Coastal Bays: Protecting the bays' rich wildlife diversity
19.05.12
Protecting wildlife diversity and educating the public on the biological richness of the bays, farms, and forests around Ocean City and Assateague has been a significant part of the Coastal Bays Program's efforts.
Over the past decade the program has worked with partners to protect more than 10,000 acres of farms and forests in the coastal bays watershed east of US 113 and has helped complete more than 30 restoration projects.
The program's soft shoreline projects have helped restore terrapin nesting and horseshoe crab spawning habitat in more than 10 locations in the bays. Our work on the Adkins property on MD 376 will help restore wetland and native hardwoods for the new 440-acre county park. At the 30-acre "Lizard Hill" site in Bishopville we worked with the State Highway Administration and the Department of Natural Resources to restore rare Atlantic white cedar, and we recently opened to the public our restored 90-acre property on Pitts Road in Showell.
Meanwhile, our volunteers continue to help collect data for researchers by counting colonial nesting birds every summer and by counting and tagging horseshoe crabs that spawn on sandy bay beaches. Like horseshoe crabs, herons, egrets, skimmers and ibis have only a few breeding locations in the entire state of Maryland, most of which are in the coastal bays.
Source: Delmarva Now