Dear Deal Island Peninsula Partners,

I hope this note finds you safe and healthy. While these days aren't filled with much good news, we have some great news to share -- the DIPP newsletters are officially back! And with them, I am happy to report that I am back in my role as DIPP Coordinator after a blissful three months of maternity leave with my baby daughter, who we welcomed in early February. It is good to re-engage, and I am excited to see what all we can accomplish this year for DIPP in spite of the pandemic.

While I was away, progress been made on a number of fronts. If you live in Dames Quarter, you've likely noticed that the ditches along Deal Island Road near Hodson White Road are much cleaner, thanks to the persistent efforts of Charles Cavanaugh and Woody Barnes in the County's Maintenance Department. The Deal Island Shoreline Project has also seen some progress despite some setbacks earlier this year. The new DIPP Coordination Committee is up and running after its first meeting earlier this spring, and will be helping me to move DIPP priorities forward. We also have news to share about the upcoming Thin-Layer Placement Project on Deal Island, a project being led by the Audubon Society, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Corps of Engineers to help local marshes adapt to rising waters. Details on all of these and more can be found below. 

Our goal with these newsletters remains to promote ongoing knowledge-sharing and collaborations that support both community and environmental resilience on the Deal Island Peninsula. If you have information, updates, concerns, or ideas that can help advance this mission, we’d love to hear from you!    

Sincerely,
Liz Van Dolah

DIPP Coordinator

County Updates on Ditch Maintenance Projects

The County’s contractor completed work on the Deal Island Road ditch cleanout project at the beginning of this month. The ditch work begins just below Hodson White Road and runs 1,585 feet along Deal Island Road towards Rock Creek. This project was completed in order to improve drainage from the off-road ditch that runs from Hodson White Road to Deal Island Road that the County cleaned out years ago and to alleviate some of the ditch overflow issues on Hodson White Road.

As a result of the cleanout, the County has noted a substantial increase in the flow of water in the Deal Island Road ditch during incoming tides. They will be submitting a permit application to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to install a three-foot diameter pipe and tide gate at the west end of the ditch near the outlet to Rock Creek in order to prevent tidal influence along Deal Island Road and Hodson White Road, and improve conditions for everyone upstream. 

Photos: The Deal Island Road road-side ditch being cleaned in early May (left). These ditches have prevented drainage from the off-road ditch adjacent to Hodson White Road from draining properly (pictured right post cleanup).

The County has also received all of the permits needed for the first phase of ditch cleanout on Champ Road. Those ditches are located on the northwest side of the road. The project includes 6,615 of off-road ditch cleanout. Thirteen easement letters have been sent to property owners included in the project, more than half of which have been returned. Once these letters are in hand, the County will be able to proceed with this first phase. 

The discovery required the County to explore whether the landowner needed to be invited as a co-applicant. The County hired a surveyor to conduct an assessment. MDE has confirmed that the surveyor’s preliminary draft report includes the information they need in order to move forward; the final report will be submitted to the County shortly. 

The MD-DNR staff are hopeful that permits will be issued by the end of June, which would enable the construction bidding process to begin and eventual construction in late summer/early fall. MD-DNR staff also plan to be in the field in late June to collect their last round of pre-construction data, as long as they have permission to do fieldwork under the State’s coronavirus restrictions. Nicole Carlozo will reach out to neighbors in advance of fieldwork to let them know when they will be on site.  

Residents are eager to see more forward movement on this project, as the shoreline continues to erode. See the shoreline's status in early February, captured on video (below) during a windstorm. Help us to continue to track the shoreline's erosion and flooding by sending photos and videos to Liz (dealislandpeninsulapartners@gmail.com). 

