Tax Ditch Program

DNREC provides administrative and technical assistance and support to tax ditch organizations and landowners across the State. Tax Ditch Law
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Tax Ditch Questions and Answers

The DNREC Tax Ditch Program has collected questions often asked by landowners about tax ditches. If you have additional questions, please contact the Tax Ditch Program at 302-855-1930 or by email. Tax ditch channels range in size from six to 80 feet wide, and two
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Drainage and Stormwater Assistance

Each year thousands of Delawareans express concerns about drainage and stormwater. In many cases, residents don’t know who to contact if they have a problem. Several state and local agencies, including DNREC, DelDOT, conservation districts and municipal public works programs can help resolve drainage and flooding related problems.
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Drainage Programs

The Drainage Programs work with landowners, tax ditch organizations and federal, state and local agencies to improve drainage, stormwater management and water quality in Delaware. The Drainage Programs manage regulatory and non-regulatory programs, including educational
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Wetland And Channel Restoration

The Drainage Program is responsible for over 45 wetland and stream restoration projects, resulting in approximately 180 acres of total restoration and habitat creation. Restoration activities are put into practice in a variety of locations, including local schools (creating an outdoor classroom), backyards of private landowners (Smith and Battista), marginal agricultural fields, and along
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Success Stories: Pike Creek

Pike Creek is in northern New Castle County and is a tributary of White Clay Creek within the White Clay Creek subbasin. The lower portions of the White Clay Creek are tidally influenced. In 2000, the President signed a law adding 190 miles of the White Clay Creek and its tributaries to the National Wild
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Biennial NPS Training and Meeting

The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program (NPS), in partnership with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3, hosted the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Nonpoint Source Program Training and Meeting in October of 2019. The states in the EPA Region 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) take turns hosting this biennial event. The next meeting, in 2021,
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Success Stories: Trap Pond

Southern Delaware’s Trap Pond is a tributary of Broad Creek, which drains to the Nanticoke River and flows to the Chesapeake Bay. This area has a unique ecology, as it is home to the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress in the United States. The area also contains a 2,000-acre wetland, one of the largest
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Success Stories: Gravelly Branch

Southern Delaware’s Gravelly Branch watershed drains into the Nanticoke River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Gravelly Branch begins in the town of Ellendale and flows toward the city of Seaford. The major land use in the 24,423-acre Gravelly Branch watershed is agriculture. Success
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Success Stories: Tappahanna Ditch

Tappahanna Ditch is located in the Choptank River watershed on the western edge of Delaware in Kent County. The Choptank River watershed consists of the Tappahanna Ditch, Culbreth Marsh Ditch, and Cow Marsh Creek. The drainage area of the Choptank River watershed within Delaware is approximately 97 square miles. [button
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Success Stories: Upper Marshyhope Creek

The Delaware portion of the Marshyhope Creek watershed (Upper Marshyhope Creek) lies within Kent and Sussex counties on the western edge of Delaware. The creek flows into Maryland before eventually discharging into the Nanticoke River, which in turn empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The drainage area of the Marshyhope Creek watershed within Delaware is approximately
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Success Stories: Cow Bridge Branch

Stockley Branch flows into Cow Bridge Branch watershed, which spans 28,676 acres and is located in the Indian River watershed in southeastern Sussex County. The Indian River Bay watershed makes up one of three of Delaware’s interconnected Inland Bays (Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay, and Little Assawoman Bay). [button type=”primary”
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Success Stories: Little Assawoman Bay

Little Assawoman Bay — the smallest of Delaware’s Inland Bays — is connected to Indian River Bay on the north by the Assawoman Canal and to Assawoman Bay on the south via a narrow channel. The Little Assawoman Bay watershed is an agriculture-dominated watershed covering three square miles with no influencing point sources. The area
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Success Stories: Noxontown Pond

Noxontown Pond covers approximately 158 acres near the headwaters of the Appoquinimink River watershed. This watershed contains three of the fastest developing municipalities in the state – Odessa, Townsend, and Middletown. While much of this watershed was historically agricultural, increased development has led to the conversion of farms into suburban residential communities. Less than 9%
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Success Stories: Records Pond

Records Pond, also known as Laurel Lake, was created in 1900 with the completion of the Records Pond Dam on Broad Creek. Although Records Pond is just over 90 acres, it is one of the larger lakes in Delaware. Almost at sea level, and with a maximum depth of 10 feet, the pond is relatively
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Success Stories: Coursey Pond

