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  Category: Wetland Restoration

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Waterway Management in Delaware

Written on: May 15th, 2020 in Education and OutreachWetland Restoration

The Shoreline & Waterway Section (SWMS) manages 27 channels in all 3 counties of the State of Delaware. SWMS collaborates with WMAP to find creative and beneficial ways to use sediment dredged


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The Amazing Oyster

Written on: May 13th, 2020 in Education and OutreachLiving ShorelinesWetland Restoration

At first glance, an oyster appears to be little more than, well, a bit of goo inside a rock. But actually, the humble oyster is an environmental warrior with an impressive bag of tricks up its sleeve, and it serves as a keystone species upon which depends the health of a marine ecosystem and the surrounding marsh.


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Rising to Meet the Challenge; Delaware’s Communities Start a Path Forward to Improving Resiliency

Written on: March 13th, 2020 in Education and OutreachWetland Restoration

By Kelly Valencik, DNREC’s Delaware Coastal Programs Communities Seeing Shifts in Mother Nature Many communities throughout our state have already seen changes as a result of climate change- from shifting rainfall and storm patterns, to increased drought, to flooding from sea level rise. These consequences of the warming earth and ocean temperatures as a result […]


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Riparian Forest Buffers

Written on: December 10th, 2019 in Wetland Restoration

Riparian buffers are planted areas specifically next to waterways, such as streams, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. These areas are extremely important to keeping our waters healthy.  They do so by filtering and trapping nutrients and sediment out of waters before they enter our local waterways.


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Great Things Come Naturally in Laurel, Delaware: Wetlands and Bioswales

Written on: March 11th, 2019 in Wetland Restoration

By Jules Bruck, University of Delaware Great things come naturally in Laurel, Delaware including the new green infrastructure treatments that are popping up along the Broad Creek – home to the future Laurel Ramble. This past summer the Sussex County Conservation District broke ground on a parcel of land in the center of the Ramble […]


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SAV, What Is It And Why Should I Care?

Written on: November 27th, 2018 in Wetland Restoration

By Michael Bott, DNREC’s Watershed Assessment and Management Section Have you ever wondered why there is so much submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), also called seagrass, in the tidal waters of Virginia and Maryland but not in Delaware?  This is a question many researchers and regulators in the state have been trying to solve and this year […]


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NVF Yorklyn Cleanup and Redevelopment: An Unprecedented Partnership

Written on: September 13th, 2017 in Wetland Restoration

By John G. Cargill, IV, DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship/Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances The National Vulcanized Fiber (NVF) plant located in Yorklyn, Delaware has a rich history with humble beginnings in grist, snuff, lumber, and cotton. By the mid 1800s, production in the valley shifted to paper, and by the early 1900s shifted […]


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Beneficial Reuse of Dredge Material on a Tidal Marsh

Written on: May 24th, 2017 in Education and OutreachWetland Restoration

By Brittany Haywood, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program What is one way to give a marsh a lift with the challenge of rising seas? Spray the muddy material that has been dredged up from the bottom of a creek in a thin layer on top of the marsh. But how much mud is too […]


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Making the Great Cypress Swamp Great Again

Written on: March 16th, 2017 in Wetland Restoration

By Andrew Martin, Delaware Wild Lands field Ecologist The Great Cypress Swamp once covered nearly 60,000 acres. Although a long history of ditching and draining for agriculture and development has reduced its vast expanse, the Swamp remains Delmarva Peninsula’s largest contiguous forest and largest freshwater wetland. For the last 50 years, Delaware Wild Lands (DWL) […]


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Prime Hook Then and Now: A Restoration Story

Written on: September 7th, 2016 in Wetland Restoration

By Brittany Haywood, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program A hot topic for scientists and residents of Milton as of late, has been the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Restoration project. This Refuge had multiple breaches in its freshwater impoundments where saltwater from the Delaware Bay cut its way through the dunes. The breaches […]


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