DNREC offers new flood planning tool for determining risk for home and business development projects
DOVER (March 15, 2017) – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section now offers an interactive Flood Planning Tool with up-to-date information for helping to determine flood risk for homes and businesses and for designing development projects in accordance with floodplain codes.
The Flood Planning Tool website is designed to provide residents, businesses, floodplain managers, insurance agents, developers, real estate agents, engineers, surveyors and local planners with an effective means to make informed decisions about the degree of flood risk for a specific area or property. Flood Planning Tool users have the ability to look at the current effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) layer as well as the preliminary FIRM layer.
The preliminary layer shows Delaware areas that will be revised with more detailed information as a result of flood studies that have been conducted.
DNREC’s new Flood Planning Tool website also displays FEMA’s regulatory floodplain boundary via aerial photography. Another feature is DNREC’s analysis of several special flood hazard areas that have not previously been studied in enough detail to establish a base flood elevation. The Flood Planning Tool can be found at http://maps.dnrec.delaware.gov/FloodPlanning/default.html.
Over the past 12 years, DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship has partnered with FEMA to improve the accuracy of Flood Insurance Rate Maps created in the 1970’s through a Cooperating Technical Partnership. DNREC completed floodplain mapping for all three Delaware counties in 2016. The improved flood risk maps incorporate the results of more than 330 miles of flood studies.
Property owners along Zone A floodplains have had a difficult time in the past at both understanding their flood risk and in getting properly-rated flood insurance. Base Flood Elevations and Advisory Flood Heights have now been determined in most of these areas, and a more accurate depiction of flood risk is now available. In the future engineers, developers and local officials will also be able to download HEC-RAS models (HEC-RAS is a widely-used computer program modeling the hydraulics of water flow).
Please contact Greg Williams or Janice Shute of DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section for more information at 302-739-9921.
SB Seals at the 2017 Lewes Polar Bear Plunge
The Slaughter Beach Seals, led by Jackson Gingrich, raised a total of $2576 for the Special Olympics. The Seal team ranked 31st out of 289 teams in terms of fundraising. Team members were Jackson, Harry, Gail, Becky, Kelly and Ken.
The Plunge helps 4,000 Special Olympics athletes!!! 3,602 Bears raised $900,000 and counting …
Volunteer Opportunities for Horseshoe Crab Spawning and DuPont Nature Center Opening
Interested in lending a hand. Delaware Nature Society will once again be conducting the Horseshoe Crab Spawning at Slaughter Beach. A training session will be help for in April. Here is information about training and also the spawning dates: training-flyer-word-format-2017-1
Dupont Nature Center will be open April 1st. In March they will be holding a Cleanup day and in April holding a Volunteer Orientation. More information is provide here: dnc
Memorial Fire Co Roast Beef Dinner
The Memorial Fire Co. will be holding a roast beef dinner on Sunday April 2nd from 12:00 to 3:00, the cost is $12. Tickets can be purchased by calling 302-422-4032, must be purchased by 3/19.
Santa Coming to Town on Dec 10th at 7PM
Santa’s Coming to Town on Dec 10th at 7PM. See the flier for more details. Flier
Website Down for Maintenance
This site will be down for maintenance purposes on Sunday, November 20th. This maintenance will happen from approximately 4:00AM to 9:00AM.
Community Resilient Partnership Workshop Sat. Oct. 8 at 10AM
Delaware Nature Society’s Autumn at Abbott’s Festival
As a final celebration of Abbott’s Mill Nature Center’s 35th Anniversary, we are bringing back our
Autumn at Abbott’s Festival, which was previously held every fall for 24 years. Historically, this festival
has featured a variety of artisan craft demonstrators, live music, children’s activities, hay rides, live animal
shows, and tours of our historic Abbott’s Mill. For the 35th, were raising the stakes by bringing in local
farm vendors, food truck fun, a Dogfish Head beer garden with lawn games, yoga sessions with the
Free Spirited Foundation, an aquatic touch tank with Phillips Wharf Environmental Center’s Fishmobile,
and guided SUP & kayak trips on Abbott’s Pond by Quest Adventures.
Autumn Abbott’s Festival Delaware Nature Society at Saturday, October 15, 9 am – 3 pm
Abbott’s Mill Nature Center
Part of our 35th Anniversary Autumn Celebration Weekend
Abbott’s Mill Nature Center, 15411 Abbott’s Pond Road, Milford, DE 19963 | 302.422.0847 | Info@DelNature.org
Members FREE | Non-members: Adults $5, Children ages 5+ $3
www.DelNature.org/AutumnAtAbbotts
See flyer for more details: delnature-autumn-at-abbotts-flyer-final
Delaware Nature Society’s Meal at the Mill
Meal at the Mill is part of our 35th Anniversary Autumn Celebration Weekend
Where: Abbott’s Mill Nature Center | 15411 Abbott’s Pond Road, Milford, DE 19963 | 302.422.0847 | Info@DelNature.org
When: Friday October 14 at Abbott’s Mill Nature Center, Milford
Guests will arrive at twilight, to enjoy a keg-conditioned cocktail from Dogfish Head while strolling the tree
lined boardwalk and touring our preserved, working grist mill. Then, conjoin for a family-style, three-course
seated dinner under the stars. Our menu will feature delectables grown on Delaware Nature Society’s own
Coverdale Farm Preserve, in Greenville, Delaware with a menu pairing by Abbott’s Grill and Dogfish Head Craft
Brewery ales. Meal at the Mill will highlight the bountiful fall season while honoring the historic and cultural
importance of mills in food production. This dining event brings together conservation-minded people in spirit
of raising funding for the education, advocacy, and conservation activities of Abbott’s Mill Nature Center.
