TOWNSEND, Del. – Volunteers are needed to plant 2,000 hardwood seedlings at Blackbird State Forest on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Two seniors from Middletown High School, Bryan Alberding and Nick Kupsick, are leading the project in cooperation with the Delaware Forest Service with funding provided by the DNREC Nonpoint Source Program (NPS). The project will take place on Blackbird State Forest’s Naudain Tract, 2076 Harvey Straughn Road, Townsend, Delaware 19734.

The rain date is scheduled for April 27 and 28, 2019.

The planting site is located along the Cypress Branch, where the new trees will help enhance wildlife habitat, fight invasive species, and improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The project continues a tradition of youth volunteerism and environmental action at Blackbird State Forest: in 2018, volunteers led by Girl Scout Caroline Dowd, a student at MOT Charter High School in Middletown, planted more than 8,800 seedlings on an adjacent parcel.  In both 2012 and 2013, Boy Scouts planted 4,000 trees each year at Blackbird State Forest.

“Our project took a lot of time and planning, but it is important that everything was done correctly to maximize our success,” said Middletown High School senior Bryan Alberding. “I chose to do this project because I was concerned about the enormous housing growth in our community, and I wanted to improve the environment.”

“This project presents others with the opportunity to explore and learn how our forests start from the seedling to a mature tree, and how to properly plant the trees,” said Nick Kupsick,who is coordinating the effort with Alberding as part of their Middletown H.S. senior project.

Contact information for media:

• Bryan Alberding, phone: (302) 299-3052, email: bryannhunter@gmail.com
• Nick Kupsick, phone: (302) 757-3341, email: nkupsick76@gmail.com

Volunteers are asked to dress for the weather and bring sunscreen or insect repellent if needed.

What to wear and bring:

1. work shoes or work boots that can get dirty
2. appropriate clothing and hats that can get dirty and are suited to the weather (cold, rain, wind, or heat)
3. a shovel if possible, as well as work gloves

The latest updates for the event will be posted on the students’ Facebook Page: Blackbird Tree Planting

Funding for the trees is provided by a grant from the DNREC Nonpoint Source Program. The restoration of riparian forests is a key strategy for improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, recognized as a “national treasure” and the largest estuary in North America, covering 64,000 square miles in six states and the District of Columbia. The Cypress Branch in southwestern New Castle County is one of the headwaters for the Chester River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay that begins where Cypress Branch and Andover Branch join together in Millington, MD.

Blackbird State Forest covers nearly 6,000 acres in southern New Castle County and is also a stop on the historic Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

Directions to the Blackbird Forest Tree Planting Site

• From the NORTH:
  Route 1 (TOLL): Take Rt. 1 South to Exit 136 toward Odessa (Rt. 299) and make a left at the light. At Rt. 299 (Main Street) in Odessa, turn right onto U.S. 13 South.
  U.S. 13: Take U.S 13 South until you reach Rt. 299 (Main Street) in Odessa. Proceed through the light (continue on U.S. 13 South).
• From Route 299 & U.S. 13: Continue on U.S. 13 south for 6.2 miles and then turn right onto Blackbird Forest Road (flashing light at the top of the hill). After 3.5 miles, turn right onto Oak Hill School Road. Continue for 2.9 miles and then turn right onto Harvey Straughn Road. Proceed for .3 miles and the destination will be on the right.
• From the SOUTH:
  Route 1 (TOLL): Take Rt. 1 North to Exit 119 (N. Smyrna). Make a right onto Route 13 South. Proceed .8 miles to Duck Creek Road and make a right at the light.
  U.S. 13: Take U.S 13 North until you reach Duck Creek Road north of Smyrna (just past Visitor Center and Smokey Bear sign on the right). Turn left at light for Duck Creek Road.
• From Duck Creek Road & U.S. 13:  Proceed west for .8 miles on Duck Creek Road and turn right onto Vandyke Greenspring Road. Continue on Vandyke Greenspring Road for 4.4 miles and turn left onto Harvey Straughn Road. In 2 miles, turn left to stay on Harvey Straughn Road. Proceed for .3 miles and the destination will be on the left.