Thin-Layer Placement on the Deal Island Peninsula: Using Sediment to Help Marshes Adapt 

Marshes play an important role on the Deal Island Peninsula, providing the communities with a natural buffer against flooding and storms and important habitat for fisheries and wildlife that are central to the local economy and enjoyed by so many of us. Like the Deal Island Peninsula communities though, marshes are at risk of being inundated, as they increasingly struggle to keep pace with sea-level rise. If lost, these important ecosystems will leave Deal Islanders increasingly exposed to natural hazards. The Audubon Society is working in partnership with Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to use a strategy called thin-layer placement to help an area of marsh on the Deal Island Peninsula adapt to these changes. 

Funding for the thin-layer placement project will be available in late October 2020. Before the project proceeds, NOAA will be conducting an elevation survey by drone, which will provide needed data for the USACE to complete the project’s design and coordination. USACE is hopeful that the elevation survey data will be available by the end of June, which would allow the project to begin this fall. 

This project will include two other important components. The Deal Island Peninsula Partnership has received funding through the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Reserve (CBNERR-MD) to support a team of graduate students from the University of Maryland’s Marine Estuarine Environmental Science Program this summer and fall. These students will be outreaching to DIPP partners to better understand stakeholders’ views about thin-layer placement and other dredge material placement practices. Their research will be used to identify challenges and opportunities for future marsh and community enhancement work. On the ecological research side, CBNERR-MD, NOAA, National Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Audubon Society will monitor how marsh birds, vegetation, elevation, and water clarity are impacted by this thin-layer placement project.  

Photo by Al McCollough, Wetland Engineer, Audubon Society

DIPP's New Coordination Committee:

Defining Priorities and Next Steps for the Partnership

In February, a small group of stakeholders convened as DIPP’s newly-established Coordination Committee. Establishing this committee was identified as an important first step to formalizing DIPP’s proposed organizational structure (see below) and developing more coordinated leadership for DIPP.  

Members of this committee include two to three individuals from each of DIPP’s five main stakeholder groups (local communities, universities, State government, County government, and NGOs). They will be meeting quarterly with Liz Van Dolah, DIPP’s coordinator, to help define the partnership’s goals and needs and advance DIPP’s mission through collaborative activities. These members will also help facilitate collaborations with other stakeholders in the DIPP network. The Coordination Committee will be reconvening in early June to discuss priorities for DIPP to pursue this year. We will engage the broader partnership in these discussions the near future.

Upcoming Opportunities for our Partners

Hurricane-Pandemic Compound Threat Workshop Series: 

You are invited to participate in an upcoming workshop series focused on the risks posed to vulnerable populations and volunteers during storm evacuation and sheltering. The six workshops will be hosted via Zoom, and will each focus on a particular aspect of evacuation and sheltering dynamics. They are designed to hear your perspectives and thoughts about managing the competing risks of protecting populations during the time of a severe storm event and public health crisis. The workshops will convene state, county and local leaders, experts, and providers from public health, government, health care, community civic groups, and others to identify knowledge gaps, needs and concerns in preparation for the upcoming 2020 hurricane season. To register, please visit the above link.

Funding Opportunity through the Union of Concerned Scientists:

The Science for Public Good Fund is a grant program for members of the Science Network to apply for up to $1,000 of financial support for online advocacy actions, digital community building, or other efforts to advance equitable science-based policy and action, with an emphasis on addressing local impacts.

Maryland Historic Trust Grant Opportunities:

The Maryland Historic Trust has several upcoming grant opportunities, including a newly established emergency grant to assist heritage-based organizations impacted by Covid-19. Please visit their website to learn more about the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority's COVID-19 Emergency Operating Grants, the FY 2021 Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program, and the FY 2021 African American Heritage Preservation Program Grants.

Annoucements

DIPP Recognized for its Application of Anthropological Practice: 

The Deal Island Peninsula Partnership was a recipient of the 2019 Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists’ Praxis Award, an award that recognizes projects or endeavors that use applied anthropological approaches to help address problems facing communities. Michael Paolisso, Liz Van Dolah, Christy Miller Hesed, and Jo Johnson submitted the application on behalf of DIPP.  We want to thank all of our partners for their participation in this important work! It is because of your contributions that DIPP has been a success.