tween the two states would be the the jurisdictions of the 14,500 square
linebetweenMarylandandWestVir- low water mark on the Virginia side. mile Potomac Basin were included in
ginia was determined to be the low Theagreementwentontostate, "The this Commission. Progress again was
10 VIRGINIAWILDLIFE www.dgif.virginia.gov