FT #2 - Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary
     Leader: Chris Swarth (RPSWAR96@aacounty.org)

Trip departs at 12:15 PM from the circular drive at the rear entrance to the Wardman Park Hotel
Anticipated return at 7:00 PM
Limited to 40 participants

The Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary is a 1,500 research station and environmental education center located on the tidal Patuxent River in central Maryland. The Sanctuary consists of extensive freshwater tidal wetlands (tidal marshes, swamps and scrub wetlands), non-tidal wetlands, vernal pools, stream floodplains, mixed-deciduous forests, managed fields and meadows. The Sanctuary is also part of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Maryland. The tidal marshes support large stands of native wild rice (Zizania aquatica), as well as a high diversity of annuals and perennial macrophytes, and several species of submerged aquatic plants (SAVs). The Sanctuary serves as a research site for a number of long-term studies carried out by staff naturalists, and also by researchers from nearby universities and other research institutions. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington have carried out a number of studies focusing on biogeochemical processes and ecological relationships. Students and volunteers participate in a variety of ecological studies and environmental monitoring investigations organized by Sanctuary naturalists. To learn more about the Sanctuary, visit www.jugbay.org.


 

Photos from http://www.jugbay.org and used with permission