It was a beautiful day for being outside and LFWA’s Stream Monitoring team was excited to be in the water looking for the benthic macro-invertebrates that give us an indication of the health of the Little Falls Branch. The weather was beautiful; the results discouraging. We found only 8 different species of organisms - caddisfly larva, damsel fly nymph, sow bug, aquatic worms, black fly larvae, midges, minnow mayfly nymph, an Asian clam, and sow bugs - putting the creek on the upper end of “poor” for bio-diversity.
Plant a Tree for Earth Month
One of the most important things you can do for the environment is plant a tree. Trees provide habitat for 100s of insects, birds and mammals as well as lower the urban heat index, suck up stormwater and release oxygen into the air. University of Delaware Professor of Entomology and author of Bringing Nature Home, goes further and identifies trees as keystone plants for the food chain. He writes “Take a keystone native plant like an oak tree. More than 500 types of caterpillars can eat that oak tree. That allows for a more complex and, thus, more stable food web.” https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2020/december/doug-tallamy-native-plants-food-web-insects-birds-survival-earth/
As more and more trees are cut down to allow for development, planting trees private property becomes even more important. Fortunately, the District of Columbia and Maryland recognize the value of trees and offer several programs for homeowners.
In Montgomery County:
Free Shade Trees: Montgomery County will install shade trees and provide aftercare guidance —all for free. Request a tree at https://treemontgomery.org/request-a-tree/
Free Buffer Bundle: The State of Maryland has bundles of saplings for homeowners who live along or near a waterway. It can even be a drainage ditch. https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/programs/Backyard-Buffer-Program.aspx
$25 Coupon: The Marylanders Plant Trees program started in 2009 to encourage citizens and organizations to partner with the State to plant new trees. Citizens can still take advantage of the coupon program to receive $25 off the purchase of a native tree at 86 participating nurseries across the State. Find a participating nursery and print your coupon at https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/MarylandersPlantTrees/Introduction.aspx
Free Saplings for Earth Month: Montgomery Parks’ Arboriculture division is hosting two free tree seedling giveaways. Attendees will receive a minimum of 2 tree seedlings, one flowering tree and one shade tree. More available upon request while supplies last. Two locations!
Seedling Giveaway at Black Hill Regional Park
Date: April 10, 2021, Time: 8 am-12 pm, rain or shine, in 15-minute time slots*
Location: Black Hill Regional Park, 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, Maryland 20841. This event will be setup in the Shelter J parking area. Follow the posted signs to the event. You must register for a drive-through pick-up time slot by reserving a timed ticket,
Register for a pick-up time: http://mocoparks.org/SeedlingsBlackHill
Seedling Giveaway at Olney Manor Recreational Park|
Date: April 17, 2021, Time: 8 am-12 pm, rain or shine, in 15-minute time slots*
Location: Olney Manor Recreational Park, 16601 Georgia Avenue, Olney, MD 20832. This event will be setup in the Field #1 parking lot area. Follow the posted signs to the event. You must register for a drive-through pick-up time slot by reserving a timed ticket.
Register for a pick-up time: http://mocoparks.org/SeedlingsOlney
In DC:
$100 Rebate: Casey's Trees in DC offers up to $100 rebate for each tree you plant in DC. https://caseytrees.org/resources/tree-rebate/
Free Trees: The DC government will plant a tree on your property for free in their River Smart Homes program. You can pick from a wide selection of native shade trees and smaller ornamental trees. https://caseytrees.org/plant/residential-planting/
Salt in Creek Reaches Toxic Levels
During the past two months, LFWA volunteers have periodically measured salt concentration levels downstream from the Massachusetts Avenue overpass as part of a national Winter Salt Watch program sponsored by the Izaak Walton League. On two occasions, February 3rd and February 14th, measured concentrations were near acute toxicity levels for biological life (i.e. macro-invertebrates), which the EPA cautions should not occur more than once during a 3-year period. A “fair” level that animals can tolerate is usually from about 90-150 ppm; anything over over 230 ppm means that the water is toxic at some level to animal and plant life. Over 860 is acute toxicity.
Learn more about our program HERE.
Where Does the Salt come from?
Have you ever wondered what happens to the salt that is spread on the sidewalks, driveways, and roads in our neighborhood during a winter storm? When it melts or is plowed off, the salt seeps into the groundwater or runs off into local streams and flows into the Potomac River. While salt helps to melt or prevent the formation of ice and keep these surfaces safe, too much salt, also called chloride-based deicers, damages pavements and inhibits biological life in our streams. Salt is not biodegradable, accumulates over time, and has long-term corrosive effects and environmental impacts.
In our winter sampling, you can see the effect of salting and winter storms. Both the >600 readings were taken after snow storms. The January 27 reading was done before the storm at a baseline reading. Download the results HERE.
How does this impact the creek?
Salt toxicity is likely to be one reason the Little Falls Branch is currently rated as having poor water quality. At the winter sampling of biological life by out stream monitoring team, not only did were there very few organism, we were also missing the diversity of organisms that are essential to the health of the creek. Results from our recent benthic macro-invertebrate sampling can be found here.
what can you do to prevent salt toxicity?
Salt keeps us safe, but too much salt is a problem. It comes down to spreading the right amount at the right time and sweeping up the excess after a storm.
On your property:
Montgomery County recommends homeowners:
Shovel right away - don’t rely on salt to melt the snow.