Additional contact –
John Petersen, Delaware Forest Service, 302-698-4552, john.petersen@delaware.gov

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DOVER, Del. – Delaware timber harvests achieved a 93 percent rate of compliance with best management practices (BMPs) designed to protect water quality and limit soil erosion, according to a new report. Recommended practices included: pre-harvest planning to properly locate access roads, avoiding stream crossings and wetlands, curtailing harvests during wet periods, and maintaining sufficient forest buffers near water.

Dr. Anne Hairston-Strang, a forest hydrologist with the Maryland DNR Forest Service, sought to assess the use and effectiveness of BMPs by surveying a total of 72 sites in Maryland and Delaware from 2014 to 2016 (Figure 1). Selected sites were locations with waterway crossings and buffers with the greatest potential for water quality impacts. Effects were expected to be larger than normal because high rainfall during the 2014-2016 period represented an increase of 20 percent above the 30-year average.

However, final data showed that the average sediment delivery across all locations was less than one cubic foot per site—indicating that proper use of BMPs was successful at protecting water quality during harvest operations. The results are also important because a substantial part of western Delaware is located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the largest estuary in the United States and a critical natural resource area targeted for public and private restoration efforts. The report also offers evidence that Delaware’s relatively flat coastal plain topography can help to make the application of BMPs even more effective at preventing sediment deposits in waterways. Other key study findings are summarized below.

“Protecting water quality and the physical environment are of utmost importance during any forestry operation” said Michael A. Valenti, Delaware State Forester. “Timber harvesters work closely with professional foresters to ensure adherence to Delaware’s Erosion and Sedimentation Law. Utilizing a comprehensive set of best management practices since 1994, the forest industry has attained a very high level of compliance with this protective law. We are very pleased with these results and our goal, of course, is 100 percent compliance. The Delaware Forest Service will continue to work with operators to correct the few minor violations uncovered during this study in a cooperative effort to protect Delaware’s water quality.”

Background

Forests are one of the best land uses for achieving high water quality. Trees act as natural filters to mitigate erosion, remove pollutants, reduce storm water flow, and lower water treatment costs. Forests are also sustainable sources of valuable wood products and good jobs. As part of a comprehensive forest stewardship plan, activities such as pre-commercial thinning can keep forests healthy from overstocking and forest pest issues. Similarly, properly planned and well-managed harvests of “working forests” can help landowners capture economic benefits while also meeting important resource objectives such as water quality, wildlife, and recreation. Timber income can help owners keep their land as forestland, preventing its conversion to more developed land uses that contain greater impervious surface area with the potential risk of a corresponding decline in water quality. As part of its core programs, the Delaware Forest Service offers free management planning to forest landowners, including cost-share-assistance for activities such as reforestation as well as property tax exemptions.

Forest operations in the First State are subject to the Forest Practices Erosion and Sedimentation Law (Title 3, Chapter 10, Subchapter VI) that was signed by Governor Thomas Carper in July, 1994. In Delaware, an E&S permit – accompanied by a site map – is required for all harvests greater than one acre in size not subject to a land use conversion. In addition, Delaware’s “Seed Tree Law” requires owners of harvest sites that contains at least 25 percent of yellow-poplar or loblolly pine – two of Delaware’s most important commercial species – to provide for adequate reforestation of the area.

Best management practices for forestry operations include:

• Planning harvests to avoid stream crossings, steep slopes and wetlands
• Locating roads and skid trails on low slopes (usually less than 15 percent)
• Timing harvest operations to avoid wet periods
• Diverting water off roads and skid trails to infiltrate into the forest floor using earthen berm water bars, broad-based dips or other diverters
• Stabilizing roads, landings and steep skid trails
• Using bridges, culverts or temporary corduroy logs for water crossings
• Crossing streams at right angles to minimize disturbance
• Leaving buffers to shade waterways

Buffers along riparian areas are particularly important, however the buffer requirement need not be overly restrictive to commercial operators: harvesting can occur within the buffer zone but a minimum of 60 square feet of basal area must be left—usually over half of the trees in an area.

