november 2007 friends of white clay creek state park newsletter

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  • 8/9/2019 November 2007 Friends of White Clay Creek State Park Newsletter

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    FWCCSP RECORDNewsletter of the Friends of White Clay Creek State Park

    Friends of White Clay Creek State ParkP.O. Box 9734Newark, DE 19714-9734www.whiteclavfriends.o rg

    Volume 10, No.2 November 2007Annual Meeting, Wednesday, 11/28, to Feature Presentation by Jeff Gordon: "BirdsGlobally, Birds Locally"

    Birds delight our eyes with their beauty, challenge our minds and fire our imaginationswith their powers of flight and migration, and even gratify our taste buds. There has been anexplosion of interest in bird watching, bird feeding, and landscaping to attract birds.Join author and ornithologist Jeffrey Gordon as he looks at birds from a local and globalperspective, sharing the amazing, the beautiful, and the bizarre. Jeff 's program will be illustratedwith photographs and video from his travels around the world, but will also focus on the lives ofbirds right here in Delaware, and how each of us can increase our enjoyment and appreciation ofthese amazing creatures.

    The meeting will start at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 28, at the Newark Library.This event is free and open to the general public. No reservations are required.

    The library is located at the intersection of East Main St. and Library Avenue in Newark.Because parking at the library is limited, we have permission to use the west end of the PostOffice parking lot across from the library, if needed. To reach the post office from the library,exit the library parking lot going south on Library Avenue and make a "U" tum at the nextintersection.Another New Trail in Pennsylvania Is Open to Hikers

    The Friends have recently completed work on a new section of the Boundary Line Trail inthe Pennsylvania White Clay Creek Preserve. This new trail section starts from Yeatman StationRoad and proceeds initially northward along an old road and then through open fields. It thenloops around toward the west into woods and provides a magnificent view overlooking the creek.The trail then continues to ajunction with the Charles Bailey Trail (also recently completed) nextto the creek.

    The new trail was designed and constructed by Friends volunteers with assistance fromthe Delaware Geocachers and the Trail Dawgs running group, under the leadership of WendelCassel and Fred Nelson. Forty-two volunteers worked 400 hours to complete the trail. We thankall the volunteers who made this possible.

    From Delaware, the trail can be accessed by following Yeatman Station Road (akaYeatmans Mill Road) from Doe Run Road into Pennsylvania. Where Quartz Mill Road goes of fto the left, stay to the right (no outlet) and continue on Yeatman Station Road to the point where

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    it is blocked by a gate. Park in the small parking area on the right. From Route 896 inPennsylvania follow Good Hope Road which becomes Broad Run Road, tum on Watson's MillRoad, follow it to Yeatman Station Road, and tum right to reach the parking area.From the parking lot, the new section of the Boundary Line Trail can be reached bywalking about Vt mile back up the road, watching for a trail marker for the trail going of f on theleft (north) side. Alternatively, the Charles Bailey Trail can be taken northward from the parkinglot to its junct ion with the Boundary Line Trail in about Yz mile. Together the two new trailsections (Boundary Line and Charles Bailey) provide a beautiful short loop hike of about 1Yzmiles in length.Mountain BikerlPedestrian Trail Use Conflicts Considered

    As most trail users know, about 27 of the park's 38 miles of trails have been designatedfor shared use by mountain bikers and pedestrians (including 2 miles where horses are alsoallowed). Especially as trail-use by mountain bikers has grown, this has led to issues withpedestrians, including concerns about safety, etiquette, and aesthetics. These questions arisemostly on the park's single-track trails where close interactions between different trail users areinevitable.The result is that some pedestrian visitors to the park no longer care (or dare) to use someof the park's trails. Often these are visitors with young children or elderly persons who areconcerned about their safety in encounters with bikers going at high speeds and sometimes notunder adequate control. Others perceive a lack of courtesy, where it seems that pedestrians arealways expected to yield the trail to bikers (although park regulations require the opposite).The Friends leadership is not anti-biking, but we do believe that some changes are neededto address these concerns in a way that balances the interests of all park users. Specifically, weare encouraging the development of regulations that will require bikers to ride at lower speeds,especially when encounters with pedestrians are possible, and to extend to pedestrians the trailuse courtesies that pedestrians normally extend to each other. We hope that such changes willaddress these concerns and enable the effective shared use of this facility by everyone.Twin Ponds Repaired

    During the summer, repairs to the Twin Ponds along the David English Trail (behind thepark office) were completed. Over the years, the standpipes that controlled the water levels inthe ponds had corroded through, resulting in very low water levels. The work involved installingtwo new standpipes and new overflow pipes. The Friends contributed $4,200.00 (half the totalcost) toward this project.Now, only one problem remains - refilling the ponds. Because of the recent drought

    conditions, the ponds are refilling very slowly, if at all. Hopefully, with wetter weather over thewinter, we will get our ponds back.Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring Reports 59 Fledglings

    The bluebird nest box monitoring project had a very good year, with 9 personsvolunteering for the April through August weekly monitoring season. Our volunteers reported 59

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    bluebirds, 59 tree swallows, and 24 house wrens fledged from the park's 52 nest boxes. Theseresults were reported to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. The group celebrated thesuccessful season at the end of August with an ice cream party at Woodside Farms.

