SPRING 2002

CWH Helps Purchase Farm on Blackwater River 290- acres Riverbend Farm will be restored for wildlife (Spring 2002)

The Journey of the Monarch- No other butterfly migrates as far as the monarch (Spring 2002)

CWH and Conective Partner for Wildlife Habitat diversity in powerline Rights of Way (Spring 2002)

Ask Andi- Wildflower Meadows What benefits to wildlife do these radside wildflower meadows have? (Spring 2002) 

If you Build It, They will Come (Spring 2002) Bluebird houses are great for birds, including House Sparrows, which is bad news!

Planning to Help Wildlife Survive Planned giving doesn't have to be taxing- and it helps CWH wildlife habitat projects (Spring 2002)

Book Recommendations for the Backyard Wildlife Enthusiast A short list of good reading! (Spring 2002) 

Toad Homes A quick, easy and inexpensive way to give toads shelter(Spring 2002)

CWH Helps Purchase Farm on Blackwater River(Spring 2002)

The Journey of the Monarch  (Spring 2002)
Andi Pupke

For the past two years, CWH’s Andi Pupke has been tagging migrating Monarchs along the
Chester River. We have been taking part in a large study headed by the University of Kansas’
Department of Entomology.

Why are we tagging these beautiful butterflies? We are trying to help clear up the mystery of how inexperienced Monarchs from all over the U.S. and parts of Canada end up in the same roosts in Mexico every year. In the process, we will hopefully help to preserve habitat along their migration route.

Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, Monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots in a warmer climate. Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains travel to small groves of trees along the California coast. Those east of the Rockies fly farther south to the forest high in the mountains of Mexico. The Monarch‘s migration is driven by seasonal changes, day length and temperature changes.

No other butterfly migrates as far as the Monarch of North America. Masses of Monarchs fly to the same winter roosts each year, some traveling up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterfly to make such a long, two-way migration. Their migration is more the type expected only from birds and whales, but unlike birds and whales, individual Monarchs can only make a two- way trip once, making it only partially “round trip.” It is the “grandchildren” of the Monarchs that left the East Coast in the fall, that return there the following spring.

In the late summer and early fall the last brood of Monarchs for that year, emerge from their
chrysalides. They are biologically and behaviorally different from those emerging during the
summer. Even though these butterflies look like summer adults, they won’t mate or lay eggs until the following spring. Instead, they prepare for a strenuous flight.

These late summer adults store fat in their abdomen, which is a critical element of their survival for the winter. This fat not only fuels their flight of up to 3,000 miles, but it must last them until the following spring when they begin their flight back north because they do not nectar while in Mexico. As they migrate northwards, Monarchs will stop to nectar and actually gain weight during the entire trip.

The first generation of Monarchs returning from Mexico, will stop along the Gulf Coast from
Texas to Florida, lay eggs and die. The eggs hatch, and the second generation Monarchs head for the Great Lakes region, lay eggs and die. Later, the third generation of Monarchs hatch and fly to the East Coast, where they breed and die.

Depending on the climate there may be many broods during the summer months. The butterflies produced during this time are only living a short period of time and are concerned only with eating and breeding.

Given the great numbers of Monarchs (up to 100 million) that gather to migrate each fall, it is
hard to imagine them facing any threat of extinction. In reality, however, Monarchs and their
annual migration are seriously threatened by human activities in both their summer and over-
wintering sites. The vast prairies that once were full of milkweed have been plowed under for
many decades. U.S. farmers and road crews use an estimated 620 million pounds of herbicides yearly to stifle the growth of these types of native plants.

In the U.S. Monarchs are facing direct habitat destruction caused by humans. New roads, housing developments, and agricultural expansion all transform the natural landscape in ways that make it impossible for Monarchs to live and reproduce there.

CWH has been working with private landowners since 1980 to restore and protect wildlife
habitat on private and public lands. Our wetland and meadow restorations are directly benefitting Monarchs and many of our other native wildlife.
 

Habitat Diversity in Power Line Rights of Way (Spring 2002)

Electric right-of-way (ROW) corridors are often looked upon as a necessary evil to supply the
energy needs of today. However, as agriculture has intensified and “old field” habitat has become increasingly rare, power line corridors have assumed tremendous importance as the ‘last refuges’ of suitable habitat for many rare plants in Maryland. Many of these species not only thrive in these ROWs but actually require perturbed and non-forested areas to survive. With over 600 miles of power line rights-of-way on the Delmarva Peninsula, some 6,600 acres of great wildlife habitat are right under our very nose.

Until only two decades ago, most of Delmarva's power lines were periodically mown to keep tall trees from growing into the electric lines and interrupting service to customers. Conectiv
discovered that mowing a ROW for maintenance purposes is both expensive and dangerous as well as very destructive to wildlife using the ROW. Mowing in the spring and early summer
destroys the nests of ground nesting birds like the Northern Bobwhite and kills mammals and
reptiles, like rabbits and box turtles.

Not only is mechanical cutting disruptive to wildlife, it also allows nature's power of regeneration to flourish. Within only two years a single Red maple stump can resprout more than 30 new trees from it’s established root system. These fast growing resprouts are often more dense than the previous stems, making it even harder to get rid of them as they out compete other plants for available growing space.

The judicious use of herbicides is another method used in ROWs to manage plant species and control the regrowth of established, yet unwanted, species. Through selective herbicide
treatments, unwanted vegetation is eliminated in favor of the preferred low growing plants. Once these low growing plants are established, less maintenance is needed because the shrubs and grasses slow down the growth of trees by competition.

Since 1983, Conectiv Power Delivery has gradually implemented an integrated vegetation
management (IVM) system, which included handcutting, mechanical control, herbicide
treatment, cultural methods, and biological control. These methods have not only produced a
significant cost savings to the company, but have also created thousands of acres of potential
wildlife habitat along ROWs in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

Recognizing the unique habitat of these ROW areas, Conectiv and CWH have partnered for over 10 years to carry out several ROW succession studies throughout the Eastern Shore to determine the effects of clearing and maintenance methods on plants and wildlife. Some of these study areas include ROWs through the Delaware Nature Society sanctuary at Abbott’s Mill in DE and along St. Michael’s Road in Talbot County. Most recently, Conectiv and CWH are conducting several long and short term studies of plant succession in and near the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

For years, the NJ Pinelands Commission has had a “no herbicide” rule in controlling plants in
ROWs and have been using mowing and cutting methods instead. In partnership with Conectiv, CWH’s Agricultural Wildlife Ecologist, Robin Haggie, is comparing several herbicide treated ROWs adjacent to the Pinelands, with mechanically cut ones within the Pine Barrens.

Data from this study will show what plant and wildlife diversity appears and becomes established after herbicide treatment versus what species are found in the ROW within the Pinelands that are mechanically cut. The data will also show that a well planned and carefully thought out management plan can have great applicability in utility ROW management keeping wildlife and their habitat in mind as a foremost utility objective.

After Johnstone, R.A. and Michael R. Haggie 2001.
 

If you Build It, They Will Come (Spring 2002)
A story based on actual events conveyed to us by a CWH member and bluebird box landlord.
Susanna Engvall

Spring is upon us and nesting season will begin soon. Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens and Tree Swallows among many others are scouting out the perfect site to rear their young.

A pair of bluebirds begins their quest for a suitable nesting site. The beautiful bright blue male
spots a nice looking site in your backyard. It has a roof, it is sturdy and it even comes with a cone shaped predator guard to keep out the unsavory (snakes and raccoons in this case). A perfect site. The female begins the tedious task of building a nest from the fine grass and weed stalks found nearby. Five days later, the nest is soft enough, big enough and just right. It is time to lay the eggs. A long fourteen days is to follow while the mother and father eagerly await the arrival of their young.

