Download May 2006 - Friends of Sligo Creek

May 2006
Contents
Upcoming Events
 Link to Friends of Sligo Creek Event Calendar
 Program Meeting on Building a Backyard Wildlife Habitat -Tuesday May 16
 Committee Meetings - Stormwater Committee, Wed May 3; Outreach/Education
Committee, Thursday May 11; Litter Committee, Thursday May 18th
 Nature Walk: Butterflies – Saturday May 20th
 RIP – Removing Invasive Plants Program
News
 Cleanup Events in Sligo
 RIP News – Celebrating RIP
 Tree Plantings
 Stormwater Permit Revision
 Sligo Native Fish Outing
 Testimony at County Budget Hearings
 Fish Transfer from Northwest Branch
 Report Your Sightings and Photos
 Outdoor Cats Can be a Problem for Sligo Creek Wildlife
From The Board of Directors
Upcoming Events
Link to Calendar
Friends of Sligo Creek now conducts or participates in so many interesting events that we
may not always be able to list them all individually. So, we now include a link to the Friends of
Sligo Creek website calendar at the beginning of this section. We will continue to mention and
describe the major activities for the upcoming month here in the Newsletter. Enjoy.
http://www.fosc.org/cgi-bin/calendar.pl
FYI – multiple RIP events are planned for June. There will be more details on the June events in
the next Newsletter.
Program Meeting on Building a Backyard Wildlife Habitat – May 16
Friends of Sligo Creek’s regular program meeting this month will be about how to build a
backyard wildlife habitat. Our own Alison Gillespie will discuss ways to make your backyard
attractive to birds, butterflies and other wildlife, and how these projects can benefit Sligo Creek.
We will also discuss many projects which are already underway throughout the watershed.
Refreshments will be served. This is a joint meeting between Friends of Sligo Creek and the
Neighbors of Northwest Branch.
We will gather at the Brookside Nature Center at 7:15 for conversation and light
refreshments. The program begins promptly at 7:30.
Please note the special location of this meeting: The Brookside Nature Center is located
in Wheaton Regional Park on Glenallan Avenue, just east of Brookside Gardens. Take Sligo
Creek Parkway north until it ends. Go right onto University Blvd and quickly (but safely!) get into
the left lane. Make a left at the first light, onto Arcola. Go right onto Kemp Mill Road (this is a
right turn cutoff at, or just before, the light). Go left on Glenallan (if you reach Randolph you’ve
gone too far). Look for the entrance to the Nature center on your left (just before you reach the
entrance to the Brookside Gardens greenhouse).
For more information contact Alison Gillespie at [email protected]
(Editors Note: If you haven’t been to Brookside Gardens lately, by all means go early and take a
walk through the Gardens, which are accessible through the fence at the far end of the Nature
Center’s parking lot. Brookside Gardens - lovely all year round - is spectacular in springtime.)
Committee Meetings
Friends of Sligo Creek has a number of committees to bring together people who are
interested in solving problems and improving the Park. If you are interested in any of these areas
please come and join us. We always need more volunteers, and most of these issues won’t be
properly resolved without an effort by concerned citizens. If you are interested in doing
something but can’t make it to a meeting, please contact the person listed below. We’re always
happy to talk to you!
The Stormwater Committee (http://www.fosc.org/StormwaterCommittee.htm) will meet
on Wednesday May 3 in Takoma Park. This committee helps build and promote rain gardens
and other means of controlling water runoff so that it doesn’t rush directly to storm drains and
through them to the creek – a major cause of stream damage and pollution. The committee also
works with other watershed organizations to promote improvements in County rules and
regulations that have an impact on stormwater. Contact Ed Murtagh at
[email protected].
The Outreach and Education Committee will meet on Thursday May 11. This
committee helps Friends of Sligo Creek to plan and advertise events, develop materials,
participate in festivals and promote Friends and the Park in many ways. Contact Brent Bolin at
[email protected].
The Litter Committee ( http://www.fosc.org/LitterCommittee.htm) will meet on Thursday,
May 18th to discuss the ongoing litter problems in the park. Meeting is in Silver Spring. Contact
Wendi Schnaufer at [email protected].
Nature Walk: Butterflies
Natural History Outing: Butterflies of Sligo
Saturday, May 20, 1:00-3:00
Meet at Hillwood Manor Playground
Join butterfly specialist Frank Boyle as we search for swallowtails, monarchs, coppers,
hairstreaks, and fritillaries along the Pepco power-line corridor in lower Sligo.