Key findings from the study:

Sediment Movement

• On sites with water crossings, 90 percent avoided delivering sediment to waterways, while 6
  percent delivered measurable amounts of sediment at crossings or approaches (Figure 2).
• The average volume of delivered sediment was estimated at 14 cubic feet.
• Factoring in all sites, including those without water crossings, average sediment
  delivery per harvest site was less than 1 cubic foot
• Sites with crossings averaged 4 cubic feet per site.
  Buffers
  Buffers around waterways were an important best management practice. Sediment had moved into buffers in 12 percent of observations. On average, sediment moved 45 percent of the way through the buffer, then deposited before reaching water. In Delaware, the greatest distance moved was 60 percent of buffer width, while Maryland had a location where sediment reached the water through the buffer around crossings. On two of the 72 sites, log landings were in the buffer area (3 percent). These were in Delaware, where many sites are on old fields next to ditches and may have been using an existing cleared area.
  
• More than 10.5 miles of buffers were assessed in Maryland (7.9 miles) and Delaware (2.6 miles.)
• No sediment breached buffers in Delaware, aided by the gentle slopes in the coastal plain.
• Most buffers provided good shade, averaging 86 percent canopy in Delaware
• Most buffers, 87 percent, met state requirements, or buffers were not required on the types of waterways assessed (Maryland met on 84 percent, Delaware 100 percent).
• The largest trees on the assessed buffer plots after the harvest averaged 20 inches in diameter.
• Basal area was generally high, 98 square feet per acre, typical of a fully stocked forest stand.

Delaware’s Forestry BMP Manual was developed by the Delaware Forest Service in cooperation with numerous public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders: the Delaware Forestry Association, Delaware Tree Farm Committee, Society of American Foresters, Delaware Farm Bureau, Delaware Nature Society, and Delaware chapters of the Audubon Society and Sierra Club. Also contributing to the guidelines were the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts and Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: Division of Water Resources Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands Section; Division of Soil and Water Conservation; Non-Point Source Pollution Program; Coastal Zone Management Program; Drainage Program; Sediment and Stormwater Management Program; and the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Federal partners included the U.S. Forest Service’s Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Non-Point Source Pollution Program.

Over the past 10 years, the Delaware Forest Service has handled the following number of permits, acres, and inspections:

LAUREL – Through a unique public-private partnership between the State of Delaware, the Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Navy, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recently purchased 48 acres of pristine woodlands along a tributary of the Nanticoke River in Sussex County. As part of the state-owned Nanticoke Wildlife Area, the property adjoining Cod Creek features increasingly rare stands of Atlantic white cedar trees and an abundance of native wildlife, including some species of conservation concern.

This morning, U.S. Senator Chris Coons, Governor Jack Markell and DNREC Secretary David Small joined the partners at Phillips Landing, the Nanticoke Wildlife Area’s public-access boat ramp, to celebrate the addition, which will be managed to protect wildlife habitat while allowing future conservation-compatible public access. The new property also expands a corridor of protected land beneath airspace used for naval flight research.

The Cod Creek property was purchased for $206,529, with $58,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, $68,529 in state funds from Delaware’s Open Space Program and $80,000 in private funds from the Chesapeake Conservancy, which contributed private funds for land conservation from Mt. Cuba Center.

The property is the fifth conservation acquisition in recent years to which the Chesapeake Conservancy has contributed private funds that helped leverage state money to preserve land and create public access along the Nanticoke River and the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. A key addition to this acquisition was the additional federal dollars procured through the REPI program.

“I am very grateful for the REPI program leadership and the U.S. Navy for working with the conservation community around the country and especially in Delaware,” said Sen. Coons. “It’s important to work together and to pool resources in order to conserve land that has strategic and biologic significance. This property in western Sussex being preserved will help conserve Delaware’s precious green space on the Captain John Smith Trail, and especially the mission of Naval Air Station Patuxent River.”

“Today we celebrate the addition of this key property to the beautiful Nanticoke Wildlife Area, as well as the innovative partnership behind its recent acquisition,” said Governor Markell. “This public-private partnership between the State, the Navy and our private conservation partners is the first of its kind in Delaware and provides a successful model that can be applied to future land protection projects along the Nanticoke River.”