Flitting around outside the box are two other birds. One has a striking black “bib” on his throat
and chest and the other, a nondescript female with brown to light brown coloring. They too have begun their quest for a suitable nesting site. Down below the male sees a perfect site. It has a roof, it is sturdy and it even comes with a cone shaped predator guard. The couple who live in the lot next to it even look like nice people who may even feed them. And what is even better about this box? Most of the work is already done. It comes WITH a nest.

The new pair of birds (we’ll call them House and Sparrow) begin restoration efforts on the
existing nest. More cushioning is needed due to the five pale blue, egg-shaped bumps in the
hollow of the nest. House and Sparrow collect whatever they can find to place on top of these
five annoying bumps. They find hair, plastic bag pieces, twisty ties, string and other
miscellaneous trash to fill the box to the brim so they can begin their family. They lay their eggs. Twelve days later, the eggs hatch, leaving five little babies that look much like them and the family lives happily ever after (including having about three-five more broods that same season). By the end of this one nesting season, House and Sparrow have a flock of 15-25 birds... just from that one perfect house!

What happened to the bluebirds that found the perfect nesting site? Nothing. The five annoying bumps just sat and sat, until they turned rotten and began to smell. One of the bumps started to hatch with a beautiful baby bluebird, but never did because the bluebird mother didn’t have a chance to properly attend to the eggs because House and Sparrow’s nest was on top of them.

Sad isn’t it? Hopefully the nice people in the lot next to the perfect box learned something from this tragic story. They learned that peeking in on their neighbors throughout nesting season is not only a nice thing to do, but it can assure them that nothing terrible has happened to their new bright blue neighbors. They also learned that just because they built this perfect house with a roof and a predator guard, and called it a “Bluebird Box” does not mean that bluebirds will be the only birds that think it is perfect. Ignoring the inhabitants who take up residence in the box, may lead to unwanted characters (House Sparrows) using the house instead.

The House Sparrow, unlike our native sparrows, is actually a weaver finch introduced from
Europe in the mid-1800s. House Sparrows will work relentlessly to destroy other birds’ eggs and young, and sometimes even the adults too, in an effort to compete for both nesting space and food. Frequently, they are successful in out-competing native birds. There are estimates that there are twice as many sparrows across the country as all other native songbirds combined–a sad thought considering they aren’t even native to North America.

There are many ways bluebird box landlords can control House Sparrows. The single one that
works best? Monitor, monitor, monitor. By making sure House Sparrows do not even begin
laying eggs in the box, you can save yourself the trouble of “eradicating” the sparrows later. If
you find the beginnings of a House Sparrow nest in your box, get rid of it before any eggs are
laid! It is easier to keep the “unwanted characters” out in the first place, rather than having to
figure out a way to get rid of them once they have taken over.

To see pictures of wanted and unwanted nests to watch for in your boxes visit the CWH website at http://www.cheswildlife.org and click on “Habitat Services” and "nesting structures" For more articles about these pesky birds, visit http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/ban/ hsbyse.htm or http://members.tripod.com/~herper/nothingbuttrouble.html
 

ASK ANDI : Wildflower Meadows (Spring 2002)
     Q:   The Wildflower meadows along the roadside and in the medians are gorgeous in the
spring. I am thinking of putting a small meadow in my yard. What benefits to wildlife do these meadows have and what type of seed should I used?
 

     R:   The wildflower meadows along the roadsides are typically established using non-native
mixes of wildflowers as well as a good deal of chemical. The blooms are so plentiful and pretty, because those meadows are often replanted each year, which requires a lot of time and money. The seed alone can cost as much as $500 per acre.

As far as wildlife is concerned, a meadow with just wildflowers (like the roadside     meadow) does not provide as much habitat as it could if it has native warm season grasses included. These grasses will produce more seed and come back year after year. The quantity of wildflower blooms, however, will decrease each year and will have to be over seeded every 2-3 years to maintain maximum bloom.

A warm season grass and wildflower meadow offers assorted birds and small mammals
cover and seed during the fall & winter. It also attracts beneficial insects to pollinate
flowers and feed young broods of ground nesting birds during the growing season. Of
course, a meadow is almost always better for wildlife than a well manicured lawn.

If you decide to create a wildflower meadow, it is best to use wildflowers native to our area. The seed you use should come from a licensed and reputable seed provider, not from a discount retail store. Many times the wildflower seed mixes from discount stores have a poor species mix, and are poor in quality despite how nice the picture of the meadow looks on the box. A certified seed provider should be able to tell you the seed’s purity and germination rate as well as the source of the seed.

The success in planting and maintaining a wildflower meadow is mostly in the establishment stage. It can take up to a full year to prepare the site correctly. If your yard is currently in fescue, the area to be planted should be sprayed with Round-up in the early spring and left alone throughout the summer. When the fescue begins to grow again near the end of the summer, it should be sprayed again. Do not turn over the soil, as it will only expose weed seeds to the sun, causing them to germinate. Plant your meadow with a no-till drill in late fall or early winter depending on the weather.

CWH includes wildflowers in our large-scale warm season grass meadows, however, we do not plant strictly wildflower meadows since they do not benefit wildlife as much as warm season grass meadows. Good Luck!
 

Help Wildlife Survive (Spring 2002)

A planned gift to CWH can lower estate taxes for your family, support wildlife and the Bay, and, depending on the type of gift, provide some income for a beneficiary. Planned gifts should
always be reviewed by your financial advisor or estate planning lawyer, especially in light of
recent tax law changes.

It is important to remember that the recent repeal of the estate tax only applies to one year (2010). Over the next decade estate tax exemptions will rise from the current $1,000,000 exemption to $3,500,000 in 2009. Unless Congress acts, the estate tax will reappear in 2011 with a $1,000,000 exemption. In addition, heirs may face increased capital gains taxes on highly appreciated assets they inherit from your estate beginning in 2010.

The most basic type of a planned gift is a bequest. Bequests can lower estate tax burdens and allow you to determine where your money will go rather than the federal government. Including CWH in your will is as simple as adding a codicil that names “Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, Inc.” as a beneficiary.

Additional planned gifts can include life insurance policies and Charitable Remainder Trusts.
New policies can be purchased or old policies transferred to make CWH the recipient of the
death benefits. Certain tax deductions are permitted for gifts of life insurance. Charitable
Remainder Trusts are a popular device for individuals to give a significant gift to a charity,
receive some tax breaks and provide income for a family member but can very complicated.

Please call our Director of Development, Christopher B. Pupke, if you have any questions or
would like to make a planned gift to CWH.
 

Book recommendations for the Backyard Wildlife enthusiast (Spring 2002)

     •    Peterson Field Guides, Birds’ Nest by Hal Harrison
     •    Butterflies of Delmarva by Elton Woodbury
     •    Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb
     •    Peterson Field Guides, Eastern Birds by Roger Tory Peterson
     •    The Birder’s Handbook : A field guide to natural History of North American Birds
     by Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye
     •    Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America by
     Sidney W. Dunkle
     •    Chesapeake Bay: A Field Guide by Christopher P. White

Toad Homes (Spring 2002)
Here is a simple way to make a safe resting spot for toads.
     •    Get a medium-size clay pot and saucer from a garden center, or use a broken pot you
     already have.
     •    Fill the saucer with water and place it in a shady spot next to your house or in your yard.
     •    Nearby, place the pot upside-down with one edge resting on the rock, leaving room for a toad to fit through and hide inside. (A broken pot with a chunk missing at the rim gives the toad home an instant doorway–no need to prop it up.)
     •    Watch for night visitors.

