Mulberry Landing Boat Ramp parking lot will be paved and expanded this month into early March. /DNREC photo.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today the March 6 closure of the Mulberry Landing Boat Ramp within the Assawoman Wildlife Area near Bethany Beach for a construction project to enlarge and pave the boat ramp’s gravel parking lot. Construction is scheduled to begin the day of the ramp closure, with the project’s completion anticipated by April 14, dependent on weather.

With the project reflecting the ramp’s increasing popularity with boaters, the upgraded parking lot at the end of Mulberry Landing Road will feature 23 trailer parking spaces and seven car parking spaces.

During construction, the wildlife area will be open for normal use, including pedestrian access to the Observation Tower with vehicle parking available at Memorial Pond within the wildlife area. Signs will be posted to direct visitors away from the construction area.

During the Mulberry Landing Boat Ramp closure, alternative boat launches in the area include Indian River Marina at Delaware Seashore State Park near Rehoboth Beach, Rosedale Boat Ramp near Millsboro, and Holts Landing State Park. All are public use and provide access to Indian River. A ramp certificate is required to launch for any boater whose boat is registered outside of Delaware. Additionally, boaters who launch at Holts Landing should be aware that daily state parks’ entrance fees will resume March 1, and an annual state park pass, a valid surf fishing permit, or payment of the daily entrance fee is required.

For more information about the Mulberry Landing Ramp construction project, contact the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

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Once a federally-listed endangered species, the Delmarva fox squirrel now populates five sites in Delaware as it continues to rebound through DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife efforts. /Photo courtesy of Sandra and George Wiley

Translocations to Three New State Sites Increase the Total Populated Delmarva Fox Squirrel Sites to Five

Delmarva fox squirrels now have three new homes in Sussex County as a result of translocations during 2022 to the Assawoman Wildlife Area, Redden State Forest and Trap Pond State Park, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today on the eve of National Squirrel Appreciation Day. The new locations coordinated by DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife add to known Delmarva fox squirrel populations within the state at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and DNREC’s Nanticoke Wildlife Area.

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife began in the fall of 2020 translocating Delmarva fox squirrels captured from robust populations in Maryland to suitable habitats for the species in southern Delaware. Thirty-two Delmarva fox squirrels were translocated in 2022, 15 of them going to Trap Pond State Park and 11 to Redden State Forest during the spring and an additional six squirrels placed within Trap Pond last fall. Delmarva fox squirrels translocated to Assawoman Wildlife Area during 2020 and 2021 have established distinct home ranges and reproduction has been documented. Translocations of additional Delmarva fox squirrels from Maryland to Trap Pond State Park and Redden State Forest are planned for the spring of 2023.

While Delmarva fox squirrels are now abundant on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, these large, silver-gray squirrels remain rare in Delaware. Unlike many of its squirrel relatives, the Delmarva fox squirrel is very slow to expand its range and colonize new territories. Although the Delmarva fox squirrel was once a federally-listed endangered species, translocations, habitat management and land and species protection have helped their populations recover regionally in Maryland, resulting in the species being removed from the federal endangered species list in 2015.

Since Delmarva fox squirrels are no longer a federally-listed endangered species, landowners should not be concerned if they start seeing them on their property. Hunting of Delmarva fox squirrels is still prohibited, so it is important that hunters note the differences between them and the more commonly seen eastern gray squirrels, for which Delaware has a hunting season.

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife developed a Delmarva Fox Squirrel Conservation Plan in 2014 in collaboration with stakeholder input to increase the number of Delmarva fox squirrels in Delaware. The plan is now being successfully implemented, as indicated by new resident populations in the state. Translocations have proven to be an important and effective tool for increasing the distribution of this species, and are the cornerstone of Delaware’s Delmarva Fox Squirrel Conservation Plan.

More information about DNREC’s Delmarva fox squirrel restoration project, including photographs differentiating the appearance between the Delmarva fox squirrel and the eastern gray squirrel, and answers to frequently asked questions about the Delmarva fox squirrel in Delaware, can be found at de.gov/foxsquirrel.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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DNREC is soon to begin a $4.685 million priority dredging project for White Creek (pictured above) and the Assawoman Canal to make both waterways in Sussex County more navigable. /DNREC photo

Beneficial Reuse Sediment from Dredging Will Help Restore Nearby Assawoman Wildlife Area Salt Marsh

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that dredging is expected to begin just after the New Year on the main channel of White Creek and a short stretch of Assawoman Canal to improve navigability on the two waterways northwest of Bethany Beach in Sussex County. Dredged sediment from the project will be used to restore an area of degraded salt marsh at DNREC’s Assawoman Wildlife Area. The $4.685 million project is funded largely from appropriations to DNREC in the fiscal year 2022 and FY23 budgets.

