Photo By Staff Sgt. Daniel Garas | Kevin Munroe, manager of Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County Virginia gives a...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Employees of the McNamara Headquarters Complex learned about the redeveloped wetlands of nearby Huntley Meadows Park while attending a presentation in the facility’s auditorium May 1.
“It’s sort of a hidden gem,” Park Manager Kevin Munroe said. “A preservation of this type usually takes place at a federal level.”
The freshwater wetland is one of the rarest habitats left in Fairfax County and is a resource available to the public, located only five miles from the HQC. A major effort over the past year was aimed at restoring the wetlands to an earlier condition to provide a healthier habitat for native plants and animals.
“We don’t have anything like this in Fredericksburg,” Jeanne Rector, an environmental specialist for DLA Installation Support said. “I plan on bringing my nephew and niece up here to check it out.”
Rector attended last year’s presentation, before the project broke ground and said she was interested to hear about the restoration’s progress.
“It’s great to see the progress that’s been done,” Rector said. “They have really come a long way.”
Munroe said that the work undertaken was designed to restore the wetlands to a prosperous condition.
“Last year I explained what we were going to attempt,” Munroe said. “This year, now that construction has been completed, I can tell them about what we have succeeded.”
With funding from bonds and grants, construction of a berm and numerous brush shelters started in April 2013 and was completed by March 2014. The total cost of design, permitting and construction was $3 million and restores the habitat to one of the most productive and diverse emergent marshes in the mid-Atlantic area, he said.
The restoration allowed for the preservation of dozens of species indigenous to the local area.
“Bio-diversity is incredibly important,” Munroe said. “If you are managing land, you need to try to preserve it and educate people.”
Gail Carter, an environmental contractor with DLA Installation Support said educating people was one of the key goals behind the presentation.
“The idea behind the presentation is to raise awareness about the environment and the amazing resources that can be enjoyed right in the area,” Carter said. “Many people don’t realize we have something so amazing right down the road.”
For residents and employees that work and live in a sea of urban sprawl, the wetlands are a valuable addition, Rector said.
“It’s pretty amazing for people in this area to have a resource like this located right here,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2014 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 128522 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, McNamara HQC employees learn about nearby bio-diversity, wetlands, by PO1 Daniel Garas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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