Delaware boat ramp gets a makeover

With an outdated boat ramp from the 1970s and a location popular for boat launching, the state and federal government agreed that a new boat ramp would be a smart investment to support the tourism industry for the Delaware Bayshore area.

Replacing the old ramp are eight new 16-foot wide launch lanes, along with five floatation boarding docks and one floatation aluminum dock connected to a 30-foot timber walkway. Officials dedicated the dock on July 30, 2012, in honor of Lacy E. Nichols Jr., who worked for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) for 23 years and recently retired. Located on Slaughter Beach just outside Milford, Conn., the ramp is a testament to his hard work and conservation efforts. 

Lacy E. “Nick” Nichols Jr. (left) and Governor Jack Markell (right) at the opening of the new ramp.
Credit: DNREC

A creative solution to invasive plants problem at a Delaware park

Two new recruits are spending their summer at Brandywine Creek State Park tackling invasive plants by doing what they do best – eating.

Two river water buffalo, named Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger, are chowing down on invasive plants at a rate of 20 pounds per day as part of the park’s prescribed grazing project. By both eating the plants and crushing the root mat with their weight, the water buffalo are proving very effective for controlling invasive plants like canary reed grass.

Julie Slacum stands with one of the water buffalo. Credit: USFWS

Partnering to save endangered animals: Delaware

We're so excited about the new interactive map highlighting endangered species efforts in each state across the nation. Each day we'll feature a state, partner and animal. Subscribe on the right to keep up!

And we're back! Time to feature Delaware and one of its most renowned avian visitors--the red knot. 

Back at the end of May, biologists cheered when a legendary red knot was seen in Delaware Bay. This dove-sized shorebird was tagged in 1995 in Argentina and is thought to now be around 19 years old. If an odometer tagged along with the bird, it would read over 350,000 miles, thanks to its yearly migration from Argentina to the Canadian Arctic.

News Roundup

Today we're taking a break from featuring endangered species by state, but take a few minutes to see what we heard this week! Check back next week for features on the wonderful states of Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.

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NJ Cape May County Herald: Water and Praises Flow at Cox Hall Creek Event
VILLAS — Like an epic movie, it was 11 years in the making but the ending is monumental. On Wed., June 20, officials from Lower Township and county agencies cut a ribbon dedicating the Cox Hall Creek Improvement Project which removed a derelict sewage pumping station and sent a pipe to Delaware Bay to allow cleansing salt water in the phragmites reed clogged creek.

Over hundreds of years, attempts to control water flow has allowed invasive plants to crowd out other wildlife. This project is part of a long-term effort to control invasive wildlife along the Delaware Bay of New Jersey. A team is working to restore 87 acres of wetlands to control water quality and flooding, as well as provide habitats for our native wildlife. Through our Delaware Bay Estuary Project and New Jersey Field Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided much-needed resources to complete this project.

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