Nature in bloom at lotus festival on Mattawoman

Audubon will dedicate bird area

Friday, Aug. 20, 2010

Because Southern Maryland is home to a few at-risk bird species, Audubon Maryland-DC — the local chapter of the environmental group National Audubon Society — plans to dedicate the forest lands of the Mattawoman Creek watershed as an Important Bird Area on Saturday.

The ceremony will be held at the Mattawoman Creek Lotus Blossom Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. at Mattingly Park in Indian Head.

David Yeany, IBA program coordinator, said the Mattawoman Creek IBA was identified because "there are significant populations of three forest interior birds" — Prothonotary warbler, Kentucky warbler and wood thrush. The IBA extends from Indian Head to Waldorf and covers 15,167 acres including the Myrtle Grove Wildlife Management Area.

An IBA is a site that provides habitat to one or more species of at-risk birds and includes nesting areas, migration stop-over sites, or wintering grounds. The goal of the IBA program is to ensure viability of the habitats and the populations and their bird populations, the press release stated.

Once an IBA site is identified, "we can prioritize for them conservation actions like integrating them into land-use planning or trying to have land protected through conservation easements, whatever really is being dictated by the Important Bird Area," Yeany said.

The Mattawoman is also one of the most diverse assemblages of forest interior birds, or birds that require a large forested area in order to successfully breed, he said.

On Saturday, Audubon Maryland-DC not only will dedicate the IBA but also will recognize the conservation efforts of some of the land owners and land managers along with local organizations such as the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Park Service and the Wildlife & Heritage Service.

As part of the Mattawoman Creek Lotus Blossom Festival, free boat rides will be available to view the blossoms. There also will be live music provided by Grace Griffith and Lynn Hollyfield and activities for the kids such as fish printing and face painting.

The American lotus is "an imperiled plant in Maryland," said Jim Long of the Mattawoman Watershed Society. "It's a distinct rare plant. In fact, there are only four populations in the entire state. The Mattawoman Creek population is the only one on the western shore."

The event will serve as a way for people to appreciate the creek and highlights its value, Long said. It's also a way to bring attention to the fact that the county's growth policies will directly affect the Mattawoman Creek's health.

According to the press release, "the site is threatened by the proposed construction of a new four-lane highway that would cut across the Mattawoman Creek near the middle of the Important Bird Area."

The construction of the cross-county connector would destroy 73.8 acres of forest and cut the forest into two sections. Future development and urban sprawl along the connector could fragment the land even more and increase pollution, according to Long.

"If we don't protect the forest of the watershed, then we won't be protecting the Mattawoman Creek," Long said.

The festival is organized and sponsored by the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County, a coalition mostly of environmental groups.

spoynor@somdnews.com

If you go

The Mattawoman Creek Lotus Blossom Festival and Important Bird Area dedication will be held from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Mattingly Park, Indian Head.

Parking is available at the Indian Head Village Green, 100 Walter Thomas Road. A shuttle bus will run as needed starting at 12:30 p.m.