Historical Analysis and Map of Vegetation Communities, Land Covers, and Habitats of Assawoman Wildlife Area Sussex County, Delaware Little Assawoman Bay and Indian River Bay Watersheds Submitted to: Delaware Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 4876 Hay Point Landing Road Smyrna, DE 19977 Completed by: Robert Coxe, Ecologist Delaware Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program Wildlife Section, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control 4876 Hay Point Landing Road Smyrna, DE 19977 July 12, 2012 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Methods ............................................................................................. 4 Setting of Assawoman Wildlife Area ......................................................................................... 4 History and Formation of Assawoman Wildlife Area ................................................................ 5 Early History of the Land ....................................................................................................... 5 Formation of Assawoman Wildlife Area ................................................................................ 5 Soils and Geology of Assawoman Wildlife Area ....................................................................... 6 Underlying Geology................................................................................................................ 6 Soil .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Elevation ............................................................................................................................... 10 Discussion of vegetation communities in general and why they are important in management ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Discussion of Sea-Level Rise and why it may affect the vegetation communities at Assawoman Wildlife Area ........................................................................................................ 11 Components of Sea Level Rise ................................................................................................. 12 Eustatic Rise.......................................................................................................................... 12 Stearic Rise ........................................................................................................................... 14 Isostatic Rise ......................................................................................................................... 14 All of these factors added together ....................................................................................... 14 Using vegetation communities to map sea level rise and changes in the landscape ................. 15 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 16 Vegetation Community and Land Cover Surveys .................................................................... 17 Analysis of Historical Imagery ................................................................................................. 17 Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) .................................................................................... 17 Forest Block Analysis ............................................................................................................... 17 Sea Level Rise Analysis............................................................................................................ 18 Natural Capital Analysis ........................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2: Results of EIAs, Forest Blocks, and General Observations ........................................ 19 Summary of Findings from this study ...................................................................................... 19 1. Vegetation Communities: ............................................................................................... 19 2. Rare Plants: .................................................................................................................... 20 3. Rare Animals: ................................................................................................................. 21 Page 2 of 289 Assawoman Wildlife Area- Vegetation Communities Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) .................................................................................... 22 Miller Neck Tract EIAs ........................................................................................................ 23 Muddy Neck Tract EIAs ....................................................................................................... 24 South Bethany Tract EIAs .................................................................................................... 25 Forest Block Analysis ............................................................................................................... 30 Importance of Forest Blocks ................................................................................................. 30 Analysis of Forest Blocks at Assawoman Wildlife Area ...................................................... 30 The Natural Progression of vegetation communities on the shores of the Inland Bays ........... 35 Chapter 3: Broad Trends at Assawoman Wildlife Area ............................................................... 37 Chapter 4: Vegetation Communities by Tract .............................................................................. 56 1. Miller Neck Tract ............................................................................................................... 56 2. Muddy Neck Tract ............................................................................................................. 80 3. Piney Neck Tract.............................................................................................................. 104 4. South Bethany Tract ........................................................................................................ 125 Chapter 5: Descriptions and Analysis of the Vegetation Communities ..................................... 146 Chapter 6: Descriptions and Analysis of the Land Covers ......................................................... 248 Chapter 7: Discussion, Conclusion and the Future of Assawoman Wildlife Area ..................... 280 Appendix I: State rare vegetation ranking criteria ...................................................................... 281 Appendix II: SGCN Species expected for Key Wildlife Habitats .............................................. 282 Page 3 of 289 Assawoman Wildlife Area- Vegetation Communities Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODS Setting of Assawoman Wildlife Area Assawoman Wildlife Area is located in southeastern Sussex County, Delaware (Figure 1.1). Four tracts totaling 2,899 acres comprise the wildlife area. Two tracts, Miller Neck (1,312 acres) and Muddy Neck (1,028 acres) are located to the east of Roxanna on the western shore of Little Assawoman Bay. The Piney Neck Tract (473 acres) is located at the eastern end of Piney Neck on Indian River Bay. The South Bethany Tract (86 acres) is located just south of the town of Bethany Beach on the Coastal Strand, east of Little Assawoman Bay. Figure 1.1. Location of tracts within Assawoman Wildlife Area Page 4 of 289 Assawoman Wildlife Area- Vegetation Communities Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife History and Formation of Assawoman Wildlife Area Early History of the Land Thomas Fenwick owned and used the land that is now Assawoman Wildlife Area, for farming and forestry products in the early 1700’s. At this time there Little Assawoman Bay had an inlet leading into it called Little Assawoman Inlet1, which later filled in the 1800’s. A commercial wharf was located at Mulberry Landing in the late 1800’s, helped in part by the opening of Assawoman Canal in 1891, which connects Little Assawoman Bay with White Creek, a tributary to Indian River Bay2. The canal remains today and was recently dredged in 2010. Later Mulberry Landing along with Strawberry Landing became popular swimming holes. At the start of the 20th century, a group of eight families farmed parcels ranging from 35 to 303 acres.3 Formation of Assawoman Wildlife Area In 1935-1936 the Delaware Forestry Project of the Land Utilization Division under the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased the land which later became Assawoman Wildlife Area. Between 1936 and 1943, forests were cleared of underbrush in order to prevent forest fires. At this same time the roads in the area were said to “wind through acres of pine and holly” and “small ponds are planted in widgeon grass for waterfowl.” The primary use of the land was for hunting and for the logging of eastern red cedar.4 Beginning in 1943, the Delaware Board of Fish and Game Commissioners leased the lands comprising Delaware Forest Project DL-LU-1 for 99 years from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.5 The lease was modified in 1946 to include additional properties. While under lease, six tidal salt marshes comprising a total of 264 acres were impounded to increase freshwater abundance