Leader Ben Simasek had an ample crew for this cleanup, which was the day after Earth Day. Photo by Claudia Simasek.
1. Laura Turbe leads the charge...again.
1. Cleanup leader Frank Sprtel addresses the troops. The target area is the west side of Colesville Rd. & the trib that has carved a deep gully there.
James bring down a heavy load from the high trail.
Chris shared with us the origins of the Anacostia Watershed Society, with emphasis on "watershed." The AWS focus has been on the river itself because of its dire state. But now that the goal of fishable and swimmable by 2025 is within reach, AWS is creating a plan that includes more of the upper watershed and source waters. He asked for our suggestions, since we are protectors of the major source. The discussion included the AWS position on the beltway-I-270 expansion for toll lanes, synthetic turf as a water pollutant, and the value and risks of stream restorations.
Board member Rebecca Henson, who is leading the effort to create a local museum featuring Rachel Carson, discussed her life and legacy at the March 1 Membership Meeting. Ms. Carson lived in both the NWB and Sligo Creek watersheds during her nearly three decades of residence in Montgomery County. Rebecca explored how Carson understood and wrote about the natural world, primarily with messages of wonder and caution. Your can find more information about Rachel Carson on the Friends of Sligo Creek website at https://www.friendsofsligocreek.org/home/how-we-work/sligo-story-archive/rachel-carson-lived-here/
From what a sign proclaims is a really good photo spot at Burnt Mills Special Park West, the group sets out, led by organizer and Rachel Carson enthusiast Rebecca Henson. Photo by A. Ambler, 11/13/21.
From the looks of the contents of that clear bag, someone had a beer party in the Northwest Branch woods. 11/6/21
Dr. Saravanapavan identified where the blockages are that will be removed. Green dot indicates current limit of fish migration; line indicates historic limit. (Screen shot)
Thambirajah Saravanapavan, Ph.D., P.E., Army Corps of Engineers, Project Manager, spoke to a group of nearly 30 interested NWB watershed residents. (Dr. Saravanapavan helpfully encouraged us to address him as Tham.) In response to his question, "What did we do to get here?" he said that suburban sprawl with its impervious surfaces brought us to this point, although he also mentioned the earlier goals of the Corps to control flooding, which resulted in straightening the NWB and confining it (my term) between high berms.
His second question, " How do we attempt to reverse our blunders?" is what the Corps is planning. The projects are not yet designed, and there is room for public input. His third question, how to sustain what we have managed to restore, again involves the public engagement.
Some notes of interest from the discussion:
- minute 49 etc, he mentions a public forum at which people could comment on the design. A participant urges reconnecting the NWB to the floodplain.
- min.51, he mentions relocation of some segments of the NWB.
- min. 53:45, he restates that the Army's Corps' objective is to bring back the "natural stream functions," i.e., "reverse engineering," but attention to water quality is handled elsewhere. Discussion of importance of water quality to successful fish populations.
You might also want to check the Army Corps' website for the projects. Note particularly the appendices at the right of the page, including Public Involvement.
The video recording of the presentation and Q&A is now posted, with thanks to Ed Murtagh for the conversion. Although 29 people were in attendance, including the presenter, for some reason Zoom did not capture them in the video.
The cleanups, led in the morning by Hyattsville City Councilor Ben Simasek and Alexi Boadi, and in the afternoon by Hyattsville City Councilor Joseph Solomon and Melissa Schweisguth, addressed NW Branch trail from the Ager Road underpass to the East-West Highway underpass (a.m.), and NW Branch Trail around West Hyattsville Metro/QC Road to Kirkwood Park (p.m.).
With Robinne at the helm (which is actually mid-ships), we were off down the river. Photo by C. Williams, 10/23/21.
Leader Kem Morawski, sporting the latest in cleanup finery (fluorescent vest), kicks off the cleanup at Burnt Mills East. Photo A. Ambler, 10/2/21
The group assembles near the Bladensburg Waterfront Park boat dock.
gave us a virtual preview of the short-lived woodland treasures along the Northwest Branch and other local trails. She included key identification features, medicinal uses, and folklore associated with these spring ephemeral visual treats. She shared just where to find whole arrays of flowers--and also warned of the inroads being made by non-native invasives such as Lesser Celandine. The trail guide she mentioned in her talk and the slides she used can be downloaded below. If you want to review the entire presentation, check out the YouTube (below, or click on Spring Beauties). Toward the end of the presentation, you'll hear a variety of frog calls, identified. Enjoy! And then get out on the trails very soon, before many of these flowers are gone.
The program covered biological monitoring background and long-term monitoring results; stream restoration project updates, especially focused on the Glenallan Tributary to the NWB; other stormwater mitigation & water quality enhancement efforts; and volunteer services updates. Our presenters were Rachel Gauza, Biological Monitoring Program Coordinator; Erin McArdle, P.E., Environmental Engineer; Jackie Hoban, Senior Natural Resources Specialist; and Valeria Espinoza, Stream & Parks Cleanup Coordinator. Doug Stephens, Principal Natural Resources Specialist, kept an eye on the chat questions and provided answers. A YouTube video of the presentation is linked here.
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