“The Navy is excited to partner with Delaware to preserve land that not only benefits natural resources, but also sustains and supports military readiness while ensuring compatible land use,” said Capt. Scott Starkey, Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station, Patuxent River. “This parcel expands on the Navy’s current partnerships in the Nanticoke region and efforts to protect a corridor of land beneath the Navy’s Atlantic Test Range and special-use airspace used by our service men and women for essential flight research, development, test, evaluation and training.”

“The Nanticoke watershed is an ecological treasure with a rich cultural and natural heritage,” said DNREC Secretary David Small. “This innovative partnership brings federal, state and private organizations and funds together to protect a key piece of the landscape for habitat, water quality, outdoor recreation and this nation’s defense mission and we look forward to building on this success.”

“This is a true win for our service members, communities, and the environment,” said REPI Program Director Kristin Thomasgard-Spence. “What excites me the most about this announcement is how this partnership is protecting the critical test missions at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, while expanding important conservation corridors, and creating new opportunities for communities to enjoy the unique natural and cultural resources in this region. This effort exemplifies what the REPI program seeks to accomplish across the country – protection of critical DoD missions through efficient public and private sector collaboration.”

The State of Delaware, the Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Navy have for several years been involved in a Chesapeake Bay landscape-scale preservation initiative called the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership. Through this partnership, the three groups were able to develop a framework to leverage state, federal and private dollars against one another in order to achieve land conservation goals established in the 2014 Chesapeake Watershed Agreement.

“This partnership shows that protecting the environment and defending the country go hand-in-hand,” Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn said. “Conserving this important land near the Nanticoke River maintains the military’s critical need to practice and test aircraft and protects rare plants along the nationally-recognized Captain John Smith Chesapeake Trail. It’s a win-win situation for the Chesapeake Bay and for the nation.”

“Preservation of open space and healthy watersheds are critically important to maintaining robust, diverse communities of plants and animals. Mt. Cuba Center is pleased to support this collaborative conservation effort, because resilient ecosystems support a healthy community of humans as well,” said Mt. Cuba Center Executive Director Jeff Downing.
Located 5.5 miles west of the town of Laurel, the Cod Creek property is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and features several key habitats: Atlantic white cedar swamp, wild rice tidal marsh and pond-lily tidal marsh. Several Delaware Species of Greatest Conservation Need are found in the area, including bald eagles, yellow-throated warblers, pied-billed grebes and two dragonflies, the harlequin darner and the royal river cruiser, along with a rare wetland plant, Long’s bittercress.

The property is part of a larger landscape-scale conservation plan developed under the Nanticoke Initiative, spearheaded by the Chesapeake Conservancy in partnership with Delaware and Maryland’s departments of natural resources, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy, Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund. The Initiative contributes to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, seeking to connect previously protected properties in an effort to create an 8,500-acre corridor of protected lands along the Nanticoke River. In addition to conserving wildlife habitat and allowing species room to adapt to climate change, the plan will ultimately enhance low-impact outdoor recreation and eco-tourism opportunities for Delawareans and visitors in the area.

The Chesapeake Watershed Agreement brought six states and the District of Columbia together to achieve an environmentally and economically sustainable Chesapeake Bay Watershed, with clean water, abundant life, conserved lands, water access, a vibrant cultural heritage and a diversity of engaged citizens and stakeholders. For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, visit www.chesapeakebay.net/chesapeakebaywatershedagreement. For more information on the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership, visit www.chesapeakeconservation.org.

The Chesapeake Conservancy’s mission is to strengthen the connection between people and the watershed, conserve the landscapes and special places that sustain the Chesapeake’s unique natural and cultural resources, and restore landscapes, rivers, and habitats in the Chesapeake Bay region. For more information, please visit www.ChesapeakeConservancy.org.

The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program serves as a tool for the Department of Defense to sustain our Nation’s military mission through cooperative land-use planning and integrated land protection with a variety of partners around installations and ranges. For more information, please visit www.repi.mil.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902; Megan McSwain, Chesapeake Conservancy, 443-554-0634; Lt. Cmdr. James Brindle, U.S. Department of Defense Public Affairs, 703-697-5331.

