DNREC now accepting grant proposals for community water quality improvement projects

Proposals due by March 17

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship is now accepting project proposals for matching grants for community water quality improvement projects. Delaware non-profit organizations, conservation districts, community organizations and homeowner’s associations are eligible to apply. Proposals must be received by March 17, 2016.

The Community Water Quality Improvement Grant assists in implementing projects or programs to improve water quality on developed lands consistent with specific plans developed for watershed improvements. Projects will be recommended for funding by the Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council through a competitive grant process. Programs and projects selected will demonstrate innovative and sustainable methods, techniques, and/or practices for water quality improvements, with cost effective and measurable results.

Funding for projects receiving a grant award in this cycle is anticipated to range from $25,000 minimum to $75,000 maximum. This grant requires a 25 percent cash match which may be federal, state, or local funds. Applicants may submit up to two project proposals per grant cycle.

Proposals must be submitted by 4:30 p.m., March 17 via email to Sharon.Webb@delaware.gov and by putting “Community Water Quality Improvement Grant” in the subject field. Project guidelines and the application can be found on DNREC’s website on the Community Water Quality Improvement Grants page.

For more information, contact Sharon Webb at 302-739-9922.

Media Contact: Melanie H. Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 53


DNREC seeking volunteers for Saturday, March 19 beach grass planting along Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean coastlines

Beach grass will help stabilize dunes hit hard by recent coastal storm; register by March 11

DOVER – DNREC is seeking volunteers for Delaware’s annual beach grass planting event set for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 19 at beach locations along the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The event, now in its 27th year, helps protect Delaware shorelines by planting Cape American beach grass on sand dunes damaged by coastal storms.

Last year approximately 1,000 environmental enthusiasts, families and students planted 110,000 stems of beach grass along over 3 miles of coastline between Kitts Hummock Beach and Fenwick Island.

According to Jennifer Luoma, environmental scientist with DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and coordinator of the event, volunteers are especially needed this year. “Delaware’s coastline was ravaged by the January storm that weakened, and in some areas destroyed dunes and eroded sand from our beaches. The dunes were hit especially hard, and hundreds of volunteers are needed to help stabilize dunes that have been repaired after the coastal storm.”

Volunteers are encouraged to sign up by March 11, 2016 either online at http://de.gov/beachgrass or by email to Jennifer.Luoma@delaware.gov. For more information, call 302-739-9921.

Sand dunes are essential for protection against damaging coastal storms. When sand dunes are destroyed, storm waves can rush inland, flood properties and put lives at risk. Stabilized dunes absorb wave energy and act as major sand storage areas, which replenish sand to eroded beaches during a storm.

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps the sand, it builds the dunes higher and wider, which makes dunes more protective of the structures behind them. Since the program was introduced in 1989, more than 5 million stems of beach grass have been planted by dedicated volunteers.

DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section coordinates the annual beach grass planting event. The section also implements beach replenishment and erosion control projects along Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay communities to enhance, preserve and protect private and public beaches.

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 54


Latest installment in “Wetlands 101” video series – “Restoring Wetlands: Restoration Stories” – on DNREC’s YouTube Channel

DOVER – The sixth installment of DNREC’s “Wetlands 101” video series – “Restoring Wetlands: Restoration Stories” – premieres this week on DNREC’s YouTube Channel. The series is produced by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program within DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship to educate Delawareans about wetlands, while promoting the idea that everyone can make a difference in the continuing challenge of wetland preservation.

Approximately 80 percent of Delaware’s wetlands are privately owned, and with the elimination of more than half the state’s original wetlands since the 1700’s, options for Delawareans to protect and rejuvenate their lands are vital. Part 1 of the “Restoring Wetlands” feature, titled “Restoring Wetlands: Facing Challenges,” addressed some of the common causes for wetland damage, degradation or loss. The new video highlights solutions for reversing that loss.

Part 2, “Restoring Wetlands: Restoration Stories,” focuses on some of the common problems wetlands are up against, and explores Delaware sites that have gone through the restoration process. The six-minute video features four projects that have increased the land’s ability to provide wildlife habitat, keep Delaware’s waters clean, and prevent property erosion through: a living shoreline in Lewes, two converted ditches in the Kent County communities of Sandtown and Felton, and a vegetated buffer in Dover.

In addition to the “Wetlands 101 Series,” the DNREC YouTube Channel offers more than 50 fun, interesting and educational videos, taking viewers from the unique steam car collection at Auburn Heights Preserve to the trails and pathways of Cape Henlopen State Park, and from the Delaware Bayshore to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and many of the First State’s great outdoors places and spaces in between. Most of these videos are written and produced by DNREC’s Public Affairs Section.