CWH Helps Purchase Farm on Blackwater River(Spring 2002)

Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage and the Biophilia Foundation recently purchased the 290-acre
Riverbend Farm in Cambridge, Maryland to restore and protect wildlife habitat. This beautiful
farm has one mile of waterfront on the Blackwater River and is located less than a quarter of a
mile away from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The farm currently has 160 acres of
agricultural land, 60 acres of woodlands and 70 acres of tidal wetlands.

Purchased for the purpose of restoring and protecting habitat for wildlife, CWH's initial
management plan calls for the restoration of approximately 80 acres of nontidal wetlands, the
establishment of about 40 acres of wooded buffers, and the creation of 20 acres of warm season grass meadows.

When the restorations are completed, the property will be placed in a conservation easement that will permanently protect both the restored and currently existing habitat from development, logging, and conversion to agriculture. Twenty to forty acres will remain in agriculture and future owners will be restricted to two house sites on the property.

The Riverbend Farm project is a terrific example of how CWH's Chesapeake Care Habitat
Restoration Program and Landowner Services Program work with landowners to restore and
protect wildlife habitat. Our Chesapeake Care Program designs and builds wildlife habitat while the Landowner Services Program works with landowners to permanently protect wildlife habitat. The program also helps identify conservation acquisition properties and recruits conservation investors to help restore and protect these properties.

CWH's Landowner Services Manager, Richard Pritzlaff, coordinated the acquisition. Pritzlaff
commented, "This project will once again demonstrate that landowners can manage their
property for wildlife and water quality, maintain their farm income, and have a return on their
investment.”

The restored wetland at Riverbend will benefit a wide diversity of wildlife and help improve
water quality in the Blackwater River. Researchers at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center found that within five years of restoration, a CWH wetland can provide favorable habitat
for more than 60 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects, and over 100
species of plants. In partnership with CWH, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has documented that our restored wetlands filter up to 70% of the agricultural water pollutants
(fertilizer runoff) that would otherwise reach the Bay.

Similarly, the woodland buffer and protection of the existing forest will benefit wildlife in and
out of the river. These benefits will be especially important for the population of Delmarva Fox
Squirrels currently inhabiting the property. The easement, which will protect the Riverbend
woodland from logging, will greatly benefits this endangered fox squirrel as the species relies
primarily on old growth forests for habitat.

CWH wildlife ecologist Ned Gerber noted, "If we want our future generations to enjoy wildlife
experiences, we must ensure that our wildlife have habitat. CWH is dedicated to working with
landowners who want to help pass our wildlife heritage on to future generations."

The Riverbend project also helps realize numerous goals of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.
This agreement provides the framework in which Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the District
of Columbia and the federal government will work to help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The goals include restoring and protecting wetlands and woodlands, and permanently protecting 20% of the land in the watershed.

The preamble of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement states: "...we recognize the importance of
viewing this document in its entirety with no single part taken in isolation of the others." We
believe the Riverbend Farm project will be an excellent example of this statement.

FALL 2002

And They’re Off-The Fall Migration Miracle (Fall 2002)

The CREP Controversy-Ned Gerber  An editorial on the CREP Controversy (Fall 2002)

Do we just know the price of everything and the value of nothing? Pesticides and how much we don't know (Fall 2002)

CWH Welcomes Our Newest Board Member Laura Hoffman joins CWH Board of Directors (Fall 2002)

Ask Andi- MUSKRATS The habits of Muskrats (Fall 2002)

CWH Receives a Generous Legacy A Friend of CWH leaves a legacy for the Bay and it's wildlife (Fall 2002)

Bats- The Astonishing Facts Tidbits of information on these amazing creatures of the night (Fall 2002)

CWH bids fond farewell to 2 field staff Two CWH employees depart for Graduate school (Fall 2002)

A Will for Wildlife  A great way to protect wildlife (Fall 2002)

Woodworking for Woodies   Volunteers build boxes for Wood Ducks at the National Aquarium (Fall 2002)

And They’re Off-
The Fall Migration Miracle (Fall 2002)

The arrival of birds and other wildlife in the spring and their sudden disappearance at the end of summer is one of the great mysteries, yet most familiar, of bird life. When thinking of animal migration, most humans envision great herds of Antelope and Wildebeest thundering across the African Savannah following the life giving rains. Another image of animal migration may be kettles of several thousand hawks spiraling upward with the rising thermals on a voyage thousands of miles south toward warmer climates. Impressive as these images may seem, there are other large scale migrations in nature that are no less spectacular or important.

Seasonal migration enables wildlife to avoid the physiological stresses of unfavorable climates
and it allows them to exploit food supplies that are available for limited periods each year. If a
food supply diminishes in a region, birds move to find a better source of food. For numerous bird species to prepare for their migratory trip, they must consume an enormous amount of food so they “don’t run out of gas” along the long trip. Many small birds may even double their body weight before migration while larger birds, such as the Canada Goose will gain proportionally less than this. (If a Canada Goose did somehow gain the same percentage of body weight as a warbler, the poor goose would not be able to take off, much less fly!)

Birds will also usually wait until the most favorable weather conditions then set off on their
journey. A strong wind in the right direction will speed the birds on their way. If there are strong headwinds, the birds' speed will be greatly reduced, therefore it will need more fat reserves to travel the same distance. If these weary birds are over land, they will drop down and land, find food and rest before continuing.

One bird, the Arctic Tern, flies an amazing round trip that can be as long as 18,000 miles per
year, flying from the Alaskan Arctic south to the Antarctic and then back. This tern probably sees more daylight than any other animal on earth. The Barn Swallow, native to the Chesapeake region travels more than 6,000 miles. The Blackpoll Warbler flies for 3 ½ days without stopping. Imagine running for 84 hours without stopping for food or drink.

Many people are unaware of the thousands of birds that may pass in the skies near them. Part of the reason may be that many birds travel at night. Those birds that do not fly non-stop, will usually land in the very early morning hours, find a safe place to rest and will be able to find food during the daylight hours. Night migrators include vireos, various waterfowl, sparrows, cuckoos, warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers. Those who prefer a daytime trip include hawks, eagles, pelicans, storks, swifts, swallows, shrikes and some finches.

Birds are not the only fall migrants in the Chesapeake region. Various organisms take advantage of the Bay’s nutrients and temporary bounty during specific months of the year. One can find more than 265 fish species utilizing the estuary for food and reproduction in the summer, while only 29 resident species (and a few visitors) endure the winter months. Anadromous fish (those that migrate) are moving to find warmer water and more food sources since the greatly fluctuating temperatures of the Bay’s shallow waters do not provide suitable climate for many organisms to survive the winter.

Insects of North America have been a recognized phenomenon for centuries and they too have
provided some exciting insights to the mysteries of migrating behavior. Migrating insects can
provide researchers with a living biological barometer that can provide clues as to the state of the environment over it's entire migrating range.

Perhaps the best known and most studied insect migrant is the Monarch butterfly. This large
familiar orange butterfly spends the summer months on the North American continent taking
advantage of the abundance of food and other resources. As the seasons begin to change in the late summer and early fall, the Monarchs flood by the millions into a small area of remote
mountain tops in central Mexico where the conditions are optimal for surviving the winter
months.

Our only migratory dragonflies are some species of Darners and Skimmers that breed in still
water. Most massive Fall migrations are seen following cold fronts between late July and
October and peaking in September along lakeshores and coasts. No North American dragonfly species routinely hibernate as adults, though in the larval form, known as a “nymph,” they can survive the winter buried in the mud of still waters. Northward migrations in the spring, usually behind warm fronts from late March to June are far less noticeable than their fall migrations.

With the development of land and destruction of birds' natural habitat, there are fewer and fewer places for these migratory birds to stop on their way. The habitat that CWH creates, restores and protects helps thousands of these migrating songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds and insects each year by providing the much needed habitat such as shallow wetlands and warm season grass meadows which provide food sources.

