DNREC is incentivizing landowners who implement Best Management Practices in Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed. These BMPs can help resolve issues including erosion, poor drainage or lack of native vegetation while improving water quality and providing habitat for wildlife in Delaware./DNREC graphic

Homeowners to be Incentivized for Implementing Best Practices in Watershed to Improve Water Quality and Create Wildlife Habitat

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control recently introduced two new conservation incentive programs to improve water quality and create wildlife habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Both programs – the Delaware Community Conservation Assistance Program (DeCAP) and the Forest Buffer Incentive Program – will pay homeowners and landowners for conservation management practices to support those goals.

Dr. Holly Walker, DNREC’s Chesapeake Bay Program Coordinator within the Division of Watershed Stewardship, said both programs are crucial to Delaware meeting water quality and pollution reduction goals in the 64,000-square-mile watershed which spans six states, including the western third of Delaware.

“These practices help reduce stormwater runoff, an important factor when it comes to improving water quality. At the same time, participants in the community conservation assistance program also get the benefit of a more beautiful, eco-friendly landscape that will attract songbirds, butterflies and other beneficial insects,” Dr. Walker said.

“The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and home to 18 million people – any protection we can provide for it, any continued upgrading of its condition is crucial for the bay’s unique ecosystem and its inhabitants,” Dr. Walker added. “These programs will improve the health of Delaware’s portion of the watershed.”

Through DeCAP, homeowners who implement best management practices (BMPs) can qualify for partial reimbursement of their installation expenses for following: constructed wetlands; conservation landscaping; urban nutrient management; bioretention areas; rain gardens; and tree planting. BMPs are designed to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff from residential properties. They also offer the added benefit of solving common backyard issues like erosion, poor drainage, and lack of vegetation because of compacted soil and other hindrances to having fertile ground.

The new Forest Buffer Incentive Program provides tree plantings for qualified landowners free of charge with an additional one-time incentive payment. Forest buffers are linear strips of wooded areas that filter sediment, and nutrient pollutants such as phosphorous from water runoff, which improves the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Forest buffers are a part of Phase III of Delaware’s Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to help reduce nutrient and sediment loads entering the Chesapeake Bay. Delaware’s WIP goal is to create an additional 65 acres of forest buffers by 2025. The Delaware Riparian Forest Buffer Action Strategy, which outlines the state’s plan for meeting its goals, includes the creation of an incentive program for planting forest buffers.

For landowners to qualify for either of the new programs, their property must be within the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Delaware and the BMPs must remain in place for at least five years. Landowners who are not sure if they are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can go to Find Your Watershed at delawarewatersheds.org to find out if they qualify.

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

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BETHANY BEACH – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today that the boat ramp at Sassafras Landing, located within the Assawoman Wildlife Area, will be closed from Monday through Thursday during a three-week period beginning Monday, June 3. The temporary closure is needed to provide construction access for a shoreline stabilization project. The Sassafras Landing boat ramp will be open with limited parking Friday through Sunday during this time period.

The shoreline stabilization project will protect an adjacent pond managed for freshwater plants attractive to water birds, and will stabilize and enhance the shoreline with native marsh plants. A series of 50- to 100-foot long rows of rocks will be placed in the water parallel to the shoreline, with clean sand placed between the rock and the shoreline where native marsh grasses will be planted to protect the shoreline and provide valuable wildlife habitat. The project will decrease wave energy to reduce shoreline erosion. The rock rows will have small gaps installed to allow fish and terrapin passage.

The boat ramps and crabbing piers at both Mulberry and Strawberry Landings within the Assawoman Wildlife Area will be open during the construction project.

For more information, please call the Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912.

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

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Watershed Stewardship in partnership with public and private environmental organizations have introduced the Delaware Living Shorelines Monitoring Framework, a tool to help landowners, professionals, and scientists develop plans for gauging the success of living shoreline projects installed throughout the state.

Living shorelines are a natural and effective way to stabilize a shoreline, reduce erosion, and provide beneficial habitat in coastal environments. Living shorelines provide a natural alternative to hard shoreline stabilization methods such as bulkheads and riprap, with the “softer” alternatives offering numerous benefits over hard stabilization options, including providing wildlife habitat and runoff remediation.