This wide swath of unforested land is Sligo's only large meadow habitat, and is home to a
variety of perennial wildflowers found nowhere else in Sligo. On this walk, we'll look for butterflies
and their nectar sources, as well as host plants for caterpillars, and discuss the role of butterflies
in pollinating wildflowers.
In January, Pepco was recognized by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
and the Wildlife Habitat Council for establishing pollinator-friendly practices along its Rights-ofWay. Pepco has 10,000 acres of Rights-of-Way in the Washington area, 7,000 of which are
managed as meadow habitat. Pepco has also planted riparian vegetation in the corridor along
Sligo to control erosion and provide additional habitat.
If it's too cloudy or windy for butterflies, Frank will guide us in looking at beetles, spiders,
dragonflies, and wildflowers.
Frank Boyle is a member of the Washington Butterfly Club, and leads several butterfly
counts as part of the annual census of American butterflies, conducted by the North American
Butterfly Association. Currently residing in Washington County, Maryland, he lived in Adelphi
and Laurel for 12 years, during which time he led outings in Sligo for the Audubon Naturalist
Society.
Email any questions to Michael Wilpers, [email protected] (before May 17) or Alison
Gilespie (May 17-20), [email protected].
Directions: Going downstream (SE) on Sligo Parkway, turn left at New Hampshire Ave. At the
first light, turn right onto Erskine (a steep hill). Take the first right onto 13th Ave., which winds
downhill and becomes Elson. Park between Elson Place and 14th Ave.
RIP – Removing Invasive Plants
The RIP program is in full swing with a number of events scheduled on most weekends,
and some on Wednesdays, to remove Garlic Mustard. Please see the website
(www.fosc.org/RIPEventSched.htm) for event details, or contact Sally Gagné, at [email protected].
The goal of RIP this spring is to pull every Garlic Mustard plant in the park – and to
DISCARD IT IN BAGS! Many invasives can be left in the woods to rot after being pulled out by
the roots, but not Garlic Mustard, which has seeds that mature after the plant is picked.
There is a good chance we can get all the mustard if enough Friends members and
residents come out to help. Please let your friends and neighbors know that this is the year to
commit to working on their local part of Sligo Creek Park. Residents can take advantage of the
organized help from Friends of Sligo Creek which is available this year. And – this is a great
time of year to be out in the woods!
News
Spring Cleanup Events
Friends of Sligo Creek held our annual spring cleanup in various sections of Sligo Creek
on Saturday April 8th, and Earth Day April 22nd. We joined the regional groups Alice Ferguson
Foundation and Anacostia Watershed Society to make this a watershed-wide event. Even
though the weather did not fully cooperate, we held the events in full rain gear and had a decent
showing and a lot of fun – some people came out more than once to help when we held a rain
date cleanup the next day.
The results were impressive. Last year, we found everything but the kitchen sink. This
year, we found (and removed) a kitchen sink, too! We also removed a cement birdbath, shopping
carts, steel trim from an abandoned car and construction debris.
Overall, approximately 167 people came out to help in 12 sections of the Park, and we
collected over 240 bags of trash and recyclables. More than 1,000 pounds of heavy items were
also hauled out. An energetic troop of 23 Takoma Park Brownies filled 23 more bags on April
11th. Local religious, school and scout groups helped Friends of Sligo Creek to make our Park a
more beautiful and enjoyable place. Beth Rowe wins the dedication award for spending six hours
mucking trash out of the stormwater ponds in section 12. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who
participated.
These efforts were part of the wider Earth Day initiatives mentioned above, which
collectively drew 1,115 people and removed over 31.5 tons of trash and debris from the
Anacostia watershed.
Additional information and photos are available on the Friends of Sligo Creek website http://www.fosc.org/SpringCleanup2006.htm.
RIP News – Celebrating RIP
On April 12 Laura Mol, Sally Gagné, Bruce Sidwell, and several other members of
Friends attended a celebration of Weed Warrior progress in the County. It was good to hear Mary
Bradford, the new Director of Parks for Park & Planning. Sue Salmons, a weed control expert
from National Park Service, gave an excellent presentation on work in local National Parks (e.g.,
Shenandoah and Catoctin National Parks). We also had a chance to chat with our friends at
the Park’s Division of Natural Resources, including Rob Gibbs, Carole Bergmann, Paul Carlson,
and Lynn Vismara.
