The Virginia General Assembly in its 2026 session approved two resolutions honoring the Friends of Dyke Marsh’s 50th anniversary. Senator Scott A. Surovell introduced SJ37 and Delegate Paul Krizek introduced HJ84, identical bills. The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve is in their districts.
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On April 18, 2026, 25 volunteers planted around 200 native plants in Dyke Marsh, a joint project of the Friends of Dyke Marsh and the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. The two organizations partnered and successfully received a grant from the national Sierra Club to fund the project.
On April 8, 2026, FODM volunteers again conducted biological water quality sampling in an unnamed creek, nicknamed “Quander Creek,” that flows into Dyke Marsh from the west, the organization’s eleventh year of this project.
Contrary to the image in many Americans’ minds, vultures are beautiful, social, curious birds, Heather Shank-Givens told a 70-person, overflow crowd on March 8, 2026, at the Huntley Meadows Park Visitor Center.
On March 2, 2026, the Washington, D.C., Department of Health lifted the recreational advisory for the Potomac River. The announcement said, “Consistent water quality testing shows bacterial levels are now within safe ranges for recreation.” For more information, visit doee.dc.gov. For DC Health’s health advisories, visit doh.dc.gov. For information on DC Water’s progress on the Potomac Interceptor repair, visit dcwater.com.
February 26, 2026
On January 19, 2026, a sewer line in Maryland, the Potomac interceptor, ruptured and sent up to 300,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. FODM joined 20 other organizations on February 9 on a letter to DC Water asking for answers and accountability.
On February 9, 2026, 19 Venerable Buddhist monks walked through the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve north on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