What can we do during migration?
     •    Be sure to keep your feeders full for the hungry and weary traveling birds.
     •    Clean your feeders with a 10 to1 solution of bleach and water once a week to prevent the spread of disease.
     •    Plant native bushes and trees for cover and food.
     •    Cut down on night time lights especially in high rise buildings- Check out the Fatal Light Awareness Program website about migratory birds in urban areas at http://www.flap.org.
 

The CREP Controversy (Fall 2002)
Ned Gerber

Maryland's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) continues to be popular with landowners who want to improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and the bottom line of their farms. Unfortunately, the best environmental restoration program ever put in place in Maryland has run into severe criticism by some in the agricultural community including the Maryland Farm Bureau.

At this time approximately 50,000 acres of tillable land have been enrolled as grassy or wooded buffers, meadows, or wetlands. This figure represents about 2.4% of Maryland's farmed acreage. CWH remains optimistic that the original goal of 100,000 acres (4.8% of MD's farmland) can be achieved over the next five years. We also believe that more than 4% of the tilled acreage in some watersheds (some of which are 60-70% farmland) will need to be restored to some type of wildlife habitat if we are ever to significantly clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

The controversy surrounding CREP seems simple at first. Farmers are concerned that they are losing the acres that they used to rent from a landowner to a government conservation program that does not benefit them financially, and pays the landowner more per acre than they can. Many farmers in Maryland rent most of the land they till, so the payment received for enrolling the land as CREP goes to the landowner and the farmer receives nothing. CREP does allow for sharing rental payments with the farmer, however, most landowners choose not to share payments directly with their farmer. CWH encourages landowners to consider sharing the rental payments with the farmer when enrolling in CREP.

There are a couple major facts that opponents of CREP should keep in mind. First, much of the land taken out of production is marginal in nature because it is shaded, wet, steeply sloped, etc. and not the most profitable to till. It costs as much to farm one marginal acre as it does one on prime agricultural soils. The marginal lands are the most risky to farm profitability-wise and they might not be tilled at all were it not for crop production subsidies that use tax dollars to keep grain production profitable for farmers. Approximately 50% of the profits in grain production come from government payments. If a tenant farmer can show on his tax return that his average farm income decreased significantly as a result of CREP, then the government should find a way to ease the financial burden on him.

 One also must understand that the agencies (Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Maryland Department of Agriculture) that deliver these CREP programs to the public are very crop production oriented. There are many people managing the CREP program that are openly hostile to the idea of retiring cropland into wildlife habitat. They are advised by committees of local farmers who are often opposed to CREP as well. CWH believes that the committee structure needs to be substantially changed so that conservationists and landowners, not just farmers, are well represented on these local boards. We need to make sure that groups with weak environmental policies like the Farm Bureau do not control state and federal government conservation programs. The Farm Bureau's problems with CREP are remarkable as they usually strongly support private property rights, but that appears only to be true if the landowner chooses farming over habitat restoration. The group recently even opposed an effort to have every Eastern Shore county promise to conserve most of its farmland.

A related part of the controversy is that the Farm Service Agency is now enforcing a rule requiring that landowners get the tenant farmer to sign the CREP contract or the landowner may not enroll. The rule also states that one may not dismiss a tenant farmer over a CREP disagreement. We believe that this is grossly unfair as it violates landowner property rights by denying him access to a government program. We think the idea of allowing a tenant farmer with a one year contract to control a landowner's ability to enroll his/her property in a 10-15 year conservation program is a power grab that is sure to backfire on the agricultural community by creating lawsuits and poor public perception of tenant farmers.

Ever since the CRP program started in 1986, farmers have been complaining about weeds in CRP ground and now that complaint has shifted to CREP ground. CWH works very hard to control noxious weeds in these areas on farms we operate or manage. There is no doubt that some landowners are not doing a good job of controlling noxious weeds on CREP lands but that should not be used as an excuse to limit the program enrollments. Part of the problem is that the noxious weeds were already present on site as a result of the prior agricultural operation and are quick to grow when the normal herbicide regime of today's farming is absent.

Courtesy of modern herbicides, the average person (and even the farmer) has grown used to completely weed free fields and has trouble dealing with the "messy" look of CREP wetlands, tree plantings, meadows and buffer strips. What they fail to realize is the fact that many wildlife species thrive on the food and cover that weeds like ragweed, goldenrod, pigweed, fall panicum, and others provide. Weed diversity also provides habitat for insect populations that are critical to the survival of broods of many bird species like Bobwhite quail.

The CREP debate needs to be put in the context of the latest Farm Bill. This "piece of work" authorizes spending four dollars ($141 billion) on crop subsidies (paying farmers a bonus to grow crops the markets don't need) for every one dollar it spends on conservation programs ($38 billion). If the government is going to spend tax dollars subsidizing farmers because their markets are glutted causing prices to be too low, doesn't it make sense to use the funds to idle lands so that the crop supply is lowered to the point that prices go up? 36.4 million acres are already idled yet grain prices are still so low that farmers need subsidies. We think it is fine to subsidize farmers to increase the wildlife habitat that farms can supply and keep the land out of the hands of developers. It just doesn't make sense to pay subsidies to grow grain we don't need at the expense of the Chesapeake Bay and its wildlife resources.

Cash grain farmers need relatively large acreage for profitable farming and competition for land is becoming intense in Maryland due primarily to uncontrolled human population growth. The demand for housing land will continue to increase and this will exacerbate the competition between farmers and wildlifers. Ultimately both sides will continue to lose if unchecked development patterns continue.

 The Chesapeake Bay is recognized as a national treasure due to its natural resource values, not because of its cash grain production. While we would all like to see some form of environmentally sustainable agriculture continue in Maryland, it cannot come at the expense of restoration programs which the fate of the Bay depends on. We strongly suggest the farm community cease bashing the CREP program and start becoming much more active in fighting to limit population growth and residential development.
 

Do we just know the price of everything and the value of nothing? (Fall 2002)
Robin Haggie

The word element -cide is derived from the Latin, caedere, meaning “to kill.” In agriculture,
pesticides are chemical “crop protection” agents. They include insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides, molluscicides and acaricides. Over the years, our knowledge of these chemicals in the environment has progressed. When applied carefully, some of these materials have been a boon with regard to food quantity and availability around the world, but due to politics, greed, ignorance, overapplication and misuse, many of these chemicals have pervaded and disrupted our environment to the point where serious ecosystem perturbations have occurred. The USFWS reported in the mid-nineties that the Northern Bobwhite quail population “was going down the tubes” because most row-crop farms are ecological deserts since they have been over sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, killing the insects and weedy vegetation that the Bobwhite depends on to survive.

Of the 13 different classes of insecticides, it can be confusing to decide which is best for the
environment versus which will help the crop the most. Some insecticides are prone to
bioaccumulation in the food web (thus getting banned in the US, like DDT) but others are more directly toxic than those. Some cause disease in certain insects to control their spread (like in BT corn), but may at the same time lead to insect resistance. Others disrupt the production of chitin in insects causing them to remain in their larval stage (like in controlling Gypsy Moths), but they also disrupt the molting process of the larval stage of the Blue crab.

Since agrochemicals are tested by the EPA separately, FDA drug interaction tests are limited, and our knowledge of the environmental effects of many industrial chemicals is scant, it is no wonder that interactions, synergistic effects, effects on wildlife and disruptions within our own bodies have, and are, occurring. Ultimately these products will end up in the landfill or down the drain into our water courses, some contributing to what are now termed HAAs or hormonally active agents.