Tree Plantings
Friends of Sligo Creek held tree planting events along Sligo Creek on April 15, 23 and 29.
About 37 volunteers took part on the 15th, and another dozen on the 23rd (the 29th event is still
to come as we write this).
The riparian (stream-side) environment is a crucial element in the water quality of any
creek. Protecting and improving the riparian buffer is therefore key to protecting Sligo Creek.
Friends of Sligo is working with the Washington Council of Governments (COG) and the
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) to reforest these areas.
Over 175 new trees and shrubs were planted in April. Another 100 or so trees planted in
2002 were mulched and their deer protection repaired. Trees and shrubs planted include: River
Birch, Redbud, Silky Dogwood, American Hazel, American Sycamore, White Oak, Pin Oak and
Northern Red Oak.
For more information check out http://www.fosc.org/AL-TreePlantingMar2006.htm.
Thanks to all of you who participated these new trees will enhance and grace our park for
the next generation of Friends.
Stormwater (NPDES) Permits
Friends of Sligo Creek is partnering with 17 local, state and national organizations as part
of the Stormwater Partners Coalition to improve the Montgomery County Stormwater Permit
process. A Stormwater Permit – formally, a “National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System
(NPDES) Permit” – is required for any significant discharge into waterways in the County. They
are intended to ensure that when buildings, parking lots or other sites are built or modified they
are built in such a way as to do a better job managing stormwater runoff than they historically
have. Under the Clean Water Act, for the past ten years, Montgomery County and other
jurisdictions have been issued these permits by the Maryland Department of the Environment
(MDE) to impose limits on how much stormwater pollution the County may dump into the
Potomac, Anacostia, Sligo Creek and other waterways. The permits are reviewed and modified
every five years, and the County and MDE are currently looking at what revisions should be made
in the upcoming new permit.
The first two permits were in many ways general “work plans”, setting overall goals for
water quality without setting clear and enforceable limits. These permits enabled the County to
study the problem and install basic stormwater controls, but they lacked measurable objectives
for meeting the standards of the Clean Water Act. Despite operating 10 years under these
permits, the quality of many of our streams has continued to deteriorate, and the others are
improving too slowly. This hurts our watersheds, and their associated habitats, from Sligo Creek
to the Chesapeake Bay. (You may remember a number of articles in the Post last year reporting
that the improvements to the Chesapeake Bay that had been widely heralded for the past several
years, were not in fact occurring).
Friends feels that the time has come for the permit to be revised with more effective,
measurable and enforceable standards that will result in an actual improvement to our water
quality. Friends has been quite active recently in proposing and promoting changes to the permit.
We have sent letters proposing specific improvements to Mr. Duncan, the County Council, and
the Department of Environmental Protection. In particular, we are proposing improvements to
the “Total Maximum Daily Load” (TDML) standards for bacteria entering the Anacostia River
Basin. See our website at http://www.fosc.org/Advocacy/Stormwater.htm for the latest on our
efforts.
If you are interested in helping, or want to know more about this issue, contact Ed
Murtagh at [email protected].
Sligo Native Fish Outing
Ecologist Susan Cushman Flanders and two student assistants lead a Friends of Sligo
Creek natural history outing along the creek near the Dennis Ave Recreation center on Saturday
April 15th. About 20 participants learned a lot about our native fish and had a great time.
Using an "electroshocker," Susan stunned a good number of fish long enough to catch
them in nets, deposit them in buckets, and give our enthusiastic participants a chance to hold and
observe four species of Sligo fish.
We got to see about fifteen of the tiny blacknose dace, the Creek's most abundant fish
(all of two-inches long, with a stunning dark stripe down each side). It was surprising for many of
us to see that the Creek supports much larger fish, such as the White Sucker (about five inches)
and especially the Creek Chub (about six inches plus). The White Sucker's mouth is conveniently
positioned at the bottom of its head, making it easy for the fish to graze the stream bed for food.
On the other hand, the Creek Chub's gigantic mouth serves its appetite for larger prey, including
plenty of smaller (and toothless) minnows like the dace. Our “catch” also included two Bluegill
Sunfish, with their characteristic vertical blue stripes, including one baby.
If the water quality of Sligo Creek continues to improve, we can all hope to find even
more species of native fish in future outings (see the article on the Fish Transfer, below).