To view “Restoring Wetlands: Restoration Stories” and other DNREC YouTube Channel videos, please visit http://youtube.com/delawarednrec.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 46


DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife seeks volunteers for Delaware Citizen Osprey Monitoring Program

Division of Fish & Wildlife to hold training workshops March 5 and 6

DOVER – Delaware’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is seeking volunteers to participate in this year’s Delaware Citizen Osprey Monitoring Program. Ospreys build distinctive nests on nesting platforms, utility and other tall poles or trees, the nests often prominently visible along many Delaware waterways, especially Sussex County’s Inland Bays. These majestic raptors depend on a healthy and abundant food supply, and since their diet consists primarily of fish, annually monitoring their population and activities statewide provides a good indication of water quality and the general health of Delaware’s waterways.

This year, the Division of Fish & Wildlife is merging Delaware’s Citizen Osprey Monitoring Program with OspreyWatch, a worldwide osprey monitoring program operated in the U.S. through the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) in Virginia. Volunteers will monitor osprey nesting activity at assigned nest sites throughout the breeding season, which lasts from mid-March through the end of August, and will enter their data online using the CCB OspreyWatch website.

For those interested in helping to collect osprey nesting data, the Division of Fish & Wildlife will hold two training workshops for volunteer osprey monitors:

  • Saturday, March 5, 1-3 p.m. – Nature Center at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, located off Route 9 east of Smyrna at 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna, DE 19977
  • Sunday, March 6, 1-3 p.m. – DNREC Shoreline & Waterway Services Facility, 901 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE 19958

Volunteers need attend only one of the training workshops.

Osprey populations throughout the United States suffered serious decline in the 1950s and 60s, largely due to the effects of DDT, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other chemical contaminants. DDT and most PCB uses were banned in the 1970s, and – despite some residual contamination in the environment – osprey populations have recovered markedly. In the early 1990s, to assist their recovery, the Delmarva Ornithological Society partnered with the Division of Fish & Wildlife and other organizations and took the lead in constructing, installing, repairing and replacing osprey nesting platforms throughout the state.

Before 2003, the Division of Fish & Wildlife conducted osprey surveys in the Inland Bays and Nanticoke River areas where osprey populations were traditionally the highest. That year, statewide surveys began as a result of an increase in osprey sightings.

“Delaware’s osprey population is on the rise, so volunteer assistance with nest monitoring is definitely needed,” said Wildlife Biologist Kate Fleming of Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Species Conservation and Research Program. “The contributions of our volunteer monitors allow us to document breeding activity and milestones that we wouldn’t be able to collect otherwise.”

Ospreys will become a common sight beginning around mid-March, with nesting pairs returning and starting to rebuild their nests. Veteran monitors anxiously await the first signs of the ospreys’ return to begin recording data at least every other week. Observers note osprey activities from nest building to the juveniles’ first flight to the departure of adults and juveniles in late summer.

“Ideally, volunteers should monitor nests near their work or home or be willing to drive to their monitored nest often,” Fleming said, noting they also need internet access to report their findings as well as to receive updates about the project and details about other nesting sites throughout the state. “We are so excited to be merging with the CCB program to help us improve our data management capabilities, and we expect it to be a lot more fun for the volunteers too.”

Volunteers who know of an existing nest that they would like to monitor are encouraged to bring location information with them to the osprey monitoring training workshop. Volunteers will be matched with nests via email the week following the training workshop. Nest assignments will be based on preferences provided at the training workshop.

Preregistration for the orientation is required. To preregister, or to find out more about volunteering for the Citizen Osprey Monitoring Program, please contact Vickie Henderson at 302-735-8657, or email Vickie.Henderson@delaware.gov. Information is also available by visiting Citizen Osprey Monitoring Program.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 47


DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife announces spring 2016 trout stocking and opening for downstate ponds

Trout anglers encouraged to check requirements before fishing

DOVER – The Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife today announced that its spring 2016 downstate trout season will begin Saturday, March 5 with the opening of two downstate ponds stocked with rainbow trout, weather permitting. On that date, Tidbury Pond near Dover in Kent County and Newton Pond outside of Greenwood in Sussex County will open for trout fishing beginning at 7 a.m.

“As in past years, we plan to stock these ponds before opening day, and we plan to do a second stocking later in the month,” said Fisheries Administrator John Clark. “We will include trophy-sized trout again this year as an added attraction for trout anglers.”

