Projects and Research

On September 24, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a Land Protection Plan establishing an acquisition boundary for the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge. A 31.38-acre parcel in Nanjemoy, Charles County, Maryland, was selected to formally establish the refuge on December 5, 2024.

The Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network brings together government agencies and nonprofits to develop a strategic action plan for restoring and conserving Delaware’s, Maryland’s, and Virginia’s Delmarva Peninsula. Its vision is a thriving region where healthy ecosystems and working lands support wildlife and current and future generations.

The Pocomoke River Project restores the river’s natural connection to its floodplain by removing sections of artificial levees built during 1940s channelization. So far, 109 breaches across 30 properties have reconnected 3,000 acres of floodplain forest, improving habitat, reducing runoff, and increasing flood storage.

Masonville Cove evolved from a community-led restoration effort into the nation’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, providing environmental education, recreation, and habitat restoration near Baltimore Harbor. Its success has expanded into the Baltimore Rivers to Harbor Partnership, which connects residents to green spaces and waterways while supporting conservation careers, community access, and long-term environmental stewardship.

Poplar Island, once threatened by erosion, sea-level rise, and subsidence, is being rebuilt with clean dredged material to restore island and wildlife habitat. The project has created more than 1,140 acres of habitat, restored Poplar Harbor, and supports diverse wetlands, uplands, and aquatic species.

Invasive nutria have severely damaged Delmarva Peninsula wetlands, threatening marsh habitats and the fish and wildlife that depend on them. Since 2002, partners have worked to eradicate nutria, monitor for remaining animals, and restore and protect affected wetlands.

The National Detector Dog Training Center trains dogs to detect odors, including agricultural products and wildlife contraband, for agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2022, detector dogs were used to assess the feasibility of surveying for the threatened small whorled pogonia at two Virginia locations.

The Koppers Superfund Site in Newport, Delaware, was contaminated by decades of creosote-based wood treatment, prompting EPA cleanup and a natural resource damage assessment. Trustees are studying potential contaminant-related injuries to fish, amphibians, and birds to guide restoration and compensate for lost ecological services.