Hormonally Active Agents (HAAs) have been the focus of a four-year study authorized by
Congress in 1998. HAAs are chemical compounds that are in industrial and agricultural usage or are by-products of chemical manufacturing. They are known to adversely affect reproduction and fetal development in humans, wildlife and laboratory animals. Of particular concern to wildlife biologists are the results from the National Academy of Sciences study linking the pesticides malathion and atrazine to increased parasitic infections in amphibians. A Pennsylvania State University study also links HAAs, in agricultural pesticides, to frog “thalidomide-like” deformities from ponds in PA. This study has major implications to the precipitous decline in frog populations world-wide. A lead researcher of a study concluding that atrazine, the most popular herbicide in the U.S., causes a wide range of sexual abnormalities in frogs is quoted in the New York Times as saying, "I'm not saying it's safe for humans. I'm not saying it's unsafe for humans. All I'm saying is it that it makes hermaphrodites of frogs."

In our neighboring state of VA in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, 6.5 million pounds of pesticides were
used annually on 9 million acres of farmland, while over 1 billion pounds were used annually in
the U.S. - big business. This output, when considered on a global scale, begs the question, “How real is the health hazard?” Put simply, in order to control a pest, the higher up in the animal kingdom you go, the more toxic the material to be used. At the cost of what? Our health?

So, how does CWH limit pesticide use on its land? On our farms we use no insecticides, period, relying on crop rotations, tillage and resistant crop varieties for control. However, we are looking further into the larger scale use of certain organic and microbial materials like milky-spore powder, BT and a predatory nematode suspension. We also use very limited residual herbicides. These self-imposed “limitations” have their own unique set of challenges and problems, particularly as our own farming system is set within a conventional agrobusiness regional base. Our mission is to work on and develop environmentally sound farming methods, with minimal agrochemical use, that can be readily adopted by the agricultural community at large. This does not necessarily mean organic.

One final statement from Pesticides and Wildlife published by the VA Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries: “The landowner or farmer who treats a weedy fenceline or hedgerow with herbicides does much more than just “clean up” the farm. Picture what else he does, completely unintentionally: kills the trumpet vine that hummingbirds used, and the honeysuckle that the deer and quail fed on; kills the sunflower and thistle that would have provided winter food for goldfinches; kills the clover that deer, turkeys, rabbits and quail were using; removes the cover that protected field sparrows, cardinals, white-footed mice, rabbits and quail from predation and winter winds; kills the pokeweed that the mourning doves loved to eat; destroys nest sites for kingbirds, vireos and cottontails.....”
 

CWH Welcomes Our Newest Board Member (Fall 2002)
CWH is pleased to welcome Laura H. Hoffman to CWH’s Board of Directors. Laura comes to
CWH with a strong background and interest in the Chesapeake Bay. She serves on the Advisory Board of the National Zoo in Washington , DC. and has been a volunteer docent at the Zoo’s Reptile House for ten years. With a masters Degree in Education she taught science for 6 years. Laura also serves as the Vice President of the M.A. Healy Family Foundation.

“I am delighted to serve on CWH’s Board and to help the organization restore and protect habitat for wildlife and to help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, “ she said.

Laura has been instrumental in the habitat restoration project at her family’s Canterbury Farm
outside of Easton which was highlighted in our Fall 2001 newsletter. With her help, CWH has
completed a 100 acre wetland restoration on the farm.

“We are excited that Laura has joined our Board, “ said CWH President Larry Albright. “Her
experience at Canterbury Farm, knowledge of wildlife and commitment to the Bay will help us in our work to improve the plight of wildlife throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
 

Ask Andi- MUSKRATS (Fall 2002)
Q: I have Muskrats that come up on my lawn in the evening from the marsh. Do they carry
diseases like rats?

R: Muskrats are actually quite innocuous. The Muskrat (Ondatra zibethica) is native to North
America while its distant cousin, the Norway Rat, is an immigrant from Europe. The beaver is
another distant cousin. Muskrats are related to voles, also know as meadow mice. The glossy
coat of Muskrats is used in the fur trade.

The name Muskrat came from the Algonquian term musquash. The muskrat has a long, naked and rounded tail like the Norway rat and can give off a musky scent, hence the name Muskrat.

An adult muskrat can grow from a foot and a half to a little over two feet long from its rounded
nose to the tip of its scaly, hairless tail, with much of its length being made up in its tail. Adults only weigh two to four pounds. The muskrat looks similar to a small beaver but its tail is long, slender and flattened from side to side, while the beaver’s hairless tail is rounded but shorter, very wide and flattened top to bottom.

Muskrats spend much of their time in the water and eat a wide variety of foods, including fresh
water mussels, frogs, crayfish and other aquatic critters. Their main diet, however, is plant
material such as cattails, water lilies, duckweed and a diversity of other wetland plants. They can be found anywhere from large lakes to drainage ditches.

Muskrats normally live in long burrows, but they can also build homes of reeds and mud in the
marsh when there are no convenient banks for burrowing. Their burrows and escape tunnels
often cause damage to dikes holding back water, making them an unwelcome neighbor to some. However, they do not damage grain crops (like the common rat) nor do they commonly carry diseases that affect humans.

Muskrats are an important component of wetlands. Where they are abundant, they consume
enormous amounts of aquatic vegetation, particularly emergent species such as cattails. If the cattails were not eaten by Muskrats many of the open water spaces in the wetlands used by ducks, geese and other wildlife, would not exist. The open water created by Muskrats also allow for a variety of submerged plants to grow, further contributing to the diversity of species in wetlands.
 

CWH Receives a Generous Legacy (Fall 2002)

CWH recently received a very generous gift of $20,000 from the estate of Mrs. Julia Bruce
Dobbin. Mrs. Dobbin was a long time member of CWH, supporting our efforts to restore and
protect wildlife habitat.

At her Spring Cove Farm near Centreville, she had numerous CWH nesting structures for Osprey and Bluebirds installed . She and her husband Tilton placed their farm in a protective
conservation easement in the 1970s.

“We are very grateful for Mrs. Dobbin’s generosity,” said CWH’s Director Ned Gerber. “By
making this type of gift, she will help ensure that future generations will enjoy wildlife around
the Chesapeake Bay.”

CWH would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Dobbin and the entire Dobbin family and
express our sympathy for their loss.
 

Bats- The Astonishing Facts (Fall 2002)
Bats have lived in America since the age of dinosaurs, yet today they rank among our most
endangered wildlife. The most significant threats to bat survival are persecution by humans and loss of habitat. Vandalism and disturbance of roosting caves, loss of tree snags, and careless use of pesticides all seriously threaten remaining populations. Despite their many values, more than half of American bat species are now endangered or in rapid decline.

Between 60% and 70% of all bats are insectivores. Like birds, bats consume enormous quantities of insects, keeping the quantity of insects in check. Almost any insect that is active at night can be food for a bat, including moths, beetles, flies, crickets, gnats, mayflies, wasps, and mosquitoes. There are other bats that eat a wide variety of food including scorpions, fish, fruit, pollen, spiders, arthropods, nectar, small mammals, and non-flying insects.

Despite the popular belief that bats spread the disease Rabies, less than one-half of one percent of bats do, and these typically bite only in self defense. Bats pose little threat if people use common sense and do not handle or aggravate a bat. If you take into consideration that people have a much higher chance of getting attacked by a dog, falling down a flight of stairs, or being struck by lightning and dying than dying of a bite from a rabid bat, you can see that rabies is rare.