Trout anglers planning to ply the waters of Tidbury and Newton ponds will want to note Fish & Wildlife regulatory requirements:

  • A trout stamp is required to fish these ponds from the first Saturday in March through April 1, unless otherwise exempted by law.
  • Following the opening day 7 a.m. start, trout fishing at these two ponds is permitted one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset, unless otherwise restricted by area rules.
  • The daily possession limit is six trout.
  • Both ponds are closed to all fishing for 14 days prior to the season opening, with this restriction in effect from Saturday, Feb. 20 until opening day March 5.

“These rules serve several purposes,” said Michael Stangl, Fisheries program manager. “Closing these ponds to all fishing for two weeks before the season provides a better opportunity to complete our stocking and eliminates incidental trout hooking mortality by those who are fishing for other species. In addition, the closure gives stocked trout time to adjust and spread out in their new waters. The pre-season closure also eliminates any harvest prior to the opener and improves fair access to the fishery.”

Each pond will initially be stocked with about 300 pounds of rainbow trout, average size 11 to 13 inches. “Trophy-sized” rainbows – weighing 2 pounds or more and measuring well over 14 inches – also will be stocked. Plans call for stocking to be repeated Thursday, March 17, with the same amount of fish in each pond.

Tidbury Pond is owned and managed by Kent County Levy Court, Department of Parks and Recreation, and anglers are asked to be respectful of the vegetation and fences erected to protect landscaped areas. No boats of any type are permitted in Tidbury Pond.

Newton Pond, owned and managed as a state wildlife area by the Division of Fish & Wildlife, will be stocked for the eighth year. The 10-acre borrow pit site was restored using Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration funds and opened for its first trout season in 2009. The pond features a boat ramp for car-top boats and canoes, with no gasoline motors allowed, plus a fishing pier and plenty of shoreline access to allow anglers to distance themselves from others. Clark stressed “car-top boats only,” since the ramp at Newton Pond was not designed or constructed for heavy vehicles with boat trailers, and vehicular traffic is blocked from using the ramp. Boat anglers are urged to exercise courtesy and caution while operating near others fishing from the shoreline.

“With the exception of the two-week closure preceding trout season, Newton Pond is also open for catch-and-release fishing for bass and bluegill. Although barbless hooks are required at Newton Pond throughout the year, they are not required from opening day through April 1 while fishing for trout. Beginning March 5, trout in both ponds will be fair game, and we encourage anglers to keep these trout up to the limit of six,” Clark continued, noting that trout are a cold water species and can only survive while water temperatures in the ponds remain cool.

Upstate, trout season will open at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 2 in six designated trout streams in northern New Castle County: White Clay Creek, Christina Creek, Pike Creek, Beaver Run, Wilson Run and Mill Creek, which will all be stocked with thousands of rainbow and brown trout. All of the streams will receive a heavy stocking just prior to the season opener on the first Saturday in April. Trout stocking in the spring will continue on a regular weekly basis in some streams through Thursday, April 28. For more information, click http://de.gov/troutstocking.

A Delaware fishing license is required for most anglers wishing to try their luck at trout fishing. A resident annual fishing license, which covers fresh and tidal waters as well as crabbing and clamming, costs $8.50 for ages 16 through 64. Persons under the age of 16 and residents age 65 and older are not required to purchase fishing licenses in Delaware, although exempt persons may purchase fishing licenses and trout stamps if they so choose to help support fisheries management and trout stocking efforts. For non-resident anglers age 16 and older, a Delaware fishing license costs $20.

Both resident and non-resident anglers age 16 and older are required to obtain a Delaware Fisherman Information Network (F.I.N.) number. The free number is included as part of a Delaware fishing license purchase. License-exempt anglers, including Delaware residents 65 and older, may visit www.delaware-fin.com or call 800-432-9228 toll-free to obtain their free F.I.N. number.

In addition to Delaware’s normal fishing license requirements, most trout anglers also must purchase a Delaware trout stamp. For residents age 16 through 64, a trout stamp costs $4.20. For residents age 12 through 15, a young angler trout stamp costs $2.10. Resident anglers younger than age 12 or age 65 and older are not required to purchase a trout stamp. For non-residents, a trout stamp is required for all anglers age 12 and older and costs $6.20.

All proceeds from the purchase of Delaware trout stamps are used to help purchase next year’s fish for stocking. The popular fishery also is supported by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration funds generated from anglers purchasing fishing equipment.

“Since the price of trout is not expected to decrease in the immediate future, the Fisheries Section is hoping plenty of anglers will come out this season to help support the program,” Clark added.

Delaware fishing licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on fishing in Delaware, click on 2016 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, and from license agents throughout the state.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 48