The project to be undertaken by DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and the contractor ResilientSeas, LLC will remove between 55,000 and 70,000 cubic yards of shoaled sediment. The work will restore the main White Creek navigation channel and the confluence of the Assawoman Canal to previous depths for safer boating and recreational use of both waterways.

DNREC identified White Creek and the Assawoman Canal as two of the top priorities for navigation improvements, based on surveys of residents and recreational users of the waterways, along with analysis of channel depth, boater safety and environmental issues. The White Creek navigation channel was last dredged as part of a phased program from 1997 through 2001. The Assawoman Canal was most recently dredged from 2010 to 2015.

Removal of derelict crab pots and other marine debris from the project area is expected to begin this month. Placement of the pipeline for dredged material will start in early January 2023. Dredging of the main channel is expected to begin in late January. Permit conditions require the dredging project to be completed by the end of March to minimize impacts to hibernating terrapins.

The U.S. Coast Guard will issue a Local Notice to Mariners advisory for boaters to exercise caution on both waterways and to maintain safe distance from the dredging activity. Floating and submerged pipelines will be positioned in White Creek, the Assawoman Canal and the eastern and western prongs of White Creek. Dredge and support vessels will be operating in the same areas over the course of the project.

The Coast Guard also recommends removing commercial fishing nets, crab pots and other structures from the dredging area.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

The wildlife viewing deck at the Port Penn Tract of the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Augustine Beach Wildlife Area. /DNREC photo

DNREC Expanding Elevated Vistas to Provide Opportunities to View Wildlife in Coastal Wetlands and Adjoining Uplands

Wildlife viewing is quickly becoming a favorite outdoor activity, attracting both Delaware residents and visitors who want to enjoy the splendor of the First State’s outdoor natural spaces. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control provides numerous outdoor recreation opportunities on public lands, including elevated wildlife-viewing structures on several state wildlife areas managed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Since 2013, the Division of Fish and Wildlife has focused on expanding outdoor recreation opportunities in state wildlife areas. With planning and public input, new wildlife-viewing structures have been constructed in the Augustine Wildlife Area near Port Penn and the Little Creek Wildlife Area east of Dover, with additional wildlife-viewing structures planned for the Ted Harvey Conservation Area near Bowers Beach and the Milford Neck Wildlife Area east of Milford.

The new structures expand upon existing wildlife viewing opportunities, including the Division of Fish and Wildlife-managed Aquatic Resources Education Center’s saltmarsh boardwalk trail located in the Woodland Beach Wildlife Area, the deck at the Division of Fish and Wildlife-managed DuPont Nature Center overlooking the Mispillion Harbor, and the Assawoman Wildlife Area’s observation tower that stands 40 feet above the wetlands.

Almost all these facilities are accessible to individuals with mobility challenges, including accessible parking, hard-packed trail surfaces and portable restrooms. Interpretive signs at a number of viewing locations help educate visitors about the wildlife they might encounter or about observed wildlife habitats. A new DNREC webpage includes more information about the elevated viewing structures, photographs of them, wildlife most likely to be seen, links to maps of a specific wildlife area where a viewing structure is located, and information about the Conservation Access Pass (CAP).

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife are required to have and display a CAP, except at the Aquatic Resources Education Center and DuPont Nature Center. To obtain a CAP, visitors will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned – with the exception of the Resident Senior Lifetime Conservation Access Pass available to Delaware residents aged 65 or older. More information about the CAP – which may be purchased online at de.gov/digitaldnrec, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license agents statewide – can be found at de.gov/cap.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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A Delmarva fox squirrel at the Assawoman Wildlife Area wearing a telemetry collar for remote tracking /DNREC photo

Gray Squirrel Hunting Season to Open Sept. 15

With the opening of gray squirrel hunting season on Sept. 15, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reminds Delaware hunters to be vigilant and not to harvest state-endangered Delmarva fox squirrels. Delmarva fox squirrel populations are found in Sussex County at and near the Nanticoke Wildlife Area, Assawoman Wildlife Area, Trap Pond State Park, Redden State Forest and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

Hunting for and harvesting of Delmarva fox squirrels is prohibited. It is important that hunters note the differences between the fox squirrel and the more commonly-seen eastern gray squirrel. Delmarva fox squirrels are much larger than gray squirrels and have lighter silver-gray fur with little to no brown, longer, fuller tails and short, rounded ears compared to gray squirrels.

Delmarva fox squirrels remain rare in Delaware, with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife working to reestablish the species by relocating Delmarva fox squirrels from robust populations in Maryland to suitable habitat in Delaware.

More information about Delmarva fox squirrels, including photographs comparing Delmarva fox squirrels and eastern gray squirrels, and answers to frequently asked questions, can be found at de.gov/foxsquirrel.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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