There are 10 species of bats that can be found in Maryland. Interesting facts about them include:
•    One Little brown bat can catch 1,200 bugs in an hour, often two in a single second. A
nursing mother eats more than her own body weight nightly--up to 4,500 insects, including pests such as mosquitoes.
•    Just 150 Big brown bats can eat enough cucumber beetles each summer to protect farmers from 33 million of these beetles’ rootworm larvae, pests that cost farmers close to a
billion dollars annually
•    A hibernating Little brown bat can reduce its heart rate to just 20 beats per minute and
can stop breathing for 48 minutes at a time. Many survive cold climates by hibernating for more than seven months each winter.
•    A Red bat that eats even 100 moths may prevent egg-laying that would produce 25,000
new caterpillars that could attack farmers’ crops.
•    Many garden pests can hear bats from over 100 feet away and will avoid areas where bats
are present. Researchers have shown that by playing even fake bat sounds over test plots
of corn, they can scare corn earworm moths away, reducing damage from their larva by
50%.
•    Bats survive the highest and lowest temperatures of any American mammal. Red bats can
     hibernate at 230 F. and Little brown bats can rear young at 1220 F

North America is home to 45 species of bats. Here are some facts about them:
•    Long-nosed bats are the primary pollinators of numerous desert plants, including saguaro
     and organ pipe cacti, and the agaves from which tequila is made. They also disperse the
     seeds.

•    Far from being blind, the California leaf-nosed bat can find small insects on all but the
     darkest nights using vision alone.

•    The Western pipistrelle has an eight-inch wingspan but weighs less than a nickel. It is one
     of America’s smallest mammals.

•    Townsend’s big-eared bat can maneuver like helicopters to pluck insects from foliage or
     to drink from tiny pools. In contrast, Mexican free-tailed bats are built like jets and
     require large open spaces to maneuver and fly up to 10,000 feet high.

•    Pallid bats often detect insects by listening for their footsteps. They can respond
     accurately from up to 16 feet away to a sound lasting only 1/4,000th of a second.

•    Pound for pound, a mother Mexican free-tailed bat produces more than five times as
     much milk as an average Holstein cow.

Bat boxes are a commonly seen structure placed in appropriate habitat to attract bats. CWH has found that bat boxes work best in “exclusion cases.” This means, if you have bats in your house and you’d rather not, a bat box placed on the side of your house may provide a good alternative for the bats and can be moved into the bat box by a licensed professional. Exclusions must be timed carefully so the young is not separated from the mother. CWH is no longer installing bat boxes unless it is an exclusion case, since there has been little if any success with Bat boxes in the area.
 

CWH bids fond farewell to 2 field staff (Fall 2002)

They are 2 of the people who help CWH accomplish the work on the ground for wildlife. You
may have seen them spraying Phragmites, mowing fire breaks, planting trees, creating warm
season grasses meadows or installing bluebird boxes. CWH Habitat Technicians, George
(Geordie) Newman and Austin Jamison, will be leaving this Fall to pursue graduate school and
more. Ned Gerber said, “These guys brought a great deal of dedication to tasks that are vital to effective habitat restoration but often difficult and thankless.”

Geordie has been with CWH since the spring of 1996 working diligently to restore wildlife
habitat on the Eastern Shore. He has been key in getting many of our restoration projects
completed. Geordie is leaving to complete his masters in Environmental Policy at Johns Hopkins University.

Austin has been with the Heritage for two years working on many different projects ranging from wetland restoration to wetland botany inventory. Austin is leaving us to begin his masters
program in Soil Science at the University of Vermont, concentrating in nitrogen movement
through soils in Riparian Areas.

The board and staff of CWH would like to wish Geordie & Austin the very best of luck and
extend a huge THANK YOU for all of your humor and hard work.
 

A Will for Wildlife (Fall 2002)
Making a gift to CWH in your will is an excellent way to support wildlife and the Bay. Bequests allow you to determine where your money will go rather than letting the federal government decide AND can help reduce estate taxes. Including Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage in your will or estate plan will help restore, protect and create habitat in the Chesapeake Bay region for wildlife generations to come. It is as easy as adding one of the following codicil:

“I give and bequeath _______ Dollars($____) to Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, Inc. PO Box
1745, Easton, Maryland.
-or-
“I give and bequeath _______ % of my estate to Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, Inc. PO Box
1745, Easton, Maryland.

If you have already named CWH in your will or to receive more information about
planned giving, please call our Director of Development, Christopher Pupke at 410-822-5100.
 

Woodworking for Woodies (Fall 2002)
Led by CWH’s Mike Rajacich, volunteers converged in Baltimore on a beautiful day in May.
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, in conjunction with the National Aquarium, held it’s annual
Wood Duck Box building day in front of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. More volunteers
participated than ever before and produced about 200 Wood Duck boxes. The boxes will be used for Wood Duck projects in the Baltimore region and throughout the Eastern Shore. We would like to thank all those who came out to help!

To date, CWH has installed over 8,000 Wood Duck nesting boxes on creeks and rivers
throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Mike reports tremendous success of the program
during the 2002 nesting season and commented, “Almost every box I opened had a nest or
nestlings.” If woodies aren’t finding homes in the boxes, Screech Owls, Tree Swallows, flying
squirrels, Pileated Woodpeckers, Great-crested Flycatchers, flickers and Prothonotary Warblers will find a home there.

CWH would like to thank the Waterfowl Festival, the Snyder Foundation for Animals, the Fair
Play Foundation, and the Nathan Foundation for their continued support of this important
program.


SUMMER 2002

Landowner Spotlight Putting a Land Ethic into Action on the Ground (Summer 2002)

Fire is Part of a Natural Cycle (Summer 2002)

Ask Andi? Woodpeckers (Summer 2002)

To Be a Purple Martin Landlord (Summer 2002)

Insects: What would we do without them? (Summer 2002)

All Good Things Must Come to an End(Summer 2002)

CWH Landowner Recognized (Summer 2002)

CWH Loses a Dear Friend (Summer 2002)

Landowner Spotlight
Putting a Land Ethic into Action on the Ground (Summer 2002)
Alice and Mark Bower, with the help of CWH, have broken ground on the 222 acre Iron Mine
Farm in Talbot County to create a haven for wildlife as well as themselves. When purchased
from a developer in the beginning of 2001, the farm was already subdivided into 7, possibly
more, waterfront lots. Instead of selling each prime lot for financial gain, the Bowers decided to give up the cash benefit for the wildlife benefit and paid the county to have the lot lines removed.“We didn’t want to see it cut-up and developed,” remarked Mrs. Bower.

Prior to CWH’s habitat restoration work, the farm included 54 acres of forest and 168 acres of
agricultural land including over 1 mile of shoreline along Bolingbroke Creek. The farm is also
home to the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel.

With a house site in mind, the Bowers embarked on a partnership with Chesapeake Wildlife
Heritage to transform the farm into a wildlife haven with a diversity of habitat types. Their
conservation plan consisted of replacing 130 acres of agricultural land with productive wildlife
habitat. CWH planted over 61 acres of upland wildlife habitat such as warm season grass
meadows and riparian forest buffer. We also restored 59 acres of wetlands.

The hedgerows near the house site consist of trees and shrubs native to Maryland with colorful blooms including Wax myrtle, Red osier dogwood, Silky dogwood, Eastern red cedar,
Persimmon, Winterberry, False indigo bush, and Northern bayberry. Other forested areas will
include, Loblolly pine, Red and White oak, American beech, Flowering dogwood, Black locust
and Pin oak, Green ash and Willow oak. “Now there is something {more than just soybeans?} to look at,” says Alice Bower.

As noted by Ned Gerber, wildlife habitat ecologist, “We were able to make a big difference for
wildlife and water quality on this farm thanks to the Bowers and CREP. There were severely
eroded gullies in the fields and little topsoil left from years of poor tillage practices on highly
erodible slopes that never should have been row cropped to begin with. Most of the flatter areas consisted of hydric (wetland) soils which are not well suited for a profitable grain operation. This made it very sensible to restore it to wetlands. CREP habitat restoration drastically improved the farm’s carrying capacity for wildlife, water quality, and profitability. The Bay and its wildlife need more folks like the Bowers who are willing to put their land ethic into action on the ground.”

