April 2009 Volume 15 Number 8 - Bridgeville Community Center
Welcome to “Nanticoke Notes s · 2013. 5. 27. · Another Spotlight: The Messick Site In 1999...
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Welcome to “Nanticoke Notes”, the very first newsletter edition of the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy (NRWC)! This inaugural issue is the first of many and is launched to keep our members and friends informed about NRWC activities that promote our commitment to preserving the very best places in the Nanticoke River Watershed. As our brochure states, “It is a basic instinct to protect the land you love” and since 1994 with the acquisition of our first 29.6-acre “Newton Woods” site, the NRWC has been enabling residents of the Nanticoke watershed in southwestern Delaware and in Maryland to realize opportunities of doing just that. Since that early 1994 acquisition, we have protected, in perpetuity, over 400 acres of Delaware open space lands for the health and well being of future generations in the watershed. We manage these properties for the protection of Delaware open space and wildlife habitats, and for the benefit of our local communities, schools, non-profit organizations, and local residents. The Nanticoke Conservancy also supports appreciation of nature within our local communities by encouraging public use of two of our fourteen sites where activities include hiking and independent 5 K run competitions on our 3.5 miles of trails at Chapel Branch, Seaford High School cross-country events, Delaware Adopt-A-Wetland Program site monitoring, Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas monitoring, Sussex Bird Club birding activities and environmental educational events. We are so proud of the work we have been able to accomplish through the efforts of our faithful board of directors, site stewards, members and volunteers---and we look forward to additional successes into the future. Please consider joining with us as we work toward the goal of “protecting the land we love”—we would consider it a privilege to welcome you!! Marlene Mervine, President Welcome to “Nanticoke Notes ” The Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy Nanticoke Notes The Nanticoke River is endowed with outstanding abundance and diversity—both natural and cultural. The river and its major tributaries— Broad Creek, Deep Creek, Gravelly Branch and Marshyhope Creek—support excellent fisheries. The area possesses large expanses of underdeveloped lands which provide scenic openness and habitat for wildlife— characteristics that should be preserved. The Nanticoke River drains over one fourth of Delaware’s land, taking its waters from the swamps and cultivated flatlands of Sussex and Kent Counties, and flowing into Maryland where it empties into Tangier Sound and the Chesapeake Bay— The Nanticoke---Spotlighting Our River and Watershed
Transcript of Welcome to “Nanticoke Notes s · 2013. 5. 27. · Another Spotlight: The Messick Site In 1999...
Welcome to “Nanticoke Notes”, the very first newsletter edition of the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy (NRWC)!
This inaugural issue is the first of many and is launched to keep our members and friends informed about NRWC activities that promote our commitment to preserving the very best places in the Nanticoke River Watershed.
As our brochure states, “It is a basic instinct to protect the land you love” and since 1994 with the acquisition of our first 29.6-acre “Newton Woods” site, the NRWC has been enabling residents of the Nanticoke watershed in southwestern Delaware and in Maryland to realize opportunities of doing just that.
Since that early 1994 acquisition, we have protected, in perpetuity, over 400 acres of Delaware open space lands for the health and well being of future generations in the watershed. We manage these properties for the protection of Delaware open space and wildlife habitats, and for the benefit of our local communities, schools, non-profit organizations, and local residents. The Nanticoke Conservancy also supports appreciation of nature within our local communities by encouraging public use of two of our fourteen sites where activities include hiking and independent 5 K run competitions on our 3.5 miles of trails at Chapel Branch, Seaford High School cross-country events, Delaware Adopt-A-Wetland Program site monitoring, Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas monitoring, Sussex Bird Club birding activities and environmental educational events.
We are so proud of the work we have been able to accomplish through the efforts of our faithful board of directors, site stewards, members and volunteers---and we look forward to additional successes into the future. Please consider joining with us as we work toward the goal of “protecting the land we love”—we would consider it a privilege to welcome you!!
Marlene Mervine, President
We l c o m e t o “ N a n t i c o k e N o t e s ”
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The Nanticoke River is endowed with outstanding abundance and diversity—both natural and cultural. The river and its major tributaries—Broad Creek, Deep Creek, Gravelly Branch and Marshyhope Creek—support
excellent fisheries. The area possesses large expanses of underdeveloped lands which provide scenic openness and habitat for wildlife—characteristics that should be preserved.
