Reservation 339
This section of the main part of Rock Creek Park (Reservation 339) sits between the Brightwood Plateau (commonly known as the ‘Carter Barron area’) and Beach Drive. This section of mesic mixed hardwood, successional tuliptree, and oak-beech/heath forest is highly fragmented by social trails and is critically important to several endangered species.
The primary restoration area is between the parking lot, the trail behind Picnic Grove 24, Morrow Drive, and the Valley trail in a heavily visited recreational section of the park.
Fun Fact: 7 species of bat live in Rock Creek Park; northern long-eared bats are endangered and rely on this section of forest as their habitat.
Size: 45 acres
Status: In progress since fall 2024
Primary issue: Significant fragmentation has limited the amount of interior forest available for wildlife
What is fragmentation?
Larger blocks – contiguous areas – of forest contain a greater proportion of interior area to edge area than several smaller blocks of the same overall size. Interior forest habitat is a vital resource to wildlife, and development has made it harder and harder to find these interior areas across the landscape. Birds nesting further from a fragmenting feature, like a road or trail, tend to have offspring with higher survival rates. Interior area begins more than 100 meters from an edge, so the unofficial trails park visitors sometimes use when looking for an official trail can significantly reduce interior area.
New signs will help visitors more easily find official trails, reducing pressure on interior area.
Plantings along forest edges, and sometimes fencing, will help to stitch together smaller fragments of forest into larger blocks.
Restoration Actions
March- April 2025: Site-wide contracted treatment of invasive vegetation.
March 2025: Planting 80 native trees and shrubs including American hazelnut, black huckleberry, and pignut hickory.
December 2024: Planting of 128 native trees and shrubs including black oak, mapleleaf viburnum, and American holly.
November 2024: Installation of fence and rerouting of the official trail at Picnic Grove 24 to reduce fragmentation of the forest by social trail users.
August 2024: Contracted treatment of invasive vegetation north of Picnic Grove 24.
July 2024: Baseline monitoring to measure the extent of invasion and document existing native or rare plants.