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CHARLES TOWN - It wasn't your standard photo album fare.

Laid out on Sherry Evasic's table, alongside countless letters of commendation and books on how to protect waterways, was an album filled with photos of children covered in lesions on their arms, legs and backs. The culprit was an outbreak of fisteria, a water contaminant that has plagued the Chesapeake Bay, and served as the demise of fish in the Shenandoah River.

Evasic and her group, Blue Heron Environmental Network, journeyed to North Carolina to help educate residents there about how to keep the contaminant and others out of the waters that caused their children to break out in these lesions.

Most days, though, the group spends its time focusing on how to avoid such incidents in Berkeley County's Back Creek.

"We don't want this," group member Alice Zickafoose said as she pointed to the photo album.

Fighting for the cause

Blue Heron Environmental Network got started in 1989, Evasic said. At the time, it was the only group of its kind in the area, though other organizations have since sprung up to help protect waterways throughout the Eastern Panhandle.

For many groups, it's a matter of cleaning up the damage that has already been done, Evasic said. Runoff from sediment, sewage and contamination from animals who graze in and near local rivers and streams have significantly harmed the water quality in many local waterways, she said.

There have been reports of lesions on fish in the Cacapon River and Sleepy Creek, said member Robert Maguire. And Opequon Creek, he said, is "an aboveground sewer."

The story, so far, is different for Back Creek. There, fresh water sponges were recently spotted, a sign, Evasic said, that the water is still healthy.

And the group is fighting to keep it that way. They regularly monitor water quality in the creek and conduct cleanups to remove tires, sofas and other garbage that is dumped in the water, she said. Blue Heron also tries to educate residents and groups about the importance of keeping local waters healthy, and holds recreational events to teach people about the many joys which Back Creek has to offer.

The battle, Evasic said, is one that is worth the effort.

"This is it. After this one is ruined, it's over," she said.

Progress still needed

Evasic said groups in the area were making progress in cleaning up waterways throughout the area. Then, about eight years ago, she said, things took a turn for the worse.

"It's taken 20 steps backwards," she said of cleanup efforts.

The level of nutrient contaminants increased during that time, she said. Sediment has also become a problem.

These and other issues with local tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay make Evasic less than surprised by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's recent decision to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over problems with clean up efforts there.

"I don't blame the Chesapeake Bay (Foundation) for filing a lawsuit against the EPA," she said.

Advocating a smarter approach to growth

As part of the group's efforts to keep waterways clean, Evasic said the group keeps a close eye on developments in the area that could reduce the existing buffer zone along Back Creek. Such buffers of trees and shrubbery are critical, she said, to help reduce runoff in to the water.

When builders tear down trees, Evasic said the dirt and other sediment often makes its way in to the water.

"All that makes its way into our surface water and streams," she said.

And package sewage plants that are sometimes included in high-density developments can also pose problems of their own, Zickafoose said.

In an attempt to ensure that growth in the area occurs in an environmentally friendly way, members said they kept watch on the recent revision of Berkeley County's Comprehensive Plan, a process that they said stripped the document of much of its earlier language pertaining to conservation efforts.

Their goal, members said, is not to stop development, but to ensure that it happens in a smart way.

"We're not against development," Zickafoose said. "We're for doing it right."

The main goal, Evasic said, is simply ensuring that the region's waters remain healthy.

"Back Creek, if we don't keep doing what we're doing, is going to end up another open sewer," she stated.

- Staff writer Naomi Smoot can be reached at (304) 725-6581, or nsmoot@journal-news.net