RESTORATION MONITORING OF THE RECONSTRUCTED TIDAL FRESHWATER WETLANDS IN THE ANACOSTIA RIVER ESTUARY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

K.D. Brittingham¹, R.S. Hammerschlag¹, and P.I. May². ¹U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, ²District of Columbia Department of Environmental Health

Considerable freshwater tidal wetland reconstruction has been taking place in the Anacostia River estuary in Washington, D.C. Thirty-two acres of wetland were restored at Kenilworth Marsh in 1993 and about 35 acres were restored at Kingman Lake in 2000. Projects of this magnitude need a monitoring effort to document the development and evolution of the reconstructed wetlands over time. There is a need to develop an understanding of the benthic and phytoplankton populations occupying these new Anacostia wetland areas. Having relatively short life cycles and large populations one would expect rapid community development that would compare to established wetlands in the area. Failure for such development to occur could point to local problems with water and sediment quality as well as contaminants or possibly inadequate habitat. This project investigated the benthic macroinvertebrates, fish and plankton status at the just reconstructed Kingman Marsh and the diversity of an almost identical marsh built 7 years prior at Kenilworth Marsh. Monitoring was also conducted in a remnant Anacostia marsh known as Dueling Creek about half a mile upstream. Preliminary findings show that a benthic macroinvertebrate community has begun to establish itself and the surrounding waters do support a variety of resident and anadromous fish.