Watershed Threats- Recreation

Pughs Run experiences threats related primarily to grazing livestock, agricultural runoff from chemicals used on crops as well as livestock waste. One threat that continues to affect watersheds around the world is recreation. Although Pughs Run doesn't experience recreational activity-related issues, it drains into the Shenandoah River, which is a watershed that has a lot of recreational activities occurring on/in it throughout the year.

The Shenandoah River is known as a hotspot for canoeing, tubing and kayaking enthusiasts. Recreational activities of this nature occur on both the North and South Fork of the Shenandoah River, however the biggest difference between the two is that the South Fork is commercialized and the North Fork is primarily private land.

As a result of the high amount of foot traffic that occurs on the Shenandoah, there tends to be a noticeable amount of pollution in terms of trash and other debris. There are river cleanup projects that some 4-H Clubs in the area perform as part of their yearly service projects, but unfortunately that usually isn't enough. Any time I go kayaking, I try to collect any debris that I see floating around and properly dispose of it once I'm back at home. I have a few friends with river property that take wonderful care of their banks, but not everyone does as great of a job as those property owners.

Another issue with recreational activities is soil erosion on the banks of the Shenandoah River. Soil erosion can occur from landowners removing trees and shrubs to create picnic areas, "put in" and "take out" points for canoes and kayaks, and sometimes simply for aesthetics to have a view of the river from their house. Soil erosion is negative for the environment because wildlife and aquatic life in the rivers lose natural habitat as well as shade from the sun. When shade is removed, it heats up the water, causing issues with the aquatic environment. It then becomes difficult for fish, frogs, etc. to reproduce successfully, meaning that they move to cooler areas which creates algea growth in their previously inhabited environment.