Much to See, Hear and Feel on Ecology Walk

Nature enthusiasts engaged all of their senses on the June 29, 2024, ecology walk led by Charles Smith along the Haul Road trail.

Caring for Creation Motivates Group to Support Dyke Marsh

From the tiny blue-fronted dancer damselfly (Argia apicalis) perched on a twig to a fledged, first-year bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) returning to its parent-less Haul Road nest, 25 people from Good Shepherd Catholic Church’s Care for Creation group enjoyed many of nature’s delights on a June 15, 2024, walk led by three FODMers and National Park Service ranger, Daniel Brier.

Annual Water Quality Monitoring

On April 11 and May 15, 2024, FODM volunteers collected sediment samples from the bed of the unnamed stream that flows through Mount Vernon Park, Westgrove Dog Park, River Towers Condominium properties and into Dyke Marsh. FODM started monitoring this stream in 2016 in partnership with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD).

NPS Opens New Bridge in Dyke Marsh

On May 19, 2024, National Park Service George Washington Memorial Parkway staff opened the rebuilt, 1,070-foot-long bridge 23 in Dyke Marsh, east of Tulane Drive.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Will Not Proceed with Proposed Floodwall at Belle Haven

In 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) proposed to build a six- to seven-foot-high wall with removable “aluminum stop-log closures” at the street intersections just west of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Tantalizing Turtles Tutorial

Turtles are slow, unseen by people most of the year and often trivialized in cartoons, but “turtles provoke a sense of wonder and amazement,” said Dr. Matt Close who gave a Zoom presentation to 67 enthusiasts on May 15, 2024.

Volunteers Plant Willow Trees to Stabilize the Marsh

On April 22, 2024, ten dedicated volunteers and two National Park Service staffers planted 150 native black willow tree (Sali nigra) stakes in the hydric soils of Dyke Marsh.

Saving 18 Pumpkin Ash Trees for a Decade

On April 17, 2024, FODM volunteers and National Park Service (NPS) staffers surveyed the 18 pumpkin ash trees (Fraxinus profunda) that we have been protecting in Dyke Marsh since 2015.

FODMer Presented Breeding Bird Survey Results

On April 4, 2024, FODM principal investigator Larry Cartwright shared FODM volunteers’ 30 years of observations of breeding bird activity in the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve at the National Park Service’s 2024 Spotlight on National Park Resources in the National Capital Region.

All about Trees, FODMers Enjoy a Tree Walk

Trees are intriguing in all seasons, FODMers learned on a March 10, 2024, walk led by retired state forester Jim McGlone.

Tidal, Freshwater, Wetland Plant Communities in Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia’s tidal, freshwater wetlands, like Dyke Marsh, have several types of native plant communities, 50 FODMers and friends learned on March 3, 2024, in a presentation by Nelson DeBarros.

FODM-Funded Study Identified New Beetle Species

The late Dr. Edmund O. Wilson wrote that “the diversity of life forms, so numerous that we have yet to identify most of them, is the greatest wonder of this planet.”

A 2023 FODM-funded study of three beetle families of George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) properties is a testament to the pursuit of that wonder.