The monitoring framework was created by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, comprising professionals from DNREC, National Estuary Programs, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and private engineering and consulting companies. The committee provides practitioners and researchers the opportunity to discuss current living shoreline projects in Delaware, along with upcoming projects, and enables them to stay informed on new policies or techniques.

“Living shorelines are the foundation of a unique, natural environmental strategy to counter erosion. As the strategy for installing these evolves, the monitoring methodology created by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee will help ensure the creation of more effective and resilient shorelines in the future,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin.

The Living Shoreline Monitoring Framework outlines how to identify and prioritize living shoreline project goals – such as shoreline stabilization, habitat creation, and water quality improvement – and other objectives. The step-by-step framework helps a user assess whether a living shoreline is developing correctly for each goal, and how to manage a site better if the living shoreline’s performance is lagging. For example, if vegetation is not growing as it should, the framework spells steps that can be taken to improve growing conditions.

The monitoring framework can be found on the Delaware Living Shorelines website, under “Additional Resources – Research.” The document allows for varying levels of expertise, technology, expense, and effort to create a custom monitoring plan based on the goals of each project or site. The resulting monitoring plan will tell a user what information to collect about a project, and how and when to collect it throughout the year.

To learn more about living shorelines, or information on how to join the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, or to learn if your property is suitable for a living shoreline, please visit https://www.delawarelivingshorelines.org/ or contact Alison Rogerson, DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, at Alison.Rogerson@delaware.gov or Danielle Kreeger at dkreeger@delawareestuary.org.

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

Vol. 49, No. 8

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation, in partnership with the Kent County Conservancy, announced today that it has secured two wetland parcels formerly owned by the McClements family of Dover, to become part of the Fork Branch Nature Preserve. The two parcels, one almost three acres in size, the other just over 2½ acres, are located adjacent to the Anne McClements Woods tract of the 247-acre Fork Branch Nature Preserve. Both properties were donated by the children of Dr. James and Anne McClements, Mary Jane, Nancy, Jimmy, Walter and Bill McClements, in their parents’ memory.

The land donation was initiated by the Kent County Conservancy, a local non-profit preservation organization, working with DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation, which accepted the donation in memoriam to the McClements, and expanding the Fork Branch Nature Preserve.

DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin joined Governor John Carney and other officials last year, at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fork Branch Trail, located in the Anne McClements Woods tract of the Fork Branch Nature Preserve, which is open with free access to visitors.

The two donated parcels for the Fork Branch Nature Preserve are located on Kenton Road. One parcel, entailing a stream bed, is 2.93 acres, while the other is also a wetland area of 2.69 acres. The McClements’ family gift of the two parcels will help protect and buffer the preserve’s wetland habitats, and the wildlife species the habitats support.

“These additions to the preserve do not just expand its boundaries, but will also help Delaware achieve the state’s broader goal of improved water quality and healthy wildlife habitat,” said Secretary Garvin. “We thank the McClements family for supporting these efforts, and the Kent County Conservancy, for being instrumental in facilitating the donation of the two parcels to the State of Delaware.”

“The Fork Branch watershed has been our highest preservation target,” said Gerald Street, president of the Kent County Conservancy. “We were delighted to facilitate this public-private partnership. The McClements family continues to set a magnificent example of how this can work. We also appreciate the support and advocacy of Tom Burns, who worked with the conservancy on behalf of the McClements family.”

The Fork Branch Nature Preserve is one of Dover’s last remaining natural areas, and is known to contain a unique stand of old growth American beech, a wooded stream corridor, and several rare and threatened plant species. The preserve is located near the corner of Kenton and West Dennys roads, along the Maidstone Branch in the St. Jones River watershed.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No.11

REHOBOTH BEACH – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation reminds residents and visitors that sledding, snowboarding, and other recreational activities are not allowed on Delaware’s dunes.

Dunes contain fragile wildlife habitat and also provide protection for the beaches and the communities that border them.

Besides asking the public to help protect the dunes, the Division of Parks & Recreation also advises that, except for marked crossings, the dunes in Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore state parks are closed year-round to pedestrian traffic and recreational activities.

Media contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 5

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