This project demonstrates how landowners can successfully manage their property for wildlife
and water quality, greatly improve their farm income, and have a very valuable return on their
investment.
 

Fire is Part of a Natural Cycle (Summer 2002)
Andi Pupke

For thousands of years wildfire has been a major force in determining biological diversity. Due to frequent interactions with wildfire, many species of plants and animals have created adaptations that permit them to survive and even thrive after a fire event. A good example is the Lodgepole Pine, which produces cones that remain tightly closed on their branches for many years. It's not until a fire comes along that there's enough heat in the forest to open the Lodgepole's cones and release the seeds inside.

CWH uses fire as a valuable tool for wildlife management in certain grass meadow communities. Several of our staff members have been trained to execute these burns. During the last few weeks of winter, before the spring rains return, our staff sets fire to some of the valuable grassland habitat we worked so hard to establish.

Neighbors often ask us why we have such incendiary tendencies. We explain that fire is a part of the natural cycle and has numerous benefits for plants and wildlife. For one thing, periodic fires reduce the build-up of brush, dried branches, and other so-called fuel sources. These materials act as kindling and increase the speed at which fires spread. Too much fuel leads to more intense and destructive fires that resist containment. CWH carefully plans prescribed fires to maximize the benefits to the meadow’s ecology and maintain safety during the burn.

The Management of Fire

It's called a prescribed burn. And like a medical prescription, it's meant to be therapeutic. Such thinking, though, runs counter to common sense. After all, fires destroy plants and animals and turn seemingly beautiful habitats into wastelands. But fire also is a naturally occurring phenomena, and experts agree that landscapes need occasional fires in order to thrive.

Prescribed fires are fires burning under preplanned, specified conditions to accomplish specific planned objectives. A plan must also be prepared for all prescribed fires in case the fire moves out of prescribed conditions and becomes a wildfire.

Regardless of the type of ignition, before any fire is allowed to play its natural role, it must be
carefully evaluated. The evaluation elements include location, predicted weather, fire behavior,
effects on air quality, management costs, danger to public and private facilities, soil and water
considerations, and public safety.

The use of prescribed fire presents opportunities to:

    Maintain thriving populations of plants and animals dependent on fire.
    Increase productivity by recycling nutrients and energy that are tied up in fuel accumulations due to climates which inhibit decomposition.
    Control fire behavior, intensity, location, and size to protect people, the environment, homes and other improvements.
    Control rate of spread and fire intensity to create a mosaic of burned and unburned areas.
    Manage fuels at natural levels and reduce the risk of wildfires.
    Manage smoke so it is dispersed as rapidly as possible and with minimum negative effects.
    Control fire intensity to reduce potential impacts on soil and water.

Benefits of Prescribed Burns?

Early succession weed & grass communities are essential parts of habitat for many types of
wildlife. With a disturbance such as fire, bare ground is exposed to stimulate seed producing
annual weeds, an important food source for a variety of wildlife. Additionally, the roots of native
bunchgrasses survive fire, allowing them to come back vigorously after a fire. This newly
sprouted vegetation attracts the abundant insect populations that ground nesting chicks need
during their first few weeks of life.

Cover returns more quickly to a meadow that has been burned than to one that has been mowed or disked. During the second year after burning, the vegetation thickens and ground cover increases, providing excellent nesting cover.

Using a strip-burning regime on a two to four year rotation provides strips of brood-rearing
habitat alongside strips of nesting cover. It also provides weed seeds that serve as an important winter food.

Different plant communities are created with fire than with other types of disturbance, which
increases diversity. Fire quickly releases nutrients that were tied up in the vegetation, so the
sprouting forbs or legumes have fertilizer. Fire is the most inexpensive tool for setting back
succession on old fields.

Some plants actually have seeds that only germinate readily after heat treatment by fire. Many plants, such as native bunch grasses, serviceberry and snowberry have the ability to sprout after their tops have been destroyed by fire. Other plants, such as willow, bunchgrass, and wildflowers grow fast and strong on the nitrogen that has been released by fire.

In addition to the plant communities, a variety of birds benefit from fire. Different species of
birds move into burned areas at different stages according to the successional changes in
vegetation which occur after a burn.

Birds such as Killdeer and Horned Lark immediately move into areas that are burned and have
changes in vegetation. Other birds like Bobolinks and Meadowlarks favor the grasslands with
little or no woody vegetation which result 2-5 years after a burn. Birds including Kingbirds,
Flycatchers and warblers typically use habitat that has been protected from fire or the woody
vegetation that encroaches in unburned areas.

Controlled burns are an inexpensive and very effective way of helping meadows flourish. As you drive around during the last weeks of winter, take a look around to see if you can find any
meadows that have been burned. If you keep an eye on them for a couple weeks after the burn, you will see how quickly they rebound and the lush green meadow that emerges.
 

Ask Andi? Woodpeckers (Summer 2002)

Q: One of the trees near our home was nearly striped of bark from top to bottom by a
woodpecker over the winter. Do woodpeckers kill healthy trees?

R: Woodpeckers do not kill healthy trees. If they are stripping the bark off a tree it was unhealthy already. Woodpeckers are looking for insects that have bored into the tree or are just under the bark. They locate prey on the bark and in crevices by visually searching and probing with their tongue. They find insects within wood by listening.

Some species of woodpeckers drill shallow wells in the bark of trees to drink sap and eat the
insects that become trapped in the sap. These woodpeckers are known as “sap suckers.” Other birds, such as Hummingbirds and Chickadees, also use the Sap Suckers’ wells to drink from.

Woodpeckers can also cache food, like acorns, in trees. They excavate holes in the bark of a tree and shove acorns in them for safe keeping until they are needed during the winter. All
woodpeckers are cavity nesters and they excavate their own cavities in living or dead wood. The size and shape of the cavity varies among species, but they normally choose a tree that has soft wood.

Q. Why are Woodpeckers “Attacking” My House? (Summer 2002)
R: We sometimes receive calls about woodpeckers damaging homes by drilling holes in siding.
Here are some reasons why they may be attracted to your home:
* The woodpecker may be attempting to create a cavity for a nesting site. Houses with cedar or
other wood siding are especially vulnerable to this sort of damage.
* A woodpecker may have discovered your siding is infested with insects and is feeding.
* Disruption of native habitat increases competition for territory among these birds, leading them to find “unnatural” feeding and nesting sites. With wooded areas turning into developments and dead trees being cut for firewood, nesting sites are becoming more limited. Woodpeckers generally stay in one territory for life, so a bird may drill into a house that now occupies its territory.
* Woodpecker drumming can also be heard in the spring as they establish territories and signal mates. Apparently the woodpecker selects the instrument (your cedar house, metal poles, or down spouts) according to their resonant qualities. Drumming is usually a spring time event. Of course the drumming usually occurs on Saturday morning when you are trying to catch a few winks.
* Some types of foam insulation expand as temperatures increase, which can make a sound that sounds like insects in wood to woodpeckers. Prompt action involving one or more suggestions below will likely reduce damage.
* Be persistent in chasing away, shouting at, banging pans, squirting water, etc. at a bird as it
begins to drill.
* Nail plywood over the site being damaged.
* Hang aluminum foil or cloth streamers (3 feet long x several inches wide). Movement of these can scare the birds.
* Eliminate ledges or cracks the woodpecker uses as a foothold while drilling.
 

