Frostburg University Students to Explore Somerset Co. Open Marsh Water Management Project on June 17; Project Highlights Mosquito Control, Reduces Pesticide, Restores Environment and Improves Habitat

An OMWM project in Connecticut. Rotary ditches, ponds, and pond radials are visible.

ANNAPOLIS – On June 17, MDA Environmental Scientist Daniel Schamberger will lead 15 ecology students from Frostburg University on an expedition of Deal Island Wildlife Management Area (Somerset County) to study the Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM) project there.

OMWM is a management tool used in coastal saltmarshes to control mosquitoes, improve habitat resources for fish and wildlife, and restore saltmarshes to the hydrological conditions as existed prior to the 1930’s and mitigate the impacts of parallel grid-ditching. This is accomplished by providing fish with access to larval habitats to consume the mosquito larvae. Ponds to serve as reservoirs for the fish are dug and connected to breeding areas by a system of ditches and channels. Existing ditches and channels are often used, modified or extended to allow fish to swim from reservoir ponds into breeding areas. As water recedes from the breeding areas, fish are able to return to the reservoir ponds via the ditches. Properly designed and constructed, OMWM projects continue to control mosquito larvae for decades without the need for applications of pesticide. OMWM increases waterfowl usage, increases the number of small fur bearing mammals on the marsh and improves water quality. OMWM projects are also known to benefit fish and crab populations.

The Deal Island OMWM project, established in 1984, is 372 acres and includes 76 ponds.  MDA put 23,000 acres under OMWM between 1976 and 1992 in Dorchester, Somerset and Worcester counties. Most of the marsh work performed by the MDA Mosquito Control Section is maintenance of existing projects.

WHAT:                 

Frostburg University Ecology Students to meet with MDA Environmental Scientist Dan Schamberger for hands-on exploration of the OMWM project as part of the State’s Mosquito Control Program. Students will discuss various topics of salt marsh ecology (flora, fauna, marsh zonation, and water chemistry). They will also pull a seine net through OMWM ponds and water control structures then sort and identify the various fish species, crab and shrimp collected and explain how they provide biological mosquito control. Students will also gather water quality information (temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) and collect submerged aquatic vegetation. 

WHEN:                 

Tuesday, June 17 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:               

Deal Island Wildlife Management Area (Somerset County)