Federation Blog

The Federation is working with a local landowner to undertake a massive restoration effort on the headwaters of Church Creek, just about Route 665 (Aris T. Allen Blvd).  As part of that effort, we have hired an environmental consulting firm to design and permit plans for the project.   Earlier this morning, I met out at the site with the consultant to walk the property and get a sense of the lay of the land.

Currently, the property is at the confluence of two streams (below), one coming from Route 2 and one from Old Forest Dr. (by the Allen Apartments) than drain some of the most heavily urbanized and paved portions of the South River watershed.  The restoration plan is to create a stream and wetland system that will trap and process sediment and nutrients from upstream and provide high quality habitat for fish, birds, and amphibians.

As was the case yesterday with Flat Creek, because the marsh was frozen much more solidly than usual, we were able to get down to tidewater where we found a pleasant surprise: Beavers!  This beaver lodge had clear signs of recent activity. 

 Not far downstream, I came across the biggest of several dams.  It's approximately 40' long by about 18" high, and is probably close to underwater at high tide.  Right now, you can see that it is impounding quite a bit of water in an area that would normally be dry.

 There are historic signs that beaver have been present further up the system, but the thinking is that perhaps, carrying the stormwater from Parole, Harbor Center, the Festival at Riva, and Old Forest Drive, the stream is too "flashy" and high energy  for their dams to remain stable in that location.  The hope is that through restoration we will have a stream and wetland complex that encourages beaver and other wildlife to once again inhabit this green corridor.

Spurred on by the comments of a colleague, "you've got to see the water clarity on Flat Creek where the beavers are.  It's crystal clear."   I couldn't keep myself away.  I took the rare opportunity, with the leaves down and the marsh frozen enough to support the weight of an adult, to hike down Flat Creek, through the inundated/frozen marsh towards tidewater.   Not far down from Governor Bridge Road, I came across the first of several beaver dams, clearly very actively maintained.

Further down the system, there is still submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) ( I think it may be one of the Sparganium species) alive.  I even caught glimpse of a small, black fish.  The water clarity in the system is incredible.  Below, you can see straight through to the bottom of about 3 feet of water (the novelty of that sounds more depressing than it should).

A little further down, a well-buttressed dam holds back what must be several acre-feet of water and emergent wetland.  Really something to behold.

Several hundred feet down from the road crossing, the marsh opened up as I approached tidewater.  The white house in the photo below is actually on the other side of the South River.

 

Well, not really.   It's just that the combination of a low tide and strong wind blowing out towards the Bay have de-watered the river and its creeks substantially, leaving water level several feet below the usual low tide mark.

Diana and I were out at the Wilelinor restoration project taking water quality samples and stumbled upon a beautiful, bushy red fox (Vulpes vulpes) who quickly scattered as soon as we came along (below).  Perhaps he was scavenging for small fish or shellfish that had been exposed by the low tide.   We've seen quite a bit of evidence of fox throughout the watershed recently.

Most of the aquatic beds at Wilelinor are frozen over several inches thick, but at each of the stone grade controls, where water is still running through the system, spectacular stalagmites of ice form where spray hits the cold, winter air.

Member of the Anne Arundel Bird Club and local musician, Dan Haas, reports having seen a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) perched on the Route 2 bridge over the South River twice in the last two weeks.

 This species seems to be attracted to these sorts of locations around the water.  A couple of years ago, The Capital reported on a pair of peregrines nesting on the Severn River bridge.

 

Allow me to introduce the newest member of my family that will join me on Remedy with water sampling on the river.  Her name is Daisy and she is a 14 week old Chocolate Lab.

Out for a leisurely stroll with the family this afternoon, I heard my wife screech, "Erik, you have to see this."   Her attention had just been drawn to the top of a fence post by virtue of the fact that a scrambling squirrel had awkwardly hurled itself into the air to narrowly avoid stepping on a caterpillar the size and shape of a radioactive bratwurst.

Turns out this 4-5" specimen is the caterpillar form of the Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) (below), one of the largest moths found in North America.  I had certainly never seen a caterpillar this large before.  Keep your eyes peeled and you may find one in your yard.

The wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) has been in bloom for several weeks now, but even with its flowers almost spent the butterflies (I think this one is a Golden-banded Skipper (Autochton cellus)) are out in force harvesting its pollen.

Bergamot is in the mint family, and is a close relative of the more commonly known bee balm (Monarda didyma), which has brilliant red flowers of a similar shape.

After 5 years of research, and untold tens of thousands of dollars spent studying the issue, we now know what many of us knew all along: Oysters grow better and survive in greater numbers when they're grown up off the bottom of our rivers and the Bay.

 The Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences has been studying oyster bars in the Great Wicomico River for a number of years and has recently revealed that oysters grown on elevated bars thrive and survive at far higher rates than oysters planted on the silty river bottom (video below).   

 All of this is well and good, and an encouraging sign for the comeback of the native oyster.  The problem is, it's been known for ages.   Oystermen have known it, oyster aquaculture specialists have known it, and many in the restoration field have known it.

 The problem is, "resource protection" organizations, like DNR still insist that the reefs be created too far down in the water column in order not to be a "hazard to navigation."  These oyster bars should be breaking the surface on low tide, both to prevent oysters from being choked out by the silt that clogs our waterways and to get the oysters higher in the water column, where dissolved oxygen is more abundant and they will be less stressed and susceptible to disease.

Having grown up in Anne Arundel County, and having spent a lot of time swimming in the Severn and wandering in the woods throughout the area, I've heard a lot of speculation about snakes.  Cottonmouths, Water Moccasins, and Copperheads, oh my!

The truth is cottonmouths and "water moccasins" are the same animal (Agkistrodon piscivorus) (see below).  The northenmost range of this critter is the Dismal Swamp, which spans from the southern border of Virginia into northern North Carolina.  They aren't found in Anne Arundel County, in fact, they aren't even found in Maryland.

Northern copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) are found in Maryland, and are one of only two venomous snakes found in the state.  The other is the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus), which is found only in the western part of the state now (though historically found at least as far east as Calvert County).

That having been said, in all my time out and about, I've never come across a copperhead (below), and verified reports of encounters locally are very rare.  Though one longtime resident of the Crownsville area did tell me that there's a copperhead den in the Bacon Ridge Branch area, and that you know if they're about because "the smell of cucumbers will be in the air."  If you've seen one and have pictures, I'd be very interested to hear about it.

Chances are, if you see a snake in the water, or around the water, it's a northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) (below).  This snake is non-venomous and feeds on fish, amphibians, and small mammals, like mice and muskrats.

In any case, if you do happen across a snake in your yard or on the river, just keep your distance, make some noise, and it will almost certainly be on its way.  These reptiles, even the venomous ones, are an important part of the river's ecosystem, and help to keep many other nuisance animals in check.

 Additionally, it is illegal to kill or possess native snakes in Maryland without first acquiring a permit from DNR.

Over the past couple of months, both Diana and I had noticed that the culverts under Governor Bridge Road, where it crosses Flat Creek, were suspiciously filled with water. 

 We had both tried to get into the forest/swamp interior to determine the source but had been turned away by thick foliage and a high water table.   

This morning, however, with the gracious support of John Koontz and his wife (thanks for the limeade, Frances!), John and I paddled into Flat Creek from tidewater.  First, we tried the wide, eastern branch, which simply ended in a stand of cattails and arrow arum. 

Not to be dissuaded, we went up into the narrow central channel through the marsh until we encountered the scene below:

There was a slight "bump" in the landscape that was now home to a thick stand of phragmites, but just beyond laid open water.  For John, in his handsome, handmade rowboat, this was the end of the line, but he kindly agreed to stick around while I hopped onto the hummock and lifted the kayak through the gap. 

Almost as soon as I started paddling into the open water I was greeted by the curious beaver (middle of the picture).  

His/her handiwork was all over the place in the form of a stash of gnawed branches and additional dams, all up through the system. By the time I had reached my limit (should have brought the muck boots), I had encountered three levels of dams, each spaced a couple of hundred feet apart and each only a few inches high.

With the mystery solved, here's hoping the beaver will be allowed to remain, slowly helping to improve the water quality of the South River.