Restoration of Dyke Marsh Begins 1,500-Foot Breakwater Tional Park Service and U.S
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Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper August 16, 2018 Page, 8 Restoration of Dyke Marsh Begins 1,500-foot breakwater tional Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will restore portions of one of the being constructed. largest remaining freshwater tidal wetlands in the Washington metropolitan area. Once By Gerald A. Fill by Gerald A. Fill/The Gazette Photo completed, this project will support habi- The Gazette tat for a variety of plants and wildlife, act as a natural filter to clean the Potomac River he National Park Service and and provide a storm buffer for the historic U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and scenic George Washington Memorial Thave started construction on an Parkway. It is estimated that the southern approximately 1,500-foot portion of Dyke Marsh has existed for 2,200 breakwater at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Pre- years, and the northern marsh has existed serve. for 500 years. This project will focus atten- In an Aug. 8 press release, the park ser- tion on the northern marsh. Dyke Marsh vice stated: “The breakwater will help pro- supports 239 species of resident and migra- tect the marsh from erosion, shield the tory birds and contains the only known nest- marsh from storms and encourage the ac- ing habitat in the area for state and region- cumulation of sediment, which is necessary Commemorating the announced start of Dyke Marsh restoration are ally rare species such as least bitterns and for marsh regeneration. The first part of the Dorothy McManus, board member, Friends of Dyke Marsh, and Chief swamp sparrows. The marsh supports 300 breakwater construction will involve place- of Staff of U.S. National Park Service Aaron Larocca at the entrance to plant species, including rare state species ment of rock baskets, known as marine Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve on Aug. 8. such as river bulrush, Davis’ sedge and mattresses, in the Potomac River to estab- rough avens. It also provides habitat for 38 lish the base of the structure and provide ters. Congress created the National Park Marsh are very pleased that restoration, for species of fish, 30 species of reptiles and am- stability for subsequent materials. Service to preserve and protect our nation’s which we have advocated since our found- phibians, and more than 6,000 species of Glenda Booth, president of the Friends greatest treasures. The Dyke Marsh Wild- ing in 1976, has finally begun.” arthropods, according to the park service. of Dyke Marsh praised the announcement: life Preserve is one of those treasures. Dyke Construction of the breakwater started in The National Park Service completed the “A fully-functioning Dyke Marsh can help Marsh will be completely gone by 2035 July and is expected to take up to 18 months. Dyke Marsh Restoration and Long-term buffer the Mount Vernon community from without restoration action [according to] Marsh restoration work will begin follow- Management Plan in 2016. The environ- storms that come up the river and provide the U.S. Geological Survey. Congress di- ing the completion of the breakwater, ac- mental compliance documents are available some flood protection since wetlands per- rected that the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Pre- cording to the park service. Through the at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ form like sponges and can absorb floodwa- serve be restored. The Friends of Dyke Dyke Marsh Restoration Project, the Na- projectHome.cfm?projectID=20293. Prepared To Manage Deer Photo by Mike Salm Photo Officials hold public information by Colin Dixon Photo meetings ahead of program launch. By Andrea Worker surance companies puts the Com- The Gazette monwealth in 11th place. Since on/The Gazette 2010, the state has averaged 111 aturday, Sept. 8, marks the deer-vehicle collisions reported start of the Fairfax County annually, but those numbers are S Deer by the roadside: 2018-2019 Deer Manage- probably underestimating the ac- ment Program. tual events according to Dr. Saturday, Sept. 8, marks There are probably very few Katherine Edwards, the county’s the start of the Fairfax County 2018-2019 Deer county residents who can claim to See Deer, Page 3 World Elephant Day have never seen a deer in their Management Program. Fresh from the Hollin Hall travels around our region. Sadly, bakery, these elephant cup- quite a few can claim having ex- 8/17/18 Requested in home in Requested cakes were being served on perienced an up-close-and-per- material. Sunday, World Elephant Day sonal whitetail encounter on the Time-sensitive 2018 at Unwined in Belle Postmaster: roadways. Attention View. Mount Vernon resident In a 2016 study, Virginia was #482 Permit Drusti Naik was on hand to th VA Alexandria, ranked 13 in the nation for the PAID speak about elephants. Postage U.S. number of deer-vehicle collisions. STD PRSRT