Back

Maryland Site Details
Virginia Site Details
Activities

This page describes the third annual NOAA Restoration Day event. It includes details about the day's activities and background information about the effort. Planning for the event is still underway, but potential activities are included below.

The Restoration Day initiative was expanded in 2006 to include two coordinated events at different locations -- one on the Upper Bay in Maryland and one on the Lower Bay in Virginia.

Maryland Event Details:
Trent Hall Restoration Site

• What: On-going event for HQ NOAA staff in Maryland -- complimented by first-time Virginia initiative.
• When: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
• Who: Approximately 140 total volunteers (125 NOAA employees from Silver Spring, MD and DC, and 14 students and teachers).
• Where: Trent Hall Restoration Site (associated with the 2000 Chalk Point oil spill). Near Benedict, MD -- just 75 minutes from Silver Spring, MD.
• Time: 9:30am – 3:00pm
• Contact: Alison Hammer
  
• See MD event agenda & more details about the day...

Description of Restoration Activities at the Maryland Event:

• Fish and Invertebrate Sampling - derived a quantitative measure of fish and invertebrate use of the marsh and beach using seine nets and a block net at the marsh.  
• Marsh Grass Planting - Helped stabilize the shoreline and prevent erosion by planting emergent marsh plants and shrubs on the sandy shore and at the created marsh.
• Native Oyster Seeding - Spread 100 bags of native oyster shell and spat on a previously created, off-shore oyster reef.
  
• Water Quality Testing - Sampled water quality to help understand potential pollution concerns.
• Tide Station and Water Level Analysis Presentation by CO-OPS - NOAA/NOS CO-OPS staff provided a poster presentation explaining tide stations and water level analysis, focusing on habitat mapping and the Chesapeake area.
• Bottom Mapping Demonstration - Participants took a short trip aboard the 41’ Bay Commitment over an oyster sanctuary and edge area to demonstrate bottom mapping and habitat characterization. 
• Underwater Bay Grass Planting - Planted 66 trays of underwater Bay grasses that were previously grown by 19 NOAA offices and 3 local schools beginning in late March (read more about bay grass initiative).
  
• Bird Survey in Marsh Area  - Observed and recorded bird use of the marsh.  Conducted a comparison between the new marsh and a reference site.
  
• Monitoring Plant Survival in the Created Marsh - Determined plant survival in the created marsh to find out whether the contractor has met the success criteria.   
• NGS Demonstration: Three Methods of Creating Elevation Contours - Demo included showing 3 methods for creating elevation contours for coastal mapping:
  (1) marsh buggy; (2) RTK GPS (backpack); and, (3) digital leveling equipment.
  
  

Overview

This site is on the Patuxent River, just south of Benedict, MD.  The drive from Silver Spring and Annapolis takes about an hour and fifteen minutes.  It is on private property, where two restoration projects resulting from the Chalk Point oil spill were constructed: creating a 6-acre marsh from a farm field, and both enhancing and protecting beach habitat with a combination of breakwaters and sills.  These two projects are within a quarter mile of each other, but because of the terrain, it is not possible to walk between them easily. 

• NOAA Restoration Day 2006 Overview (pdf, 1 page, 60KB)
• Patuxent River Oil Spill 2004 Fact Sheet (pdf, 1 page, 72KB)
• Patuxent River Oil Spill 2002 Fact Sheet (pdf, 1 page, 88KB)

Site Images:

Virginia Event Details: VCU Rice Center

• What: First Virginia initiative, expanding upon Maryland's on-going event. Coordinated by the Virginia NOAA Chesapeake Bay office in partnership with the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
• When: Wednesday, May 31, 2006
• Who: 30-40 NOAA employees and external partners
• Where: VCU Rice Environmental Center in Charles City, VA -- 90 minutes outside Norfolk, VA.
• Time: 10am – 2pm
• Contact: Michelle Burnett
• More information: http://noaa.chesapeakebay.net/varestorationday.aspx
  
  
  • See VA event agenda & more details about the day...
    
    

Overview

Site includes 272 acres of land and a 70-acre lake on the north bank of the James River, southeast of Richmond between Berkeley and Shirley Plantations. There will be many partners involved and potentially several school children too.

Description of Restoration Activities at the Virginia Event:

• Underwater Bay Grass Planting - Planted trays of bay grasses that were previously grown by NOAA staff in our offices beginning in late March (read more about bay grass initiative...)
  
• Marine Debris Clean-up & Talk about "Ghost " Crab pots in the Chesapeake - Removed trash and marine debris from along the shoreline.
  
• Building Bird Nesting Boxes - Helped provide nest areas and protection for local birds by building Prothonotary Warbler nesting boxes.
  
• Water Quality Testing & Talk about Observation Activities in the Bay- Sampled water quality to help understand potential pollution concerns.
• Seining for Species in the James River - Sampled fish utilization in the James River. 
  

(top)