Hello MPEA Friends & Volunteers! - extension.umd.edu

1 Hello MPEA Friends & Volunteers! Summer arrived without fanfare and we have been performing many of the same duties that we carry out each summer. Despite the recent tornado the phrase routine activity still sums up the field work in the MPEA during June. However, there are other non-routine news items to share. We have experienced a staff change, there s a new County walking program to talk about, and of course everyone has heard about the Black bear sightings! THE NE W S L E T T E R OF T H E MI D D L E PA T U X E N T EN V I R O N M E N T A L AR E A JUNE 2016 VOLUME 12, ISSUE 6 M e a n d e r i n g s ..M e a n d e r i n g s ..M e a n d e r i n g s .. Inside this issue: Greetings and Introduction 1 Fieldwork 1 Changes 1 Passing Through 2 HoCo Walks Program 2 Think before you print! This newsletter is optimized for online viewing.

2 The appearance will change if printed. Just maintaining the various features of the MPEA takes more time and effort than most people imagine. It is particularly hard for a visitor to estimate the amount of time necessary because our goal is usually to make it look like we were not out there working in the first place. Just keeping the meadows looking like meadows can be exhausting. This month we did finish up our annual spot-spraying of invasives within the meadows with the newest meadow treated last. Today, if you were to stand at the outdoor classroom and look across the trail and uphill you would see a gorgeous showing of native grasses and wildflowers. Clearly our labor is paying off. Two years ago a visitor would have simply seen an impenetrable tangle of vines and invasive rosebushes instead.

3 With respect to trails, they have been mowed twice lately and two tree fall blockages removed. Minor amounts of thistle (Cirsium sp.) and Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) control was carried out along meadow trail corridors too. The only other recent change a visitor may notice is that we put up new brochure boxes at the Trotter and South Wind Circle trailheads. It really is a good time to go hiking before the dog days of summer set in. Visitor numbers haven t dropped off yet but they will as the heat ratchets up. Furthermore, please remember that the Conservation Stewardship Project we host with the master Gardeners does not take place in July or August. Enjoy the two-month vacation! Fieldwork Changes It is with mixed emotions that we announce that our Trail Project Coordinator, Sarah Causey has left the MPEA.

4 It is sad to see Sarah go but we are overjoyed at her promotion to a full-time, benefitted position elsewhere in the Department of Recreation and Parks. Sarah is now a Natural Resources Technician II working in the Natural and Historic Resources Division. This means that staff and volunteers alike will still get to work with her throughout the county. Sarah loves trails but she also loves taking pictures. That s why before leaving she left a few pictures behind to be shared with our volunteers. They are included towards the end of this newsletter. When you next see her please thank Sarah for all of the ingenuity and hard work she used to improve the MPEA trail system over the past two years. I hope to see you out in the MPEA, Jeff Page 2 If you would like to sign up to receive email updates and our monthly newsletter, or if you want to request to stop receiving them, please send a brief email to Passing Through There probably isn t a soul left in the county who hasn t heard about the young Black bear (Ursus americanus) who recently passed through the vicinity.

5 Folks out in the western end of the county may not have been too surprised as the sightings aren t as uncommon there. But imagine how surprised the citizens in Ellicott City were when the traveling Ursid made its way past them to the east side of the county. As far as we know the bear never set a paw inside the environmental area. The closest reliable sighting to the MPEA was a distance of three miles. What this means is that it is within the realm of possibility that one day, maybe not this year or any year soon, that you could see a bear passing through the MPEA. Wouldn t that be some-thing? Regardless of where you see one, don t approach wild animals and don t even think about feeding them. If you do see a bear in the MPEA please, please, please take a picture (from a distance) and let us know about it.

6 We d love to add them to our species count. HoCo Walks Program Back in April we told you about the Find Your Park initiative which, by the way, is still going on. ( ) This month there is another fun program to let you in on. Have you heard about HoCo Walks? These free walks occur the first Saturday of the month and each month the location changes. The purpose is to encourage residents to explore new places for walking and fitness. Each event also features a guest walker and a healthy snack from The Roving Radish. For all the details click on over to: or just scroll to page three. Next Conservation Stewardship Event: Planting Native Trees & Shrubs Tuesday, Sept. 27th South Wind Circle Entrance 9 - 11:30 AM Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris ) by Sara C. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) by Sarah C.

7 Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) by Sarah C. Hungry, Hungry Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) by Sarah C. The photo above was released by our department and shows a bear on county owned parkland in Elkridge. Page 3 Howard County Department of Recreation And Parks 7120 Oakland Mills Road Columbia, MD 21046-1677 Jeff Claffy, Asst. Natural Resources Manager Phone: E-mail: Cheryl Farfaras, Natural Resources Manager Phone: E-mail: Fax: The Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA), established in 1996, is 1021 acres in size and contains a diversity of habitat types. There are upland and bottomland hardwood forest, fields, wetlands, ponds, and riparian (riverine) habitats. The primary components of the MPEA's mission are natural resource management, education, research and recreation. Successfully delivering our mission depends on the efforts of volunteers such as you!

8 T h e N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e M i d d l e P a t u x e n t E n v i r o n m e n t a l A r e a MIDDLE PATUXENT ENVIRONMENTAL AREA We re on the Web! AND Conservation Stewardship Project Schedule: No experience necessary, one-time volunteers are welcome. 4th Tuesday of each month, 9-11:30 AM Basketgrass Blitz June 28 / Trotter Road Entrance Wavyleaf basketgrass is our newest invasive plant nemesis. Unfortunately, it is spreading quickly. We need your help to remove this pernicious plant but we must be careful about how we go about doing so. If the plants are bearing seeds on this day, we ll have to find something else to remove. Japanese barberry is our backup option. Planting Get-Together September 27 / South Wind Circle Trailhead Clegg s Meadow, our largest grassland, contains a riparian buffer planting site and a small, cedar glade.

9 Volunteers nurture and protect the saplings throughout the year, but deer and vines always find a way to kill small numbers of the saplings. Come on out and help as we revisit these locations to plant and shelter even more native trees and shrubs. Plus, a guest Botanist will teach us about the different types of trees we will be planting. Autumn Olive Annihilation October 25 / South Wind Circle Trailhead Autumn olive shrubs are an unwelcome remnant of the game farm that once existed in this area. Olive is a relentless invader so we will be using a variety of control methods over the course of several events. Thankfully, we are making headway in one small area that we will enlarge on this morning. Volunteers will be cutting down and digging up olives to make room for park staff to perform subsequent herbicide treatments.

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