Urban Wetlands Program, Bennett
Creek Watershed Pilot Project
Year 1 Project Summary

*This page is still under construction.
Check back for additional links to images,
frog recordings, and bird recordings

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What is a Wetland and Why are They Important?

Wetlands are unique, low-lying areas where land meets water.  Their features often change from season to season.  Wetlands can be covered with water all or some of the time creating a unique habitat for a variety of plants and animals, many of which humans consume or use on a daily basis.  They act as a sponge, helping to lower the impact of flooding; they act as a filter, absorbing excess nutrients from polluted water that runs off of the land; and they provide numerous recreational opportunities.  According to the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/fun_val.pdf):

• An acre of wetland can store 1 to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater
• Up to one-half of North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands
• Although wetlands constitute only 5% of the land surface in the lower 48 states, they are home to 31% of our plant species

Wetlands can be classified into two general categories: tidal, occurring along the coast where the ocean and land meet, or nontidal, occurring further inland where streams, lakes, ponds, or springs interact with the surrounding landscape.

They are further divided within these two categories based on where in the landscape they occur, how water moves in and out of the system, and what kind of vegetation is present.  According to maps from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), Frederick County has over 13,000 acres of nontidal wetlands that include marshy areas that one might find in their backyard or on their farm.

Project Purpose and Description

In January 2007, Frederick County Government’s Watershed Management Section (WMS) was awarded a $247,800 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) for the Urban Wetlands Program, Bennett Creek Watershed Pilot (UWP) project.  The UWP project provides the foundation for identifying the characteristics of high quality reference wetlands in Frederick County.  Such wetland characteristics and data can be used to influence important water resource management and land use decisions and can provide guidance on prioritizing the protection, creation, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands in urban areas.  The long-term goal of the project is to develop a wetland strategy that maintains data on current wetland conditions and outlines methods for constructing new wetlands that provide the same level of critical habitat for amphibians, vegetation, and birds, as do well-established wetlands.

Due to the large loss of original wetland acreage in Frederick County, efforts to increase this acreage will require constructing new wetland sites.  Whether they are created as natural areas where a wetland once existed or as a stormwater management facility built to provide stormwater treatment as well as habitat, the newly constructed sites will not initially be inhabited by amphibians and birds that might be found in a well-established wetland.  As additional assessment data is collected in future seasons, conclusions will be drawn about what wetland characteristics result in amphibian and bird usage and what can be done to expedite the process in newly constructed wetlands.

During Year 1 of the UWP, WMS staff began work on developing a comprehensive wetland strategy. The results of the first year of the project include the development of assessment protocols for amphibians, birds, and vegetation; the implementation of the first year of assessments for select sample sites; evaluation and updating of the existing nontidal wetlands GIS overlay; and, outreach and education to Frederick County school students and teachers.

Project Area Description and Background

Figure 1: Monocacy River Watershed Vicinity map

The UWP project is focused in the Bennett Creek watershed located in the southern portion of Frederick County within the Lower Monocacy River watershed (Figures 1 and 2).  A watershed is the area of land that drains to a body of water, in this case - Bennett Creek.  The Bennett Creek watershed was studied during the Lower Monocacy River Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) because of its location in the path of development bordering Montgomery County and is a high priority watershed for the WMS.  The WRAS outlines specific goals and objectives to restore and protect water quality and wildlife habitat.

The Bennett Creek watershed has roughly 150 miles of stream and is approximately 31,013 acres in size.  According to the 2005 National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) GIS overlay, there are approximately 1,451 acres of wetlands in the Bennett Creek watershed.  It is also listed as having the only Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern (NTWSSC) in the Lower Monocacy River watershed.

Figure 2: Bennett Creek Watershed Vicinity map

Project Summary

The UWP project was broken into two funding years with work divided under six objectives:

Objective 1: Assessment Protocol Development (Project Year 1) – work completed under this Objective included the research and development of assessment protocols to be used to measure amphibian, vegetation, and bird populations in and around wetland areas.

Objective 2: GIS Desktop Analysis (Project Year 1) – work completed under this Objective included developing a tracking system that could house a variety of wetland information and updating the existing wetland layer using a computer mapping program (GIS).

