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SINCE 1976 THE FRIENDS OF DYKE MARSH FALL 2017 An Ecological Study of Hunting Creek Join the Friends of Dyke Marsh at 7:30 p.m. November 15 at Huntley Meadows Park to hear a presentation by Dr. Kim de Mutsert, Assistant Profes- sor, George Mason University, on the health of Hunting Creek, especially the fish of this tributary of the Potomac Riv- er, just upstream of the Dyke Marsh FODM Quarterly Meeting Wildlife Preserve. Dr. de Mutsert studies Wednesday, November 15, at fish ecology in estuarine and coastal eco- 7:30 p.m., Huntley Meadows systems, including the effects of environ- Park, Norma Hoffman Visitor mental factors and anthropogenic im- Hunting Creek flows into the Potomac Center, 3701 Lockheed Blvd., pacts on fish abundance, biomass, com- Alexandria, VA 22306. Phone River and despite this vegetation, is in munity structure and fisheries landings. poor condition. Photo by Glenda Booth 703 768-2525. Free to all. Hunting Creek is an embayment of Calendar of Events the tidal Potomac River located just Beginning in 2013, George Mason November 12 & 26 - Sun. downstream of the city of Alexandria and University’s Potomac Environmental bird walks moved to Huntley the I-95/I-495 Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Research and Education Center Meadows, So. Kings entrance. This embayment receives treated (PEREC), in collaboration with Alexan- December 12 - Va. Marine wastewater from the Alexandria Renew dria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew), Resources Comm., hearing. Enterprises wastewater treatment plant initiated a program to monitor water December 14, - January 5 - and inflow from Cameron Run, which quality and the biological communities in No FODM Sunday bird walks, drains most of the cities of Alexandria the Hunting Creek area. The study re- for Christmas Bird Counts. and Falls Church and much of eastern searches water quality, fish and benthic Fairfax County. MEETING (continued on page 2) CONTENTS Exciting Progress on the Restoration of Dyke Marsh Bev Byrne Memorial 2 By Alexcy Romero, Superintendent, George Washington Memorial Pkwy. President’s Message 3 The Fairfax County Wetlands Board, at a September 12, 2017 public hearing, unanimously approved a joint permit Hunting Creek History 4 application from the National Park Ser- vice and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a wetland restoration project at the Restoration Hearing 5 Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. This is part of a multi-step process required to Plants of Dyke Marsh 6 obtain the federal, state and local permits for marsh enhancement and restoration activities. After hearing numerous public The map shows the protective promon- DM Legislative History 6 tory of land now lost since the 1950s. statements, mostly in favor of the project, the Board voted to approve the first armor stone breakwater to replicate a New Plant in DM 8 phase of the application. This phase in- promontory of land that existed prior to volves the construction of a 1,535-foot RESTORATION (continued on page 2) In Memoriam - Bev Byrne FODM President Glenda Booth Honored Beverly McKinley Byrne, a former president of the On October 17, Fairfax County Friends of Dyke Marsh, passed away on July 28, 2017, at awarded Glenda the 2017 Environ- age 90. Bev and her late husband, Jeb, both served as presi- mental Excellence Award for an dent of FODM. She was originally from Missouri and lived Individual. The Board of Supervi- in the Mount Vernon community of Hollin Hills, where she sors noted her leadership in many and Jeb raised their three sons. She taught English and jour- environmental challenges, including nalism in the Fairfax County public schools. chairmanship of boards, tireless membership in key committees, MEETING (continued from page 1) articles in newspapers and other publications, and work on numer- macroinvertebrate communities, anadromous fish usage of ous bills as a career, legislative Hunting Creek and Cameron Run, Escherichia coli levels in staffer in the U.S. Congress. Exam- Hunting Creek and tributaries and micropollutant levels in Glenda Booth with ples of Glenda’s work: leading the sediments and waters of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run. her award. Photo by Fairfax County Wetlands Board in The program, free to all, will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Fairfax County. adopting the first living shorelines Norma Hoffman Visitor Center of Huntley Meadows Park, policy in Virginia (preceding adop- 3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria 22306. If you use a GPS tion of a similar state policy) and her years of effort in se- device to find the park, enter the street address, not the curing funding to restore Dyke Marsh. She “challenges all park’s name. to use science-based evidence to justify programs” and The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, Potomac “inspires excellence in all with whom she interacts, leading Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club, Mount Vernon Group are by example”-- as we in FODM know very well. Our con- cosponsoring this meeting. gratulations, thanks and very best to Glenda. See also in this issue our article on the history and con- dition of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run. also approved the restoration of 5.45 acres of tidal marsh to RESTORATION (continued from page 1) replace a small portion of marsh acreage that has been lost to mining and erosion. On September 26, 2017, I signed the 1950. This functioned to protect the marsh from northerly wetlands permit. On September 30, 2017, the U.S. Army tracking storms and hurricanes. Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, awarded a contract Between 1940 and 1972, approximately 270 acres of for the first phase of the restoration project. The $10.12 original marsh were lost from mining activities. With the million contract will construct a 1,500-foot jetty to stabilize removal of the promontory in the 1950s and cessation of the shoreline and protect the existing marsh. NPS antici- mining in the early 1970s, the marsh continued to lose acre- pates that construction will begin in early 2018 after the age through storm events and other erosive forces. Approx- final permits are in place. In 2018, NPS also anticipates imately 50 acres of marsh remain today. The breakwater awarding a second phase contract to reconstruct approxi- will protect this remaining marsh. In addition, the Board mately five acres of marshland. Friends of Dyke Marsh Board of Directors Editor: Dorothy McManus President Board Members Glenda Booth Ed Eder (Past President) Assistant Editor: 703-765-5233 T. D. Hobart Bob Veltkamp (Membership) Vice President Friends of Dyke Marsh Ned Stone Larry Cartwright (Breeding Bird Survey) 703-768-5441 P.O. Box 7183 Trudi Hahn Alexandria, VA 22307 Secretary Jessica Strother [email protected] Dorothy McManus (Marsh Wren) 703-960-3643 Katherine Wychulis Visit our website at Treasurer www.fodm.org Laura Sebastianelli Pat Salamone or on Facebook.com 703-329-1748 Andrew Arnold Copyright © 2017, The Board members can receive email at [email protected]. The Marsh Wren is a quarterly Friends of Dyke Marsh, Inc. publication of the Friends of Dyke Marsh, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Let- All rights reserved. ters and submissions to The Marsh Wren are welcome. Send them to the address at left. Special thanks to Duncan Hobart for managing our website (www.fodm.org). 2 The Marsh Wren ☼ Fall 2017 President’s Message Glenda C. Booth, President, Friends of Dyke Marsh Dyke Marsh restoration took described above. We hope this project will bring teachers two big steps forward in Septem- and youngsters to Dyke Marsh, especially those who may ber. On September 12, the Fair- have had little experience in the natural environment; stimu- fax County Wetlands Board ap- late an interest in science, conservation and stewardship of proved the National Park Ser- natural resources; and enhance understanding of how people vice’s (NPS) permit application (see bottom of page 1). impact their natural surroundings. Several FODMers gave compelling, supportive testimony Saving Trees, Fingers Crossed (see entire article page 5). On September 30, the Corps of There’s also some cautious good news about our pump- Engineers awarded a $10.12 million contract to build a kin ash project. Led by 1,500-foot breakwater in the south marsh, the first step of Robert Smith, we have restoration. NPS must get several other permits and the worked with NPS/ next hearing is December 12 in Newport News. Visit the GWMP since 2015 to Virginia Marine Resources Commission at try to save some of the www.mrc.virginia.gov for more information. pumpkin ash trees Several times, since 1959, Congress has supported res- (Fraxinus profunda) toration and FODM has advocated for restoration since the that are being killed by organization’s founding in 1976. Restoring Dyke Marsh the emerald ash borer has had broad community, government and national sup- (Agrilus planipennis), port. We hope that this process proceeds and that restora- an invasive insect. We tion will start soon. The U.S. Geological Survey predicts treated 16 trees and that Dyke Marsh will disappear by 2035 without action. this fall, all of the You Can Help Restore Native Habitat treated trees leafed out Don’t be alarmed by the cleared area along the Haul and all six of the fe- Road. We are undertaking a demonstration project with male trees produced NPS to address the seeds. Most of the FODM is supporting work to massive invasive plant other ash trees near the treat and save 16 pumpkin ash infestation and we treatment site are dead. trees (Fraxinus profunda) in hope to plant some After we com- Dyke Marsh. Photo: G. Booth native plants in that mented on the disturb- area. Both sides of ing tree-cutting over the last year along the parkway, the Haul Road are George Washington Parkway (GWMP) officials have insti- overrun with inva- tuted a new procedure to provide a natural resource man- sives like porcelain- agement staffer to accompany a certified arborist to assess berry vines, English the health of trees that might pose safety risks.
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