See flyer for more details: delnature-meal-at-the-mill-flyer-1
Restoration work has begun at Mispillion Harbor Reserve
NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (DNREC)
Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, Melanie.Rapp@delaware.gov, 302-739-9902
Restoration underway along Delaware Bayshore to repair and enhance beaches,
critical wetlands and natural defenses
Projects at Mispillion Harbor, Ted Harvey Conservation Area are reducing flooding, restoring habitat,
improving resiliency and protecting public safety and property
DELAWARE BAYSHORE (Sept. 12, 2016) – Restoration work has begun at Mispillion Harbor Reserve and the Ted Harvey Conservation Area on two key DNREC projects that will repair and restore beaches, critical wetlands and other natural defenses. Both Division of Fish and Wildlife projects protect and restore wildlife habitat, improve coastal resiliency and preparedness to storms, and protect public safety and property by reducing flooding to communities, while enhancing ecotourism and recreational activities along the Delaware Bayshore.
Mispillion Harbor Reserve
Located near the Town of Slaughter Beach in central Kent County, Mispillion Harbor Reserve’s beach, wetlands and adjacent resources have been degraded by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent coastal storms, resulting in the significant loss of habitat for spawning horseshoe crabs and shorebirds.
The Harbor is a major stopover in the Atlantic Flyway for waterfowl and shorebirds, including the federally threatened Red Knot. The birds descend on the Harbor to feed on horseshoe crab eggs before continuing their annual migrations to their Artic breeding ground. Birders and biologists from around the world come to Mispillion Harbor to witness the annual spring spectacle. In 1986, Delaware Bay joined the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network as a Site of Hemispheric Importance due to the sheer number of shorebirds that use the Bay as a migratory stopover.
Lindstrom Excavating has begun restoration of the beach and the stone dike. Restoration of the beach includes adding 46,000 cubic yards of sand to the Harbor. The stone dike is being restored with groins which include 12,000 tons of new stone that add height and stability. The stone raises the dike to a level that will better withstand waves and wind from coastal storms, thereby reducing flooding to adjacent wetlands, improving the resiliency of the Harbor to future storms and protecting the navigational channel through Mispillion Inlet, ensuring continued commercial and recreational access to the Delaware Bay.
The project is expected to be completed in April 2017 – in time for the annual shorebird migration. A new video, Mispillion Harbor Restoration Preview, can be viewed on DNREC’s YouTube Channel.
Ted Harvey Conservation Area
Ted Harvey Conservation Area, along the St. Jones River near the Town of Kitts Hummock, is a large coastal impoundment that provides critical habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife. The impoundment has suffered several dike breaches and subsidence over the years, and malfunctioning water control structures have resulted in flooding of more than 400 acres of habitat.
The project is restoring more than 5,000 feet of dike and replacing two malfunctioning water control structures. About 40,000 cubic yards of soil is being added to increase the average height of the existing dike by 4 feet, improving coastal resiliency and preparedness to storms. The new water control structures will allow the Division of Fish & Wildlife to effectively manage impoundment water levels for wildlife, thereby improving biodiversity and enhancing recreational activities, including waterfowl hunting.
Project contractor Zack Excavating is scheduled to start restoration this month and complete the project by October 2017. As a result, the Ted Harvey South Impoundment and south boat launch parking lot will be closed to the public beginning Sept. 26 and will reopen once the project is completed in 2017. Therefore, the impoundment will be closed for the 2016/17 waterfowl season. Additionally, potential closings may take place for the road leading to the restoration site. Drivers should be aware of heavy truck traffic in the area and follow signs, if the road is closed.
The projects are made possible by two federal grants totaling $6.5 million awarded to DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) through Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency appropriations. Administered by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the grants have leveraged additional funding from state watershed stewardship funds, a Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration federal grant, and Ducks Unlimited (DU). The projects are the result of close cooperation and partnerships among DNREC, the U.S. DOI, the NFWF, DU and Delaware’s Congressional Delegation of Senator Tom Carper, Senator Chris Coons, and Congressman John Carney.
For more information contact Jeremey Ashe, Habitat Restoration project manager, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Jeremey.Ashe@delaware.gov or 302-735-3601 or visit the Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife
This project is part of DNREC’s Bayshore Initiative, a landscape approach to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat, increase volunteer participation in habitat stewardship projects, enhance low-impact outdoor recreation and ecotourism opportunities, and promote associated environmentally compatible economic development. In 2011, the Delaware National Bayshore plan received national recognition as one of two Delaware projects included in a 50-state report from the U.S. Department of the Interior outlining some of the country’s most promising ways to reconnect Americans to the natural world.
