15 year-old Georgia Roberts takes a bow as a national qualifier

One day of practice at the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge led to a year of success for 15 year-old Georgia Roberts, a White Knoll High School athlete and qualifier for archery National’s. Roberts began shooting with the Refuge Complex Administrative Support Assistant Stacie Allison four years ago, justifying that one day at a National Wildlife Refuge can spark genuine interest and passion in the life of a teenager.

“I had always seen the movies and the cool archers on tv and thought, ‘oh that looks pretty cool,’” Roberts began to tell me, “but I never actually tried it until that day.”

It was 2010 and Roberts was staying with her grandparents during a hot, summer month close to the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge. Beverley, Georgia’s grandmother, had a close relationship to Stacie Allison at the complex, and asked if Allison would be willing to give Georgia and her cousin Tessa a lesson, too. “Georgia was a natural and caught on right away” said Allison, “An impressive display of caring from someone that young.”

This September, Roberts will be going into her Sophomore year of high school and into her second year on the high school archery team. In March, the Archery team at White Knoll High School qualified as the only public school to compete in Nationals this year.

Unfortunately, due to large transportation costs and rising scheduling issues, the team was unable to compete. “We have to raise money on our own. To do that, we’ve hosted tournaments.” Most of the financial success from the fundraisers come from parents, family, and friends.

Roberts has not since visited the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge, but still recalls that first day of practice perfectly. Roberts is the epitome of how just one day, one session, and one hit can spark an uncharted passion in people of all ages.

  

“I guess I haven’t seen [the Hunger Games] in a while, but I bet I could critique everything she was doing wrong if I watched it again” said Roberts about The Hunger Games series’ protagonist Katniss Everdeen. She continued, “I do like Hawkeye though, he’s pretty cool.”

The Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge consists of three refuges: The Refuge Complex is located at the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck refuge, while the Occoquan Bay refuge and the Featherstone refuge complete the remainder. To get involved with a National Wildlife Refuge complex program click here.

Cooking up creative ways to stop invasives!

Fish biologist Josh Newhard spends time on the Potomac River searching for northern snakeheads. Photo credit: USFWS

Northern snakehead first reared their nasty fins in the Chesapeake Bay watershed more than ten years ago, now we are fighting this foreign fish one bite at a time. Josh Newhard, a fish biologist at the Maryland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, shares his story of discovering creative ways to battle the spread of this aqua beast!

Finding ways to control invasive species can sometimes feel like solving a complex puzzle. And putting the puzzle pieces together can often take the work of many people. Take for instance the northern snakehead, an invasive species of fish native to parts of Asia, but now with exploding populations in the Potomac River for over a decade.

A northern snakehead caught in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The invasive fish taking over habitat for native fish species. Photo credit: USFWS

Fisheries biologists working in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are concerned that the snakehead’s predatory nature and prolific spawning behavior will lead to declines in native fish species and harm a delicately balanced ecosystem. Since being discovered in 2004, the snakehead has continued to spread to numerous tributaries in the watershed, while growing in numbers in the Potomac River.

Trapping snakeheads is one way biologists are controlling their populations. Photo credit: USFWS

Biologists with both state and federal natural resource agencies began efforts to control the populations using intense electrofishing surveys, but even these efforts did little to limit the spread and growth of the population. Other methods used to control invasive species include netting and trapping, but these methods also proved inefficient in targeting these feisty fish.

By 2010, biologists decided it was time to try something new in this fierce battle to take back the Potomac. Queue up the recreational angler! After enlisting the public’s help in fighting this foreign invasion, the recreational fishing community responded in a big way!

Recreational anglers are catching snakeheads to use as food, which is helping to combat the issue of overpopulation. Photo credit: USFWS

Fishing tournaments targeting the removal of northern snakeheads began popping up in many communities, and bowfishing enthusiasts took note of the opportunity to help the environment.   As the popularity of catching snakehead grew, restaurants began selling snakehead meat and even non-anglers were taking part in invasive species management.  While this is in no way a fishery that management agencies want in the long-term, in the near future it is an opportunity to eat a tasty fish, all while feeling good about doing something beneficial for the ecosystem.

The sharp teeth of the snakehead make them vicious predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Photo credit: USFWS

It appears that these combined efforts of natural resource agencies and the public are beginning to show promise.  In 2015, catch rates of adult northern snakehead were down in many places in the Potomac River, which is in part due to increased harvest by the recreational and commercial fishing communities. Only the future will hold if this trend continues, but for now, it is a downward trend that is welcome in the world of invasive species management.

Watch us on Aqua Kids!

Snakeheads on Maryland Outdoors, Maryland Public Television!

Learn more about the Maryland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.

Read more about harvest incentives to control invasive species.

Meet #ScienceWoman Daffny Pitchford

Celebrate Women’s History Month with us! This year, we’re looking forward by honoring women across the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and female conservationists who are making history in our agency and in conservation. With each #ScienceWoman, we’ll share a photo and a couple questions and answers about her work. Stay tuned for posts throughout the month! Meet Daffny Pitchford, our refuge manager at the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. She earned her degree at North Carolina Central University, where she studied biology.

Daffny considers Mamie Parker, former Regional Director of the Northeast, as one of her conservation heroes. “Her encouragement and wise words are always remembered on those busy days,” says Daffny.

Daffny became interested in nature and “all things wild” when she was young. Her and her father would often explore her backyard or go fishing in nearby creeks. She says her “favorite times as a youngster were spent either up a tree or in a creek catching frogs and crayfish.”

Her favorite species is the cardinal, because it was easy to identify as a child. Also, it’s the state bird of her home state, North Carolina.

Tune in again for more #ScienceWoman posts later this month!