The
Greening of Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
Bottom-Up…Science-Driven… Successful |
The Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge teems
with biodiversity – it’s a who’s who of species valuable
to the ecology and economy of the region. Eastern Neck’s wetlands
provide vital habitat to bald eagles, snowy egrets, black ducks, great
blue herons, river otters, fish species, shorebirds and much more. But
the refuge is rapidly eroding.
As
a result of natural and human factors over the past century, the refuge
has lost hundreds of acres of tidal wetlands. Because of the substantial
and continuing loss, wetland creation is being performed more and more.
But it can be hard to measure because of the difficulty and cost of
proper monitoring.
Working
in partnership, many volunteers, the National Aquarium in Baltimore
and NOAA’s Restoration Center have a unique salt marsh restoration
project well underway at the refuge. Using cutting-edge water quality
monitoring technology, the hands-on restoration project is conserving
vital wetland habitat. Water quality monitoring techniques not only
monitor vegetation attributes, but also topographical and fisheries
use parameters.
Volunteers
learn how to collect and manage information and provide scientific data
for use in evaluating the project’s success. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers have established
wave breaks at the site that disperse wave energy and encourage sediment
to build up along a longer stretch of the eroding island. Unvegetated
areas of the site have been planted with Spartina alterniflora,
which insure added site stability, reduce erosion, and provide habitat
for salt marsh nekton.
Plants
have been installed by volunteers in eight different planting treatment
types to learn whether one method is better than another in terms of
susceptibility to erosion. With the planting of over 25,000 plants,
up to four acres of inter-tidal habitat have been established at Eastern
Neck. The strong community involvement has also heightened awareness
about the impacts of wetland loss and how to help restore health.
The project
is an excellent example of the integration of scientifically-based monitoring
designs and trained volunteer corps. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
will continue to monitor the site. Long-term maintenance will be handled
by the Friends of Eastern Neck, a volunteer group dedicated to supporting
Eastern Neck and restoring estuarine habitats in the Chesapeake Bay.