Coursey Pond, in southeast Kent County, is a 58-acre pond draining to the Murderkill River, a tributary to the Delaware Bay. The headwaters of the Murderkill River begin just west of Felton and flow towards Bowers Beach, with the lower 10.5-mile portion of the river influenced by tides. The Coursey Pond area is home to
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Success Stories: Abbott’s Mill Pond

Abbott’s Mill Pond was created over 200 years ago by damming Johnson Branch in order to power a grist mill. The pond covers approximately 25 acres on Johnson Branch, a tributary near the headwaters of the Mispillion River watershed. The pond is now maintained as part of the Abbott’s Mill Nature Center used for public
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Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant Program

Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants (CBIG) enable states the lie in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to meet the goals outlined in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, such as improving water quality. Brittany Sturgis Nonpoint Source Program 285 Beiser Blvd, Suite 102 Dover, DE
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Section 319 Grants

The Delaware Nonpoint Source Program administers a competitive grant program made possible through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The grant provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware. Sharon Webb
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Local Implementation Funding Grant

The Local Implementation Funding Grant is an annually-determined portion of funding set aside in Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant. Local implementation funding is intended for use by local entities within Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for best management practices (BMPs) implementation projects that will improve water quality by reduction of nutrient and sediment
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Nonpoint Source Program

The Nonpoint Source Program provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware. Nonpoint source pollution is pollution that originates from a diffuse source (such as an open field or a road) and is transported to surface or ground waters through leaching or runoff.
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Nonpoint Source Success Stories

The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program is committed to addressing pollution affecting Delaware waterbodies by encouraging and supporting the use of specific best management practices that can reduce the effects of nonpoint source pollution. Success Stories

Success Stories
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Sportsmen Against Hunger – The Season for Giving

Few things are better for avid hunters than a successful day in the field. Add the satisfaction of providing for families, creating opportunities for others, and supporting local charities, and you have an even better recipe. Our Sportsmen Against Hunger program represents what the holiday season is all about.
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Delaware’s Formula for Increasing Recycling – Do the Right Thing the Right Way

We celebrated America Recycles Day in November. The goal is to increase recycling efforts nationwide and in Delaware. And there are plenty of opportunities for us to make a difference, right now, through proper recycling. Our Secretary, Shawn Garvin, shares tips on how we can all recycle the right way.
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Microplastics: A Not So Tiny Tale

What happens to plastic after it fulfills its original purpose? Recycling gives many plastic items a second use but vast amounts are discarded and make their way into the environment. Some of this becomes microplastics. DNREC scientists are working on ways to clean them up.
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Conservation Districts

Delaware’s three conservation districts are involved in numerous programs and activities that help landowners become better stewards of their land, most notably the state cost-share program. New Castle Conservation District 2430 Old County Road Newark,
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Debris Pit Reporting Form

You can advice, guidance and in some cases financial assistance to deal with sinkholes caused by old debris pits on your property. The first step is reporting the issue, using the form below. Your Contact Information Your Name Phone Number Email
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Debris Pits

The State of Delaware and New Castle County have dedicated funding to remediate old debris pits. If you believe you have a debris pit, both can assist you in determining the best course of action. Debris Pit Remediation
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Conservation Programs

The DNREC Conservation Programs Section serves as a liaison between DNREC and the state’s three Conservation Districts and it administers a number of programs related to water quality protection, drainage, and sedimentation and stormwater. Nonpoint Source Program Drainage Program
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Our Weatherization Assistance Program – Helping Families Reduce Energy Costs

DNREC can help even out the potentially high costs of home heating, and make a home more energy efficient, through the Weatherization Assistance Program.
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Hanging with the Bats

Many of us are scared of bats. But they’re far more beneficial than harmful – and they’re not out to get us.
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“Not My Trash – But I Picked It Up.”
Coastal Cleanup 2020

For 32 years, volunteers cleared tons of trash from Delaware beaches in single-day events. In 2020, to make the Coastal Cleanup accessible and safe for everyone, the effort transitioned to a month-long campaign.
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Waste not Want Not: What Really Happens to Our Recyclables

Delaware’s Materials Recycling Facility is a 64-thousand-square-foot repurposing facility with state-of-the-art sorting equipment.
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Go Herpin’ — Join the Effort to Catalogue Delaware’s Reptiles and Amphibians

