FRIENDS OF SLIGO CREEK NEWS MAY 2004 Contents of This Issue Upcoming Events: Three local events May 15 Next Program Meeting May 18 Solstice Membership Picnic June 19 News: * Earth Day "Free the Trees" event highly successful! * Now is the time to pull Garlic Mustard * Weed Warrior Program web site * May 1 Fish Reintroduction a swimming success! * The Greenman show airs program on vernal pools * Frogwatchers come out, wherever you are! Announcements: Stormwater Committee meeting May 19 Classifieds: We still need Weed Warriors Upcoming Events Two great local service events and an open house on May 15 * You can pull out Garlic mustard-even weaklings can do it! Or you can help spread mulch. Then reward yourself by going to see a native garden in Takoma Park. Garlic mustard pull 9:00 a.m. Garlic mustard is an invasive, non-native biennial plant that has made inroads into the park. No tools needed. Meet at the Dallas Avenue parking lot at 9:00 a.m. Wear long sleeves, long pants, and gloves. If you have questions, call Ross Campbell at 301-587-6898 * Mulching, 9:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. The Seven Oaks-Evanswood Civic Association is working with us to mulch trees along the Parkway. Meet at the parking lot just south of Three Oaks Drive, and work from Three Oaks to Wayne. Cancelled in heavy rain. If you have questions, contact Jean Cavanaugh, jeancavanaugh@fastmail.fm * Clean Energy Open House 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Many energy-saving features are to be on exhibit, along with a Native Plant Garden. Representatives of the Chesapeake Native Nursery will be there to show you how to landscape your yard with native plants and water them with rain barrels that catch rooftop runoff. Address: 7125 Willow Ave, Takoma Park, MD More detail on these three events is on the calendar at http://www.fosc.org/cgi-bin/calendar.pl. May 18 Program Meeting: Water Quality in Sligo Creek. Missed earlier announcements? Here it is again: Come join us on May 18 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at the Long Branch Community Center, 8700 Piney Branch Road for a lively discussion. Find answers to these questions: Is Sligo's water quality improving? Can we wade now? What are the next steps for Friends of Sligo Creek? Bring your own questions. Keith Van Ness, Senior Water Quality Specialist with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection will present new data and lead our the discussion. He will be assisted by Masaya Maeda, with the Anacostia Watershed Society and Nette Witgert, who is Friends new Water Monitoring leader. We'll have refreshments. For more information or directions call Ann Hoffnar 301 585 8891 or ahoffnar@earthlink.net. June 19 All-member picnic. Save the date. We are planning an all-member picnic to celebrate the Solstice at the Dennis Avenue Recreation Center. Fun and games for all. What better way to end a great Father's Day! News Friends Free the Trees Earth Day Event on April 24 was highly successful! The trees in the park between Forest Glen and Colesville roads are heaving a sigh of relief. Over 30 people, including several Weed Warriors, came out in celebration of Earth Day to free the trees of English Ivy. We freed over 100 trees, leaving only about 80 in the section yet to be saved. We even had the honor of visit from U.S. Congressman Albert Wynn, who thanked us for our work! We focused on English Ivy for Earth Day because so many trees in neighborhoods as well as the park are burdened with the weight of ivy that climbs high. Once the ivy runs vertically, it fruits, and the berries spread everywhere. This English Ivy event is one of the first of many invasives removal events we plan for this season. Watch the calendar for events in your area. Now is the time to attack Garlic Mustard We will be working on English Ivy all season, but now is the time to pull Garlic Mustard. The plant looks innocent enough, but is unbelievably prolific and can cover a wide area in no time. Friends of Sligo Creek Weed Warriors have until about June 15 to pull Garlic Mustard. Shortly after that, seeds will burst and our chance for control this season will be over. The more we collect this year, the less work for another. If you can't get it all on one trip, get the isolated patches first, then in larger areas, work from outer edges inward and downward from tops of slopes, And remember, you must bag the pulled weeds. They develop seeds even after they are out of the ground. Before you start pulling, read the next item. Weed Warrior Program has a great web site Check it out. As most Friends know, you must be a Weed Warrior or be accompanied by one to work in the Park to clear invasives. We need more Weed Warriors! Check out the Weed Warrior web site. http://www.mc-mncppc.org/Environment/weed_warriors/intro.shtm Find out what the program is all about, how to register, and much more. Over 300 fish reintroduced into Sligo Creek May 1 About 11:00 a.m., members of Friends of Sligo Creek, children from nearby schools, and others began gathering at the Dennis Avenue Recreation Center on Sligo Creek Parkway to wait for County biologists to come with fish collected in nearby Northwest Branch. The fish to be reintroduced are native to the area and lived in Sligo long ago, before development degraded the steam. While waiting, folks picked up litter, removed invasives, and some of the children colored a sign welcoming home the fish. The biologists arrived about noon with about 300 fish which they released into Sligo. The children were allowed to help. These newly introduced fish are more sensitive and have more specialized habitat needs than the 11 now found in the creek. If they survive, it will mean that the water quality in Sligo Creek has improved. The County and Friends of Sligo Creek will monitor during the next months and years and we are all hoping these fish thrive. In a few days we will have more information and pictures on our web action log at http://www.fosc.org/ActionLog.htm Latest Greenman show about Vernal Pools If you haven't seen the Greenman show, produced by Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection and starring Joe Keyser, you should try it. It will only take 15 minutes of your time. You can watch on the web if you have a high speed internet connection. Or you can look at the schedule and catch it on Montgomery County cable TV (channel 6). On the Internet go to http://montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/CABLE/fromurl-weeklyschedule.cfm?viewdate =05/03/2004 - click on one of the Greenman shows. The show on vernal pools discusses the importance of vernal pools and the County's strategy of determining ecosystem health by monitoring them. This year the county is mapping the pools and next year will collect data. Frog watchers come out, wherever you are! The frog watch (actually listen) group welcomes people who want to learn more about these interesting creatures. This month and next will be the best for catching a wide range of species. They will be out courting right after dusk. You will be most likely to hear the Bull Frog, out chuggaruming, and the two tree frogs native to our area: Green Tree Frogs and Spring Peepers. These tiny tree frogs are so light they can be supported by a single leaf and they can also change color to match their surroundings-if you give them about an hour. If you are interested in joining the group, Contact Karen Nelson at Karen-nelson@erols.com. If you are already signed up, try to go out twice this month and let Karen know what you hear. Announcements May 19 at 7:30 p.m. the Stormwater Committee will meet at Ann Hoffnar's house. High on the agenda is a talk with Anne Kitchell. Anne is a member of Friends whose day job is with the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP). She has been helping CWP survey Sligo Creek for potential sites for stormwater retrofits. She will give us a preliminary report. All invited. For directions or more information contact Ann at 301 585 8891 or ahoffnar@earthlink.net. Classifieds We still need Weed Warriors Register for training now. We need your help with Garlic Mustard. M-NCPPC Ecologist Carol Bergmann offers training to identify and remove invasive weed species the last Wednesday of every month through October from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. To register or for more information call the Parks Volunteer office at 301-495-2464. http://www.mc-mncppc.org/Environment/weed_warriors/training.shtm News Items collected and edited by Ann Hoffnar