The Nanticoke
River drains over one fourth of Delaware’s land, taking its waters from the swamps and cultivated flatlands of Sussex and Kent Counties, and flowing into Maryland where it empties into Tangier Sound and the Chesapeake Bay—
The Nanticoke---Spotlighting Our River and Watershed
Caption describing
picture or graphic.
one of the last unspoiled rivers of the Chesapeake estuary.
A myriad of wildlife flourishes in this setting—from scores of bird species (including the largest Bald Eagle nesting area in the Northeast), a profusion of fish and shellfish, great flocks of migrating waterfowl and songbirds, to otters, beaver, deer, muskrat and the rare Delmarva Fox Squirrel—all calling the Nanticoke home.
The Nanticoke basin has a rich natural history with some of the nation’s most biologically important ecosystems occurring along the river and its tributaries. It also boasts a rich regional history spanning time from a proud pre-settlement Nanticoke Indian heritage, through America’s founding, to the vibrant small-town communities and agricultural heritage we enjoy today. Our river is known for its superb beauty, recreational opportunities and solitude.
NRWC Site Spotlights
In each upcoming issue of “Nanticoke Notes” we will spotlight one or more of our properties so you will have a sense of how diverse our properties are and how each of them fits into a unique conservation niche within the Nanticoke River watershed. In this issue we are focusing on two of our early gifts of land and are sharing interesting facts about their stewardship and conservation importance.
Our First Site—Newton Woods
NRWC’s first conservation site was the 29-acre ‘Newton Woods’ forest and wetlands, a generous gift from the Newton Family of Bridgeville in 1994. This beautiful site containing a stream and significant amount of wetlands, in addition to the woods, was selected as a two-phase wetland restoration project through partnerships between NRWC, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited. The project was completed in late 2010 and dedicated with a regional ceremony at the site in June 2011 where the NRWC welcomed the local high school Woodbridge FFA group as site stewards through the DE Adopt-A-Wetland Program.
The Woodbridge FFA members and their FFA advisor, Craig Malloy noted the following about one of their early 2012 visits: “Members of the Woodbridge FFA are proud to be stewards of the Newton Woods wetlands. FFA members have learned the value of a wetland in their community and the importance of maintaining such an area for use. Many of our members had been by the area many times, but didn’t realize it existed and we’ve had some discussions about the wildlife and ecosystems that are prevalent. As I discussed the area recently, a student asked ‘what are duck boxes’ and ‘why are they needed’? A class discussion ensued relating why the boxes were important to Wood Ducks and their need for a safe predator-free area to hatch and raise their young. Thus we cleaned and repaired the boxes on our last visit on March 17th. We were wearin’ green and thinkin’ green—since it was St. Patrick’s Day.”
NRWC’s Newton Woods project has multiplied the influence of natural resource conservation to: the local community and agricultural interests—all of southwestern Delaware via its stream connection to the Nanticoke River basin—the state of Delaware via the FFA’s Delaware Adopt-A-Wetland Program adoption—the nation as it is one of the projects of the US F&W Foundation and USF&W Service—and finally, far beyond our nation’s borders, as a restoration project of Ducks Unlimited whose sites assist migrating birds from the arctic to South America.
Another Spotlight: The Messick Site
In 1999 Harold and Shirley Messick of Bridgeville donated 28.55 acres of mixed hardwood swamp on the main stem of the upper Nanticoke River to the fledgling Nanticoke Conservancy because, as Shirley stated, “Harold thought it was a good idea to donate the property we had loved so much to an organization that would care for it the way we had always done, and who would use it for conservation and education purposes”. Harold passed away several years ago, but Shirley recently helped monitor the wetlands on a lovely summer day.
After NRWC acquired the Messick Site, Steve Cooper, our monitoring chairman, walked it and wrote the following: “On a warm sunny afternoon in early February, two members of the NRWC completed seasonal monitoring of our beautiful hardwood swamp on the Messick site. Due to the difficulty of accessing all portions of this site in the past, we had not had an opportunity to evaluate exactly what the site contained in plant and wildlife resources. We were surprised to find a broad diversity of freshwater mussel species, including the large mussel, Elliptio Complanata, previously not known to exist this far upstream on the Nanticoke and one of the indicators of high biodiversity in the river. Completing the setting are stands of remnant Atlantic White Cedar, clear running water with sandy bottom (perfect spawning habitat for white perch, alewives and blueback herring), beaver, raccoon, otter, deer and many bird species”.