Vol. 46, No. 296

The Delaware Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program is awarding over $47,000 in competitive grants to fund 14 community-based tree projects in all three Delaware counties.  Homeowner groups, civic associations, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities were eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in funds for a tree planting or tree management project. Recipients are required to match at least 50 percent of their grant through cash or in-kind match of volunteer hours or equipment. This year, more than half of the successful projects – a total of $29,429.35 – addressed tree management issues such as the removal of hazardous trees. Overall, 11 projects were funded in New Castle County, one in Kent County, and two in Sussex County. Applications were evaluated by a committee of the Delaware Community Forestry Council according to several factors, including whether the community  or municipality has adopted a tree canopy goal, first-time applicant status, and how well the project addresses key objectives in the Delaware Forest Service’s Statewide Forest Strategy.

Since the grant program’s inception in 1991, the Delaware Forest Service has awarded over $1.76 million to more than 200 organizations to improve their urban forest resources. More information about Delaware’s urban and community forestry program is online at delawaretrees.com.  Urban forester Kesha Braunskill can be reached at 302.659.6704 or kesha.braunskill@delaware.gov.

2014 Urban and Community Grant Recipients

DOVER (March 28, 2013) – In partnership with DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship’s rain barrels program, the Delaware Forest Service is inviting residents of Delaware communities within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to “buy a rain barrel … get a free tree” through the Forest Service’s new “Trees for the Bay” program. 

For each purchase of a discounted rain barrel on Wednesday, April 17 in Kent County and Thursday, April 18 in Sussex County, Delaware residents who live in eligible zip codes will receive a voucher worth $125 toward the purchase of a qualifying tree(s) at participating nursery and garden centers. Additional rain barrel purchases to qualifying residents will be eligible for additional vouchers, while supplies last on a first-come, first-served basis.

Available through DNREC’s Nonpoint Source Program, the heavy-duty plastic rain barrels are for sale to Delaware residents at a discounted price of $59 each. Tree vouchers will be available to Chesapeake Bay Watershed residents when purchasing rain barrels at these pickup locations: 

• Kent County: Wednesday, April 17 between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or until all barrels are sold, at the DNREC State Fair Building, located off Route 13 in Harrington on the north end of the Delaware State Fairgrounds just past the Centre Ice Rink.
   
• Sussex County: Thursday, April 18 between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or until all barrels are sold, at the DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Lewes Facility, next to the Lewes boat ramp, located at 901 Pilottown Road, Lewes. 

Vouchers are available only to those who reside in the following Delaware communities, which are located within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed:

Vouchers must be redeemed by Sunday, May 5 at these participating nurseries and garden centers:

• Bess Buds, 34593 Sussex Highway, Laurel, 302-875-2507
• Jeff’s Greenhouse and Gift Shop, 7781 Main Street, Bethel, 800-276-3420
• Barton’s Landscaping/Lawn Co., 20689 Sussex Highway, Seaford, 302-629-9645

Vouchers are not redeemable for the following tree species (which are not recommended and/or considered invasive species): ash, northern red oak, Leyland-cypress, hemlock, Japanese black pine, Australian pine, American elm, Norway maple, Tree of Heaven, Paulownia, mimosa, white mulberry, Chinese elm, any white-barked birch and any species or variety of pear.

The Delaware Forest Service and DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship both recognize the important role trees play in cleaning our air and water while enhancing the quality of life for Delaware residents. Trees reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, remove excess nutrients, and filter harmful pollutants before they make their way into the tributaries, streams and rivers within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The Delaware Forest Service’s Trees for the Bay program is underwritten by federal funds designed to help communities meet the water quality goals outlined in the Chesapeake Bay’s Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). For more details, visit
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/wa/Pages/Chesapeake_Wip.aspx.

For more information about the Forest Service’s Trees for the Bay program, please visit http://delawaretrees.com/trees-for-the-bay, or contact Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service, at 302-698-4578 or email kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov.

 For more information about DNREC’s discounted rain barrel program, please call Sharon Webb, Division of Watershed Stewardship, Nonpoint Source Program, at 302-739-9922, or email sharon.webb@delaware.gov.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902, or John Petersen, Delaware Forest Service, 302-698-4552.

Vol. 43, No. 117

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