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Oyster restoration honored by White House
The Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project was honored with a Coastal America Partnership Award during a bayside ceremony at the Coast Day festival in Lewes. The award is the only environmental award of its kind given by the White House. DNREC was among 12 task force organizations that planted 2.1 million bushels of clam and oyster shells onto historic reefs in Delaware Bay, thanks to $5 million in federal funding. "The Delaware Bay is a recreational treasure and an economic engine for our region," said DNREC Secretary Collin P. O’Mara. "The Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project supports both the ecological restoration of our native oyster and the revitalization of our commercial oyster industry. The project’s outstanding success reflects the close cooperation between New Jersey, Delaware and all partners and the dedicated commitment to improving the health and sustainability of the Delaware Bay." Pictured above are: Fish and Wildlife Director Patrick Emory; Rick Cole and Mike Garvilla, DNREC task force members; Sec. O'Mara; U.S Representative Mike Castle; DNREC Deputy Secretary David Small; and Water Resources Director Kathy Bunting-Howarth.
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The surf may be up, but so is the sand – after DNREC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teamed to repair a breach of the
Mispillion Breakwater.
What began as a routine navigational maintenance project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with DNREC turned into an ideal opportunity to partner in protecting a vital natural resource: horseshoe crab and migratory shorebird habitat in Mispillion Harbor. The fragile but crucial habitat was threatened by a breach (top photo) in the man-made breakwater that shelters the area. By combining their skills, the two agencies used dredging equipment for the dual purpose of channel maintenance and breakwater restoration in one efficient month-long project. More...
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Biggest turnout of volunteers,
biggest stashing of trash seen
at this year's Coastal Cleanup
This year's Coastal Cleanup experienced the most volunteers (in excess of 2,000) Delaware has seen since the event began in 1985. Jason Mello of Cub Scout Pack 277 of Camden-Wyoming did his part in the cleanup at Pickering Beach, toting two bags of trash he and fellow pack members picked up along the beach. The 2,000-plus volunteers showed their civic goodwill by joining in the cleanup at more than 40 sites across the state. The amount of trash they collected throughout the state was expected to exceed previous years' totals as well.
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The little one that got away – or swam away with DNREC's blessings and high hopes
A rare juvenile Atlantic sturgeon captured recently during a DNREC sampling of fish stocks is back swimming in Delaware waters. The 7-inch fish was released almost immediately after measurements, a tiny piece of fin (for genetic identification) – and of course plenty of "trophy" photos – were taken of it. Lauren Johnson, a DNREC seasonal employee, holds the little fish believed to be the first juvenile sturgeon of its size found in Delaware in 50 years. The genetic ID'ing will help determine if the sturgeon is native to Delaware Bay by matching its DNA with mature Atlantic sturgeon that have been found in the bay. The discovery of the little fish in Delaware waters has generated worldwide interest.
Delaware to receive $19.2M in
wastewater project funding
William Early, acting administrator of the EPA's Mid-Atlantic Region, presented a commemorative check as he joined state officials on Rehoboth Bay in announcing that Delaware will receive $19.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) funds for wastewater projects. Left to right: U.S. Representative Michael N. Castle, Lt. Governor Matthew Denn, Governor Jack Markell, Mr. Early, DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara, U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper, State Representative Gerald Hocker, and U.S. Senator Edward E. Kaufman. More...
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New Del-Jersey-Land artificial reef gives
old NYC subway cars one last ticket to ride
Another "train" of retired New York City subway cars recently made their way onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, the latest deployment of cars that are making more marine habitat for Delaware’s artificial reef program. As with the first subway car sinking last month over the state’s newest reef, 44 more cars by way of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) were barged down the coast and dropped over the Del-Jersey-Land site—26 miles southeast of Indian River Inlet, and equidistant from the three states comprising the reef’s name. The reef is a cooperative venture between Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland for enhancing fisheries habitat through decommissioned and retired ships as well as the old subway cars.
The Environment and Land Use: A new DNREC Planning Section web site links land-use decision making to environmental sustainability
2007 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data now available; shows significant decrease in Delaware emissions from previous year
