Featured Speaker:

Gloria Booth

President of the Friends of Dyke Marsh

A Short Introduction of our Guest Speaker

Information received from the Friends of Dyke Marsh

During the last half of the twentieth century, the growth of the Washington area led to pressures on environmentally sensitive areas, including Dyke Marsh. Plans were developed to again use the marsh as a dumping area, this time as a depository for dredged river spoil. In 1975, a group of local people decided to form a non-profit organization for the purpose of cooperating with the U.S. National Park Service in promoting the well-being of the marsh.

Since then the Friends have continued to work as an educational group, holding quarterly open meetings, publishing a newsletter known as The Marsh Wren, raising money to sponsor scientific studies of the marsh and conducting weekly nature walks. The Friends also play an activist role, opposing inappropriate activities that impinge on the health of the marsh as a wildlife habitat. Many volunteers compile and organize data to serve as a basis for preserving the integrity of the marsh. Members devote hundreds of hours in the field to complete their annual Breeding Bird Survey that helps to understand avian life in the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve.  For additional information go to http://www.fodm.org/default.htm

See you Monday night!
John Starcher
Warwick Village Citizens Association, President