Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube RSS Feed
Written on: December 19th, 2022 in Wetland Animals, Wetland Assessments
By Brittney Flatten, DNREC’s Watershed Assessment and Management Section For the past year, I’ve been working with another DNREC scientist to document submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Delaware’s streams, ponds, and bays to get a better understanding of where these plants like to grow and how we can protect them. I had previously observed some […]
Written on: December 19th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments
By Alison Rogerson, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) In this sixth and final installment in my Wetland Status and Trends blog series, I’m wrapping it all up with management recommendations. We came, we mapped, we calculated, we reported, now what? What comes next for wetland management and conservation in Delaware based on this […]
Written on: September 26th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments
By Alison Rogerson, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) Over the past year plus I’ve written five blogs sharing the results of our 2007-2017 Status and Trends report which reviews many angles of Delaware’s wetlands based on analysis of the 2017 Statewide Wetland Mapping Project (SWMP). In this post I am focusing on final […]
Written on: July 13th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments
By Brittney Flatten, DNREC’s Watershed Assessment and Management Section This summer, the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) team is doing wetland condition assessments in the Pocomoke River watershed. During an assessment, scientists look at soil quality, rate sources of water, evaluate the plant community, and identify stressors in or around the wetland. These observations […]
Written on: May 25th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments, Wetland Restorations
By Erin Dorset, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife The Inland Bays are a beautiful and beloved part of Delaware, containing about 20% of the state’s wetlands. Those wetlands are important economically, culturally, and ecologically, as they improve water quality, support commercial and recreational fisheries, support tourism, absorb flood waters, and provide crucial feeding and […]
Written on: May 25th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments
By Alison Rogerson, Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program The summer of 2019 was like most for the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program field crew. Similar to summers before it since 2000, we had a selected watershed to focus on and call ‘office’ for the growing season. Field crews spend the summer visiting randomly selected wetland […]
Written on: March 16th, 2022 in Wetland Assessments
By Alison Rogerson, Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program By now, you may have read through our previous Status and Trends blog posts focused on current acreage, or status, of wetlands, as well as trends such as gains and losses. There is still one trends category to dive into: changes. This is probably the most difficult […]
Written on: December 14th, 2021 in Wetland Assessments
By Alison Rogerson, Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program In this fourth installment reviewing the results of DNREC’s ten year wetland mapping update and Status and Trends analysis, we’re digging up the dirt on wetland losses. This is likely the wetland topic with the most sensitivity. People who value wetlands are upset that they are being […]
Written on: December 8th, 2021 in Wetland Assessments
By Brittney Flaten, Watershed Management and Assessment Section Before I started at DNREC, I worked in Maryland conducting stream health assessments. When I joined the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) I was excited to learn that the team was working on a new stream assessment protocol. Let’s look at what a stream assessment is, […]
Written on: September 15th, 2021 in Wetland Assessments, Wetland Restorations
By Alison Rogerson, Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program Back in July we explored the status and trends of stormwater ponds in Delaware. This time around we’re digging into how and where Delaware ‘gained’ wetlands between 2007 and 2017, according to DNREC’s recent Statewide Wetland Mapping Project (SWMP) update. How does one gain a wetland? Where […]