Introduction

The Jackson Lane Preserve is a 92 acres (70 acres forested, 22 acres emergent) wetland restoration located in the Upper Choptank River (02-13-04-04) watershed of Caroline County.  It includes an additional 53 acres of conversion from upland farm to forest.     

Construction

In Spring/Summer 2003, the Maryland Department of the Environment, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, converted an agricultural area into wetlands through grading and planting.   Additional plants were added in Fall 2003 and Phase II was completed in 2004.                

Status

In 2007, MDE conducted intensive site monitoring which included installing IRIS tubes, evaluating the soil, monitoring hydrology multiple times during the spring growing season, and scoring the site.  The installed IRIS tubes and the hydrological observations found sufficient hydrology to satisfy the wetland hydrology requirement.  All sampled soils were saturated and hydric.  The forested portions are dominated by Sweetgum, but include several other tree/shrub species.  A group of students from the University of Maryland (CRABBS) evaluated the site as well.   Using the newly developed Mitigation Site Scoring Method, MDE gave this site the score of 108/100, the highest score of any mitigation site to date.  This site provides a high amount of wetland functions, including filtering sediment/pollutants, discharging and recharging groundwater, providing educational and aesthetic values, and providing excellent habitat for a variety of species.  This site is part of a large complex that contains a rare dragonfly.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also has a website describing this site.

While this site is on The Nature Conservancy Land, since it is a sensitive ecosystem, access is restricted.  Click on this link to view an aerial photo and location information.