“You couldn’t have asked for better weather,” was a common phrase repeated among the partners gathered atop a newly constructed hill in Caroline County on an early November day. Accompanying the clear blue skies and unseasonably warm temperatures, Sue Simmons, Director of Caroline County Recreation & Parks, welcomed members of the Envision the Choptank partnership for a site visit and project tour of North County Regional Park just north of Greensboro, Maryland. Using excavated material, the hill was constructed at the behest of the local community - a novel diversion from the surrounding flatness and one likely to provide endless entertainment for children and families in years to come. It overlooks a small stream, recently returned to its natural meander and with crews of landscapers still planting trees along its banks. In the distance, open fields and native meadows gave way to mature trees, shielding the Choptank River both from view and from polluted runoff.
Sue Simmons (second from left), Director of Caroline County Recreation & Parks, welcomes Envision the Choptank partners for a site visit and project tour of North County Regional Park. Photo courtesy of Emily Thorpe, JBO Conservation.
The creation of North County Regional Park follows a history of public interest in securing access along the upper Choptank with the goal of preserving environmentally important areas between the river and Route 313, promoting the stewardship of natural and cultural resources, and providing passive and active recreational facilities for future generations. In the 1970s, Caroline County acquired the 20-acre Christian Park property bordering a section of the river known for its shad and perch fishing. In 2016, the county purchased the adjacent parcel using funds from Program Open Space and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Previously a corn and soybean farm, this acquisition added another 207 acres of waterfront property to the park; however, the channelized streams bisecting its field were heavily eroded and degraded due to runoff from adjoining farmland. Below the confluence of these two streams, eroded banks nearly 15 feet high tower over the deeply incised channel. Despite their modest size, these headwater streams contribute significantly to the health of the downstream area. The Choptank River is listed as impaired largely due to nutrient and sediment loads transported from degraded headwater streams, such as this.
Years of erosion have created a deeply incised channel with streambanks that tower over Envision partners. Photo courtesy of Phillip Stafford, MD DNR.
Since acquiring the property, the Caroline County Recreation and Parks department has been working with the Caroline County Department of Planning & Codes; Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR); Maryland Sea Grant Extension; Sustainable Science, LLC; Ecotone, Inc.; and Washington College’s Natural Lands Project to restore riparian and grassland habitat, provide enhanced resiliency from high intensity rain events, and improve water quality in the Choptank River. The project includes 1,300 linear feet of agricultural ditch retrofit and 1,260 linear feet of regenerative stormwater conveyance improvements, an innovative stormwater management technique that raises the streambed to stabilize eroded gullies and uses a series of boulder-weirs to promote infiltration and improve water quality. In addition to the in-stream efforts, the project also includes the restoration of 46 acres of native grass and wildflower meadows and 2.05 acres of Delmarva Bays, a seasonal freshwater wetland formed by an elliptical depression in the land.
Aerial views of North County Regional Park capture the scale of the restoration effort. On the left, a Delmarva Bay is surrounded by native grass and wildflower meadow. On the right, the agricultural ditch retrofit and regenerative stormwater conveyance improvement are foregrounded. Photos courtesy of Matt Pluta, ShoreRivers.
The restoration of the Delmarva Bay and a 200-foot portion of the stream adjacent to the wetlands is expected to solve a significant stormwater challenge. By slowing the water’s velocity, enhancing groundwater infiltration and recharge, and preventing erosion of the streambank, these modifications will significantly reduce the amount of nutrients and sediment entering the Choptank while also restoring a unique wetland habitat that supports numerous rare, threatened, and endangered species. The overall effort is projected to prevent 5,554 pounds of suspended solids and 512 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus combined from entering the Choptank River each year. Project designer Al McCullough of Sustainable Science likened the park’s transformation to the difference between Teflon and Velcro, with the former allowing stormwater runoff to swiftly wash away valuable nutrients and topsoil, while the latter traps them in place as water slowly infiltrates.
Standing nearest to the stream, project designer Al McCullough explains how the regenerative stormwater conveyance system will help to remove nutrients and sediment and improve water quality. Photo courtesy of Emily Thorpe, JBO Conservation.
With numerous best management and restoration practices showcased at a single location, a tour of North County Regional Park also provided the perfect launch to Envision’s new Advancing Large-Scale Restoration workgroup, which held its first meeting immediately following the site visit. The focus of this workgroup will be to work towards more connected and larger-scale restoration projects to sustain ecological integrity, support climate resiliency to benefit the environment and local communities, and improve cost-efficiencies. For more information, visit this blog post.
Sue Simmons, Director of Caroline County Recreation & Parks, stands in front of a newly constructed Delmarva Bay and describes future plans for North County Regional Park, including more trails and interpretive signage. Photo courtesy of Emily Thorpe, JBO Conservation.
The effort at North County Regional Park provided the group with several valuable lessons. For example, monitoring water levels before and during construction helped to save money in the long run by allowing engineers to determine which structures were already functioning well and which required expansion to accommodate higher intensity rain events. Real-time dialogue between the engineers, contractors, and county employees, as well as flexibility among the partners, also proved essential to the successful implementation of the project. Backed by the strength of the partnership, Envision the Choptank aims to apply these lessons learned in its efforts to advance large-scale restoration projects across our watershed. If you are interested in learning more about these efforts or joining the new Advancing Large-Scale Restoration workgroup, please email envisionthechoptank@gmail.com.
Drone video of North County Regional Park courtesy of Phillip Stafford, MD DNR.
The North County Regional Park restoration effort was funded by a combination of federal, state, and local sources, including DNR’s Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, Maryland Department of the Environment’s Nonpoint Source Program (MDE 319), and local Program Open Space allocations.