Testimony at County Budget Hearings
On April 5, Sally Gagné and Bruce Sidwell testified before the Montgomery County
Council encouraging support for more funding for the natural aspects of the County parks. Sally
and Bruce mentioned the need for additional resources to control invasive species, tree planting,
outreach on park stewardship, and more permit inspectors dedicated to seeing that regulations
protecting streams are followed.
Fish Transfer from Northwest Branch
On April 21, Friends of Sligo Creek participated in a ceremony at the Dennis Recreation
Center where County Executive Doug Duncan, Council members George Leventhal
and Nancy Floreen, and Director of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Jim
Caldwell gave presentations marking the release of a 10 year status report on environmental
protection in Montgomery County. Friends had a table and display of FoSC activities in the
Park. As part of the event Friends helped DEP biologists capture native fish in Northwest Branch
for re-introduction into Sligo.
The fish were swept up into seine nets held across Northwest Branch. In some areas we
entered the stream to herd the fish into the nets. Approximately 117 fish were caught,
representing seven species, all but two uncommon or missing in Sligo Creek. Sligo once was
home to virtually all of the 20 species now found in NW Branch, but the deterioration of water
quality in Sligo left it with only three pollution-tolerant species in a 1990 survey. Now that water
conditions have improved somewhat, approximately 13 species can be found.
For more information about the fish of Sligo Creek, see the Friends website at
http://www.fosc.org/FishList.htm.
Fish cannot naturally migrate from NW Branch into Sligo due to barriers such as exposed
pipes that exist at the confluence of the streams. We hope to participate in more fish transfers in
the future, and would like to make them into family events. DEP managers, Keith VanNess and
Cameron Wiegand are working with Friends to set up one or more dates for more extensive fish
transfers.
Report Your Sightings and Photos
Now that spring is here, don't forget to share with the rest of us the interesting animals
and plants you see (or hear) in Sligo. And check regularly for what others have spotted.
From the Sligo home page (www.fosc.org), go to the "Sightings" option on the left-hand column,
and follow the easy instructions and built-in form for submitting.
Recent sightings, with some fascinating photos, have included a northern water snake,
green heron, palm warbler, barred owls, and two male snapping turtles fighting over territory. So
send in your observations, and take your digital camera when you go out! (send questions to:
Michael Wilpers, [email protected])
Outdoor Cats Can be a Problem for Sligo Creek Wildlife
Contrary to the popular image of birds' nests high up in trees, safe from danger, many of
Sligo's birds build their nests right on the ground or very close to it. At least a dozen bird species
in Sligo nest low down, making them targets for house cats. Studies have shown that cats are
responsible for significant predation of low-nesting and ground-feeding birds.
The low-nesting birds in Sligo include Carolina wren, veery, wood thrush, mockingbird,
brown thrasher, common yellowthroat, ovenbird, Kentucky warbler, eastern towhee, field sparrow,
and song sparrow. Other birds may nest higher up, but are still vulnerable when they feed on the
ground. These include mourning dove, red-bellied woodpecker, northern flicker, blue jay, house
wren, robin, catbird, cardinal, indigo bunting, and American goldfinch. In addition, domestic cats
take a toll on chipmunks, squirrels, shrew moles, native mice, and even snakes.
Keeping cats inside helps them be safe and not a problem for wildlife. (comments and
questions: Michael Wilpers at [email protected])
From the Board of Directors
The board usually meets on the first Tuesday of each month and we summarize major items
of discussion here. If you have questions or comments about Friends of Sligo Creek policies or
activities, please let one of us hear from you. Check our website for names and contact
information at http://www.focs.org/Board.htm . This month, the Board:
 Discussed potential dates for our summer members and friends picnic.
 Reviewed plans for upcoming program meetings.
 Talked about two current advocacy issues: citizen concern about the right of way near
Bennington Lane and Montgomery County Council hearings on the operating budget.
 Reviewed plans for the two April creek clean-ups and the April Garlic Mustard pulls.
 Got reports on the status of the recent WSSC discharge into Sligo Creek and of the
WSSC suit and Prince Georges County hearing on WSSC proposed rate increase.
 Discussed the new CBT grants for additional rain gardens in Takoma Park and at
Eastern Middle School.
See You In The Park!
News items collected and edited by Michael Pollock and volunteer helpers. Do you have an item about
Sligo that would be of interest to our members? Please send it to Michael at [email protected].