You can help us create the first-ever Delaware Amphibian and Reptile Atlas by submitting photos and locations of Delaware’s reptiles and amphibians, or as we call them, “herps.”
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Our Own Toliara

Toliara is a radiated tortoise who lives at the Brandywine Zoo. Radiated tortoises are reptiles and considered among the most beautiful in the world. His ancestors emerged on land shortly after dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago.
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What About Kestrels? The Brandywine Zoo is Finding Out

The American kestrel is a pint-sized yet ferocious aerial predator notorious for taking out tree swallows or bluebirds in mid-air. About the size of a mourning dove, this raptor is the smallest and most colorful falcon in North America.
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Everything Including the Kitchen “Sink” — Delaware’s Artificial Reefs

Over 20 years, Delaware has recycled more than two million tons of rock, 100,000 tons of concrete, 86 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 1,329 retired subway cars and 27 retired vessels to create new, artificial reefs.
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Electric Vehicles – On the Move in Delaware

Our relationship with electric automobiles has run hot and cold over the last 100 years, with gas-powered vehicles always winning in the end. Now people are looking for cleaner alternatives as concerns for the environment increase.
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Have You Seen Me?

We are mapping sightings of Delmarva fox squirrels and you can help. Use this form to report sightings and share information about this rare species. The Delmarva fox squirrel is no longer classified as an endangered or threatened species at the federal level. But it is still rare in Delaware. We are mapping the
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Plants and Plant Communities

Delaware has more than 1,600 species of native plants. More than a quarter of them are rare and can be found in more than 100 different terrestrial and wetland habitat types. The Division of Fish and Wildlife, working with the Water Resources Center, part of the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, maintains
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Become a Shorebird Project Volunteer

Spring brings the shorebird migration season. The Delaware Shorebird Project needs experienced and dedicated volunteers for the field season each spring. [button type=”info”
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Federal Funding for Fish and Wildlife

The Division of Fish and Wildlife uses a combination of federal funds and revenue from recreational licenses and permits to fund wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, public access, hunting, fishing and other services. Delaware receives federal funds from the Wildlife Restoration Act, the Sport Fish Restoration Act, and State Wildlife Grants to support wildlife conservation,
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Delaware Bay Ecology

The Delaware Bay is extraordinarily rich in biological resources. The beaches, mudflats, and marshes that line Delaware Bay provide abundant food and habitat for many species.
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Piping Plover Program

Dwindling populations have landed the Piping Plovers on the federal Endangered Species List. Delaware’s Piping Plover Program monitors these beach-nesting birds, provides habitat protection and educates the beach-going public. Henrietta Bellman Coastal Avian Biologist 302-735-3612
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Shorebird Research and Monitoring

Each May, the Delaware Shorebird Project carries out its research objectives during the shorebirds’ stopover in the Bay. The brief field season brings long, but rewarding, days on the coast. Henrietta Bellman Coastal Avian Biologist 302-735-3600
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Osprey Monitoring

Delaware’s osprey population is one of the state’s greatest conservation success stories. From the days of DDT and the collapse of many raptor populations, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, ospreys in Delaware have rebounded and the population continues to grow and expand state-wide. [panel type=”success” heading=”Contact Us”
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Delaware Wildlife Action Plan

The Division of Fish and Wildlife has created a Delaware Wildlife Action Plan to coordinate wildlife conservation practices in the 21st century. Funds appropriated by Congress through the State Wildlife Grants program require states to demonstrate comprehensive wildlife conservation needs. “Comprehensive” includes all species and all habitats. The federal State Wildlife
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The Delaware Shorebird Project

Shorebirds are an important part of the ecology of Delaware’s shorelines. But they are under threat; populations are declining. The Delaware Shorebird Project works to mitigate that threat, through research and monitoring, habitat protection, and management planning. Henrietta
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Do-it-Yourself Phragmites Control Tips

The Division of Fish and Wildlife offers a phragmites control cost-share program to help landowners control larger stands of phragmites. There are steps landowners can take themselves to control smaller areas of phragmites. Herbicides That Can be Used Sources for Aquatic Glyphosate
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Cost Share Program Questions and Answers

A list of frequently asked questions, and answers, about the phragmites control cost-share program offered by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. [button type=”info”
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