The latest study by State Farm In- www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ August 16-22, 2018 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ August 16-22, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Mount Vernon Gazette Editor Steven Mauren News 703-778-9415 or [email protected] Deer Management Program Explained From Page 1 wildlife management specialist. “The real number could be three or four times higher than that,” said Edwards, not- Gazette Worker/The by Andrea Photo ing that the Virginia Department of Trans- portation is called to pick up 1,500-1,600 deer carcasses each year and that field work has also shown that probably only 25 per- cent of the deer who are hit actually die on the roadside. Edwards, along with Sgt. Earit Powell of the Fairfax County Police Department, and Kristen Sinclair, an ecologist with the Fairfax County Park Authority, are the county offi- Photo by Mary Kimm Photo cials charged with the supervision of the program and they have been hosting a se- ries of public information meetings prior to the launch to explain the logistics and an- From left: Sgt. Earit Powell, Fairfax County Police swer any questions or concerns from citi- Department; Dr. Katherine Edwards, county wildlife zens. management specialist; and Kristen Sinclair, county The trio have already hosted two meet- Park Authority ecologist, meet with the public at the ings; one at Fairfax County Government North Governmental Center in Reston to discuss the Deer by the roadside: Saturday, Sept. 8, marks the Center, and a second at the North Govern- upcoming deer management program, slated to begin start of the Fairfax County 2018-2019 Deer Manage- ment Center in Reston. on Sept. 8. ment Program. THE SESSIONS OPEN with a bit of his- The ecologist provided data showing that utes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes past sun- donated primarily to homeless shelters tory explaining that public safety was the the impact of unchecked deer populations down. Parks remain open during the har- through the nonprofit “Hunters for the Hun- impetus behind the development of the pro- on parklands allows for the proliferation of vests, but Powell notes that every precau- gry.” gram. non-native, invasive plant species and tion to protect citizens is taken. Hunting can Hunting deer as a method of controlling Following a fatal deer-vehicle collision in slowly erodes the biodiversity of these habi- only be done from raised deer stands using their population is not always met with 1997, and public demand for local govern- tats. the ground as the backdrop. Hunters must approval. Some residents object to destroy- ment to address the issue of deer popula- “Over-browsing by deer can lead to a loss remain 100 feet from any private property ing an animal that is just trying to survive tion, the Board of Supervisors mandated of ecosystem services,” said Sinclair, “nega- line, and at least 50 feet from a trail. Enter- in a vanishing wilderness. But as Edwards that a strategy to control the deer popula- tively affecting native plants, insects and ing private property is strictly prohibited explained, other, non-lethal methods like tion in the area be put in place. The strat- birds in the area.” without the consent of the property owner. tagging deer with birth control drugs or ster- egy addressed public safety concerns and “We have had zero safety incidents,” said ilization “just haven’t proven effective or are also the increasing damage being done by THERE ARE THREE methods of deer har- Powell, “and we work diligently to keep cost prohibitive, although we continue to the deer to private property and ecosystems vesting that the county employs, all permit- things that way.” stay up to date with the latest research and of public parklands, ted under the Commonwealth’s Department Questioned about “wounding rates” ver- will adjust our program accordingly.” Today, the deer management program is of Game and Inland Fisheries: archery, man- sus proven kills, Powell insists that every implemented by the Fairfax County Police aged firearms hunts, and sharpshooting effort is made to track “unrecovered hits.” THE DEER MANAGEMENT program is Department in partner- conducted at night by Powell himself can take to the woods to try ultimately about public safety, said ship with the Fairfax police personnel in and find a wounded animal or determine if Edwards, “and the protection of the envi- County Park Authority closed-park situations. the deer died later from the hit. The wound- ronment, and about helping sustain a popu- and the Northern Vir- “We have had zero ❖ Archery is the ing rate between 2014-2018 is between 4- lation of healthy deer as part of our natural ginia Regional Park Au- safety incidents, and number one manage- to-7 percent. “But even that is too high,” surroundings.” thority. ment tool as it has been added Edwards, who vows that they will There is one more public meeting sched- Powell heads the deer we work diligently to shown to harvest the keep working to reduce that number.