Use salt sparingly - More is not better. When applied properly, it doesn’t take much to get the desired results. 12 ounces (a coffee cup full) will do 10 sidewalk squares or a 20 foot driveway.
Sweep up excess after the storm and save it for another day. This saves you money and keeps the unused salt from dissolving and polluting our waterways.
On the streets and public sidewalks:
Sweeping up excess salt is imperative to good salt management. If you notice salt spills, report them by calling 311. The County or DC Government will send someone out to clean them up. If they don’t, let your elected officials know.
2020 Fall Monitoring Little Falls Branch
Stream Team Leader Frank Sanford sampling the Little Falls Branch, October 2020.
Site:
Site 45, Little Falls Branch
Date & Time:
10/09/2020 08:45 AM
Season:
3-FALL
Organisms Found
1 Broad-winged Damselflies - Calopterygidae
32 Small Minnow Mayfly - Baetidae Baetis
36 Common Netspinner Caddisfly - Hydropsychidae
9 Midges - Chironomidae
6 Aquatic Sowbug - Isopoda
5 Planarians/Flatworms - Dugesiidae
2 Aquatic Worm - Oligochaeta
1 Leech (flat) - Glossiphoniidae
Winter Stream Monitoring Finds Few Macro Organisms
January 11, 2021
LFWA’s Stream Monitoring team went out Saturday, January 9 for their winter monitoring. The weather was beautiful; the results discouraging. The protocol is to just count the first 100 benthic macro-invertebrates organism found. Unfortunately, they were not even able to find half that number.
Frank Sanford, team leader, reports from the field:
Yesterday’s monitoring was very discouraging. We didn’t find the required 100 organisms, only about 40
Here are totals:
Aquatic worms - 3
Aquatic sow bugs - 7
Chironomidae (midges) - 3
Black fly larvae - 3
Crane fly larva- 1
Common net spinners - 16 (caddisfly larvae)
Damselflies larvae - 5
Unfortunately, our creek is rated poor. Using the protocol set by our partner organization, Audubon Naturalist Society, the team searches for benthic macro-invertebrates - the small critters that live on the bottom of the creek or under rocks. These organism are largely the larva form of flying insects you see around waterways. The diversity and number of organisms found help us determine the health of the creek. The organisms are rated by pollution sensitivity and then assigned a score based on the types found. The protocol also mandates that we find at least 100 organisms as the number of organisms is also an indicator of the state of the stream.
Macro-invertebrates from 2021 winter monitoring. From the left: Aquatic worm, caddisfly larvae and sow bug. Photo by Kevin Misener
Damsel Fly larva from 2021 winter monitoring. Photo by Kevin Misener
Nesting Success of Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) in the Park
May 3, 2020: Nesting Adult Red-Shouldered Hawk in Little Falls Branch Stream Valley Park perched with a garter snake in her talons, photo by Terri Jacobsen.
Good news from Terri Jacobsen who has been documenting Red-shouldered Hawks in the Little Falls Branch Stream Valley Park this year. The successful fledging of six young Red-shouldered Hawks from two nests in LFBSVP in the summer of 2020, suggests that the Little Falls watershed offers high quality riparian forest habitat for this species and others that live and reproduce there. Terri’s report of the 2020 nesting season can be found at this link: https://flipbooker.com/user_files/html/8f2621e8-0228-49de-887d-c6d66f5045cd/index.html
Mow, Don't Rake: Leave the Leaves for a Better Environment!
Mow Your Leaves for a Better Environment!
Big piles of leaves by the curb, a certain sign of autumn and lots of fun for kids to jump in. What could be wrong with that? Not to be the Grinch Who Stole Leaf Pile Jumping, but everything. Leaf piles by the side of the road make their way to the creek where they decompose and cause nutrient bloom. Leaf piles left for pick-up mean no leaves around the base of your trees where they provide an organic blanket for the trees during the winter. Leaf piles in general mean you are wasting valuable nutrients for your lawn. If you leave the leaves, they will feed your lawn all winter long and in the spring, your grass will thank you.
So, this year, take a tip from Winterthur, the spectacular DuPont gardens in Delaware and mow your leaves right on the lawn.
Stream Team rates Little Falls Branch "Poor"
Stormwater Management for Sumner Village
In January 2019, LFWA was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Montgomery County Department of Environment Protection to tackle the stormwater run-off problem at Sumner Village, a condominium community in Bethesda. The green areas by tennis court two had little or no vegetation and turned to a sea of mud when it rained. In addition, the creek adjacent to the area were experiencing considerable erosion due to rain water run-off. The fence has been moved several times in the past years because the bank has collapsed.
Stormwater Management for Little Falls Parkway
UPDATE, July 2020: The project is complete!
Project Complete! The concrete has been removed and replaced with a vegetated infiltration swale planted with native grasses and wildflowers.
Before: The concrete storm ditch collected water from uphill properties and directed it to the Willett Branch, causing flooding and erosion of downstream creeks.
April, 2020: The concrete ditch along Little Falls Parkway at Dorset Avenue is getting a stormwater management upgrade. The concrete is being removed and replaced with a vegetated swale. This will allow the stormwater run-off to soak into the ground instead of filling the channel and flowing directly to the Willett and Little Falls creeks. The swale will be planted with native wild flowers and grasses which will bring much needed native plants to the area.
The project is being undertaken by Montgomery Parks. The start date was April 2020 and completion is expected by June 2020. Please contact Erin McArdle, PE with any questions regarding the project. Erin.McArdle@MontgomeryParks.org