    Seven new nest boxes have been installed so far this fall for next year's season. Inaddition, many of the existing bluebird boxes have been repaired or replaced, and some of themhave been relocated to new areas. Bluebird monitoring is a fun and rewarding volunteer activityand we welcome your interest. If you would like more information or are interested inmonitoring for the 2008 season, please contact Wendy Keeports at wkeeportsreilcomcast.net.Friends Volunteers Staff the Nature Center

    Again this summer, the Friends of White Clay Creek State Park conducted our programfor staffing the Chambers House Nature Center on Saturdays and Sundays from May throughOctober. This makes it possible for the center to remain open to visitors for five hours eachweekend day during the Park's busiest seasons. This year our 14 volunteers spent 290 hourswelcoming visitors to the center.

    Each year, new volunteers are needed to replace people who leave or are unable tocontinue staffing. Volunteer activities include welcoming visitors, providing them withinformation, performing tasks to help the nature center function smoothly, answering the phone,helping someone on the naturalist staff to get ready for a program, and answering questions fromthe visitors. Volunteers are asked to work a 2 and 12-hour shift one weekend day per month.

    What do volunteers enjoy about the program?- Satisfaction of doing something that directly benefits the park and its visitors;- Leaming more about the Park's history, natural features and programs;- Meeting and interacting with interesting people;- Spending a few hours in our beautiful Park.

    If you would like to become a nature center volunteer in 2008 or would like moreinformation, contact our project coordinator Jim Ries at 239-1658.Angel's Notes from the Nature Center

    Thank you nature center volunteers. We would like to extend a big thank you to allthe volunteers who took time out of their busy schedules to staff the nature center this fee season.We had a lot of visitors. I know they appreciate being able to come into the nature center to cooldown, be greeted by a friendly face, get much needed information and see some neat exhibits. Itis also very helpful for us to be able to confidently say to folks that the nature center will be openon weekends this fee season. Again, thank you and we will miss having you around

    Reduce, REUSE, Recycle. Thing you can give the nature center instead of throwingaway:Old nature magazinesAluminum pie plates (please wash in dish washer first)Old craft suppliesOld fish tanks (depending on size and condition)

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    Decorating the Judge Morris Estate. We are going to be decorating the estate for theholidays and could use help. If you are interested you can email [email protected] orJennifer.Papillormstate.de.us. We also need fresh greens (holly, pine, cedar, etc) and naturalitems like pinecones etc., so if you would like to bring some contact us. Thanks

    CalendarJanuary 14 Executive Committee MeetingFebruary 11 Executive Committee MeetingMarch 10 Executive Committee MeetingMarch 15 Trail WorkApril 14 Executive Committee MeetingApril 19 Trail Work - Christina River CleanupMay 12 Executive Committee MeetingMay 17 Trail WorkMay/June Bird Walk - date TBDJune 7 Trail Work - National Trails DayJune 9 Executive Committee and Advisory Board Meetings

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    Projects and Project LeadersAdopt-a-Highway: Dee and Dick Benson, Nature Center Staffing: Rich Lewandowski,410-398- 4180 410-398-4705Adopt-a-Trail: Mike Ott, 738-6652 Nature Center Exhibits: Andy Urquhart, 239Advocacy: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471 2471Birders Guide: Gene Hess, 738-4690, and Newark Communi ty Day: OpenAndy Urquhart, 239-2471 Oral Histories: Andrea Cassel, 737-3319Bluebird Boxes: Wendy Keeports, 234-2935 Park Office Plantings: Wendy Keeports, 302Bolocan Scholarship Fund: Angel Bums, 368 234-29356560 Reforestation: Christa Stefanisko, 369-1933Judge Morris Support Group: Cathy Duffus, Trail Benches: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471731-9794 Trail Improvement Work: Wendel Cassel,Kestrel Boxes: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471 737-3319Historical Booklet: Debbie Keese, 369-9128; Water Ice Sales: John Schwander, 737-7901Andrea Cassel, 737-3319 Wayside Historical Markers: Wendel Cassel,Light Construction: Nick McFadden, 368 737-33196900 Website: Rick Hall, 831-1295Member-led Park Programs: Angel Bums, Wildlife Habitat Protection: Andy Urquhart,368-6560 239-2471

    Executive CommitteePresident: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471, [email protected]: Wendy Keeports, 234-2935, [email protected] and Newsletter Editor: Dick Benson, 4I0-398-4 I80, [email protected]: Ken Daws, 737-8120, [email protected] Chair (Acting): Lisa Wool, 562-9788, [email protected] Committee Chair: Jim Ries, 239-1658, [email protected]

    Membership ApplicationJoin us! If you are not already a member and would like to join, please return this form with your checkmade payable to Friends of White Clay Creek State Park. Annual dues are $5.00 for students, $10.00 forindividuals, and $15.00 for families. Any extra donation with your dues would be appreciated and put togood use.Name(s)AddressPhone E-mail

    Friends o f White Clay Creek State Park, Inc.P.O. Box 9734, Newark, DE 19714-9734

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