The DE Natural Heritage Program has identified populations of the Glassy Darter along this river corridor, a small fish never before found in Delaware. Several years ago the NRWC permitted the Messick site to be used by the Smithsonian Institution and the Nature Conservancy as one of the locations for their joint watershed-wide wetland study. Later, several Wood Duck boxes were erected anticipating colonization for future nesting seasons. The NRWC is proud to hold and steward this unique and biologically important wetland.
You are invited to NRWC’s Annual Meeting and Picnic
Our Annual Meeting and Picnic will be held on Sat, Oct. 6, 2012, 4 PM until ?? with rain date on Oct 7th at 4 PM. The weather should be lovely by then and we look forward to having you join us on Ken and Connie Covey’s deck and dock on the Nanticoke River in Holly Shores at 17 Tidewater Drive in Seaford for a wonderful evening of camaraderie—just bring a covered dish to share! We may even break out our beautiful slide program for you! Please RSVP to 302-337-8847 by Oct 1st .
Canoeing / Kayaking Access Sites
Many inquiries have been received about where the best locations are for accessing the Nanticoke River for canoe and kayak paddling. The town of Seaford has a special canoe put-in location across the creek from Nanticoke Hospital on E. Water Street. Access can also be had at the Seaford boat ramp on Nanticoke Ave. and at Phillips Landing, Nanticoke Wildlife Area near Bethel. We are working to find other put-in areas and will advise of additional places in future issues.
Many Thanks to our “Mystery Volunteer”
After being notified of recent storm damage to some of our Chapel Branch trails and boardwalk deck beside the stream, a few of our board members responded, only to find the damage had already been anonymously repaired!! We have attempted to locate the identity of our “Repair Angel” with no success—so, if this might be YOU, please accept our sincere gratitude and thanks for helping to keep Chapel Branch the beautiful and important resource for Seaford that it has been for the last 25 years—and to all others of you who volunteer each month to help—Thank You From The River!!
Land conservation isn’t expensive ... it’s priceless!
Source: National Land Trust Alliance
P. O. Box 418 Seaford, DE 19973
Tel: 302-337-8847
Fax: E-mail: [email protected]
The Nanticoke
River Watershed
Conservancy
Our fiscal year ended on June 30th and it is time to again renew our memberships in NRWC for the coming year. Your support is SO very important to maintaining the wonderful work that NRWC is doing within our communities and in the watershed. Please consider joining NRWC or continuing your membership support of our local land trust—an invaluable conservation component protecting southwestern Delaware’s open space heritage. In accordance with federal guidelines that no goods/services are provided in exchange for gifts, your $20.00 annual membership fee or additional gift is fully tax deductible under NRWC’s Federal 501-C3 status and will help us with projects to “protect the lands we all love”.
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Yes, I will help NRWC “Preserve the Very Best Places in the Nanticoke Watershed”!
Name:
Address:
Telephone: E-Mail:
Send to: Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy P.O. Box 418 Seaford, Delaware 19973
Time to Renew our Memberships!
Preserving the very best places in the Nanticoke River
Watershed
We need volunteers—
and members!
Pete Gum Preserve on the
Nanticoke River
NRWC Board of Directors
President, Marlene Mervine, State Coord, DE Adopt-A-Wetland, [email protected] Vice President, Donna Smith-Moore, Wilmington Univ., [email protected] Secretary, Elizabeth Archer, Certified Judiciary Interpreter, [email protected] Treasurer, Richard Tull, CPA, Lank, Johnson & Tull, [email protected] Dave Saveikis, Director, DE Division of Fish & Wildlife, [email protected] Robert Coxe, Biologist, DE Natural Heritage Program, [email protected] Harry Brake, Teacher, Mexico City International School, [email protected] Ruth Townsend, Delaware Wildlife Rehabilitator, [email protected] Site Monitoring Committee Steve Cooper, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, [email protected] Ken Covey, Owner, Covey’s Car Care, Seaford, DE [email protected] Advisory Capacity George Smith, Attorney, Smith Feinberg McCartney & Berl, LLP, [email protected] Al Rizzo, Soil Scientist, USF&W Service, [email protected] Jack Conner, John L. Conner & Associates, Land Surveyor, [email protected]