Objective 3: Education & Outreach (Project Year 1) – work completed under this Objective included coordinating with three partner schools (Windsor Knolls Middle School, Friends Meeting School, and Urbana Elementary School).  A fourth partner school, Urbana Middle School, may become involved during Project Year 2.

Objective 4: Field Assessment & Baseline Monitoring (Project Year 1 & Project Year 2) – work under this Objective included implementing the first year of assessments (details discussed below).  Additional assessments are planned for the spring of Project Year 2.

Objective 5: Project Installation, Evaluation, & Post-construction Assessment (Project Year 2) – work under this Objective will include the installation of two wetland projects.  One site has been selected, Windsor Knolls Middle School.  The second site has not yet been selected.

Objective 6: Education & Outreach (Project Year 2) – work under this Objective includes additional education and outreach to schools and the public during Project Year 2.

Assessment Sites

Staff identified and obtained permission for monitoring eleven sample sites (Figure 3), three more than the eight required by the grant.

Figure 3: Urban Wetlands Program, Bennett Creek
Watershed Pilot Project Assessment Sites

The eleven assessment sites, illustrated in Figure 3, are:

• Two sites at the Worthington Manor golf course
• Lilypons Water Gardens
• Monocacy National Battlefield
• Friends Meeting School
• Windsor Knolls Middle School
• Baltimore Gas & Electric Powerline Right of Way
• Monocacy Bottom Road, Frederick County Road Right of Way
• Windsor Knolls Homeowners Association (HOA)
• Urbana Elementary School
• Monocacy Bottom Road, Roadside Ditch

Amphibian, Vegetation, and Bird Assessment Results

The data collected during the first year will be used to create a species presence list.  Additional conclusions will be drawn as more data is collected during future sampling seasons.
Amphibian Assessments:

Three methodologies were used to perform the amphibian assessments: (1) egg mass surveys, (2) call surveys, and (3) dipnet sweeps.  Egg mass surveys involve searching the site for the egg masses of frogs, toads, newts and salamanders.  Data collected during the egg mass surveys provides information on the breeding effort of adult amphibians.  Call surveys involve visiting the site and listening for 10 minutes during which all adult species heard calling are identified.  This method only identifies adult frog and toad species inhabiting the site.  Wetland audio loggers were also used to record amphibian calls for a specific length of time when field crews are not present (Figure 4).  Dipnet sweeps involve “sweeping” the standing water with a net.  This method will identify only those species in the water but can collect egg masses, juveniles, and adults.

42 species of amphibians are reported for the state of Maryland. A total of seven species of amphibians were identified at all of the sample sites. Click here to see a list of amphibian species found at the assessment sites (this is still under construction). Click here for samples of amphibian calls recorded at the assessment sites (this is still under construction).

Figure 4: Wetland Audio Recorders - The wetland audio recorders are
Olympus VN-3100 PC recorders housed within PVC pipe.
An additional microphone was used to improve the quality of the recording.

Vegetation Assessments:

The identification of wetland vegetation can be challenging because different species mature during different times of the growing season and successful identification often requires the presence of flowering parts.  To collect vegetation data, field personnel walked through the site using a random path fashion that maximized the amount of search area covered.  Digital photographs were taken of each species identified in order to create a plant photo library used for the future identification of species. A total of 114 species of vegetation were identified at all of the sample sites.  Click here to see a list of the vegetation species found at the assessment sites (this is still under construction). Click here to see photos of the vegetation species identified at the assessment sites (this is still under construction).

Bird Assessments:

The bird assessments are performed in the early morning hours from sunrise to 10 am.  Songs, calls, and/or visual identification are used to indicate species presence at an assessment site.  Field crews visit each site for 10 minutes during which all species seen or heard are identified and recorded.  The wetland audio loggers (Figure 4) were also used to record bird calls during times when field crews were not present.

428 species of birds have been identified in the state of Maryland.  Many are migratory birds or shore birds and may not be found in the Frederick County area.  A total of 63 species of birds were identified at all of the sample sites. Click here to see a list of the bird species found at the assessment sites (this is still under construction). Click here for samples of bird calls recorded at the assessment sites (this is still under construction).

If you have any questions about the project, contact:

Jessica Hunicke, Frederick County Project Manager, 301.600.1350, jhunicke@fredco-md.net