To Be a Purple Martin Landlord (Summer 2002)
I walked up to the counter and smiled. The shopkeeper returned the smile. “I’m thinking about
putting up a birdhouse,” I said. When he asked if I had a species in mind, I replied, “How about Purple Martins?”
 “Okay,” he said. “I need to see two forms of ID, one with a recent photo.”
 “I plan to use cash,” I told him.
 “It isn’t a matter of credit, it’s a matter or responsibility. I need ID to do a background check.”
 “To do what?”
 “To do a background check. This is a serious matter. Many people are just not equipped
emotionally to be a Purple Martin landlord.”
 “Isn’t this sort of extreme?” I said.
 “Sir,” he said, “Anything you say in my presence may affect your eligibility to purchase a
Purple Martin apartment. Across most of North America, Purple Martins depend entirely on
humans to provide suitable housing.”
 “Wouldn’t an alliance with woodpeckers serve them better?” I suggested.
 He didn’t smile. He just handed me a questionnaire and a document entitled, “Covenant to
Assume All Obligations, Duties, and Responsibilities Concomitant with Purple Martin
Landlordship,” then he left to run the background check.
 The questionnaire asked: “Are you now or have you ever been censured for negligence
relating to the maintenance of Purple Martin colonies? Have you ever been a member of the
House Sparrow Alliance, Starlings First, or any other organization whose objectives might
undermine the martin social structure? Are you phobic about feathers, bird droppings, or feather lice? Do you have any physical limitations that might impair your abilities as a Purple Martin landlord?”
 I had to promise to erect the box in accordance with mandated guidelines, to check the box
weekly for pests, to replace nesting materials halfway through the breeding cycle, and to measure the nestlings and plot their development.
 “ It must be signed in purple ink in the presence of a witness,” the returning clerk advised.
“Your background check came up negative.”
 He then removed some cards from the drawer and held one up. “Look at the ink blot and tell
me what you see,” he said.
 “Mother Theresa feeding mealworms to young martins?”
 “Good. How about this one?”
 “Lenin removing the capitalist yoke from the necks of the downtrodden Purple Martin
masses?”
 “Excellent!”
 After passing this and a stress test, then field stripping and reassembling a Purple Martin
apartment while blindfolded, he let me take the pledge of Purple Martin management.
 He then showed me a basic, five-star-rated Purple Martin apartment complex.
 “How much?” I asked.
 “Four hundred dollars.”
 “Four hundred dollars?”
 “That includes the pole, pulley, and predator guard. Installation is extra.”
 “Isn’t there an easier and less expensive way to attract birds to my yard?”
 “Sure,” he said as he held up the basic-looking bird box.
 “What’s this?” I asked.
 “A wren box.”
 “Do I need to take a course in environmental ethics or submit to weekly inspections by the
Wren Police?”
 “Nope,” he said. “Just hang it up and the wrens will do the rest.”
 “Sounds like Purple Martins could learn a thing or two from wrens,” I joked. The clerk didn’t
smile.
 “Sir, let me remind you that anything you say in my presence. . .”
 I bought the wren box.

Reprinted with permission from Pete Dunne of the Cape May Bird Observatory
701 East Lake Drive
PO Box 3
Cape May Point, NJ 08212
E-mail: cmbo1@njaudubon.org
 

Insects: What would we do without them? (Summer 2002)
With Summer upon us, and bugs abound, here is a little reminder of how beneficial they really
are. Insects influence their environments in 5 key ways:
1. They aid decomposition, stimulate the breakdown of organic materials, enhance soil fertility
and plant growth, burrow in soils and increase its porosity and water holding capacity.

2. They eat plants and influence where their hosts can grow. Sometimes they kill trees and other plants to reduce competition, and many times they feed on trees without killing them, in ways that actually improve the health and long term growth of trees and forests.

3. They are a key food source for other animals, playing a major role in the food chain.

4. They help disperse seeds, fungal spores, and even other invertebrates from one place to
another.

5. They are pollinators, and in this role also help control the movement of plant species.

Through this multiplicity of roles, forest insects can help to control plant succession, dictate
which plants will be allowed to grow or thrive in particular areas, and invigorate plant
communities.
 

All Good Things Must Come to an End(Summer 2002)

The board and staff of CWH bid a fond farewell to Richard Pritzlaff, CWH Landowner Services
Manager. After dedicating 12 years of hard work, time and energy to CWH, Richard accepted a position with the Trust for Public Land in Washington, DC. He will be doing much of the same thing as he did as manager of CWH Landowner Services program. He is now the Project Manager in charge of land acquisition projects in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Thankfully, we have not lost our reigns on him and we speak with him frequently about future land acquisition projects.

Richard accomplished a great deal for CWH. In 1990, Richard joined the CWH board, serving
for 4 years, after which he was hired as the Development Director. As Development Director he doubled donations from our members and secured several major grants. This work provided a strong financial foundation for CWH. Richard eventually passed the position on to Chris Pupke in 1998 and founded CWH’s Landowner Services program. As Landowner Services Manager he played a major part in preserving properties such as Bennett Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Spencer Farm, Rash Family Farm, Riverbend, and the Ewing Wetlands. He also successfully got CWH designated as a Cooperative Land Trust with Maryland Environmental Trust on donated easements and with DNR on CREP easements. This accomplishment has been integral in preserving many properties with existing habitat and habitat restored by CWH from development.

While at CWH, Richard helped to preserve over 1,000 acres of wildlife habitat, so we hate to see him go. Luckily, he will move on in his position with the Trust For Public Land, and will
continue to help preserve thousands of acres of precious wildlife habitat. We wish him the best of luck in his new position and thank him for all he has done!
 

CWH Landowner Recognized (Summer 2002)
Congratulations to Larry Rash and family for being recognized as the “2001 Cooperator of the
Year” by the Queen Anne’s County Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The Soil
Conservation Board gives one award each year to a community member who has used state and federal conservation programs for the maximum benefit for soil conservation.

Mr. Rash first contacted the NRCS office to inquire about placing buffer strips on his property.
After being referred to CWH, so he could see what warm season grasses would look like on his property after several years of growth, it became evident that their was much more wildlife
potential on the property than simply buffer strips. CWH pointed out to him that for every acre of hydric soil restored to wetlands he would be permitted to place an acre of grassed or forested uplands into Maryland’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The Rash family decided to maximize the potential of their farm by restoring a significant area of wildlife habitat consisting of wetlands, grasslands and woodlands.

Maintaining their best soils in crops, the Rash family decided to take 120 acres out of production (out of 176 acres of tillable land). As a result, they have significantly increased their farm income, greatly enhanced the quantity and quality of wildlife habitat, improved local water quality, conserved soil and still kept an area open for farming.

As an added bonus for wildlife, the family signed a majority of the farm into the CREP easement programs so the restored and existing habitat will never be developed or farmed again. This easement will permanently protect 30 acres for grassland, 45 acres of woodlands and 75 acres of wetlands on the Rash property.

Thumbs up to the Rash Family for being a great example of how CWH’s work with landowners
and it’s involvement in this statewide effort makes a critical difference for wildlife and water
quality in Maryland.
 

CWH Loses a Dear Friend (Summer 2002)
CWH mourns the passing of one of its closest friends, Mrs. Elizabeth Nesbit. She became a
strong supporter of CWH during our critical formative years and remained so until her death in
February of 2002. We often used her farm to show potential partners what a specific restored
habitat type would look like on their properties. “Libby” was a passionate advocate for land
protection and placed her beloved Walsey Farm in an easement with the Maryland
Environmental Trust. She understood that even protected land often needs additional habitat in
order to fully benefit the wildlife resource. Mrs. Nesbit had a great concern about the impact of
humans on the natural landscapes on which wildlife depends. Our cherished memories of her
regard for all creatures will nourish our efforts to protect wildlife and their habitats in the future.


 

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