BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Prince Frederick -- Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

MD -- Prince Frederick -- Battle Creek Cypress Swamp:

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[1] BCREEK_151011_001.JPG	[2] BCREEK_151011_005.JPG	[3] BCREEK_151011_012.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BCREEK_151011_001.JPG: Battle Creek Cypress Swamp A Bald Cypress Reserve and amphibian sanctuary. One of the last remaining stands of Bald Cypress in Maryland, and the most northerly growth in the Country. Registered as a National Landmark, 1965.
2. BCREEK_151011_018.JPG: Battle Creek Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary: This 100-acre Sanctuary preserves one of the northernmost baldcypress swamps in the United States. The property was acquired from the Gray and Keim families by The Nature Conservancy in 1957 with funding assistance from the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. Since 1977, the Sanctuary has been managed by the local government of Calvert County which provided all site improvements. Continued funding support maintains public access and environmental education opportunities through the Calvert County Natural Resources Division. * Individuals with special needs should contact the staff. * The 1/4 mile boardwalk trail begins through the building. * Pets are prohibited on the trail and in the Nature Center. Please enjoy the Sanctuary without disturbing the natural world you observe. Cypress Swamp
3. BCREEK_151011_040.JPG: Welcome to Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary This 100-acre Swamp Sanctuary was established by The Nature Conservancy to preserve the diversity of the plants and animals found in this wetland habitat. Please enjoy the Sanctuary without disturbing the natural world you observe. * Please use caution. Trail is slippery when wet. * Pets are prohibited on the trail. * Contact staff for handicapped accessibility. * Please help maintain the beauty of this area by staying on the boardwalk and leaving things as you find them.
4. BCREEK_151011_054.JPG: What is a Cypress Swamp? Swamps are wetlands with trees. In this swamp, the majority of trees you see are baldcypress trees. Wetlands like this cypress swamp play an important role in slowing run-off and preventing harmful nutrients and silt from entering the Chesapeake Bay. What is special about Baldcypress? Baldcypress are conifers, meaning they bear needles and cones. However, unlike most conifers that are evergreen, baldcypress shed all of their needles every fall like a maple or oak. Old Man of the Swamp: Closely related to the Coastal Redwood Trees of California. Baldcypress are the oldest trees on the Atlantic Coast. Here, the Maryland State Champion is estimated to be 500-600 years old. Most of the trees along the trail are between 75 and 200 years old. Trees with Knees: Knees, projections from the baldcypress roots, reach a maximum height under regularly flooded conditions. They may help provide air, food or stabilization to the tall trees, but do not become new trees themselves. The "Wood Eternal": Along your hike, you may notice stumps, which are remnants of baldcypress trees cut in the 1940s. Baldcypress lumber is valued for its resistance to decay, and was used for building boats, barns and houses. It has been called the "Wood Eternal."
5. BCREEK_151011_091.JPG: The "Battle" Story: The body of water you see before you is Battle Creek. Early colonists named the creek after their hometown of Battle, England in the mid 1600s. Just south of the sanctuary, the creek becomes tidal and is one of the County's largest tributaries of the Patuxent River. The transportation of goods, like tobacco, was done mostly by schooner. Evidence of rolling roads and wharf sites along Battle Creek illustrate that the Creek was an important economic thoroughfare for the region. Located at the junction of Battle Creek and the Patuxent River, Calverton served as the county seat from 1654 to 1724. The town was complete with a courthouse, jail, inn and tavern. A prison camp established here during the Civil War, has given the area its current name of Prison Point Farm.
6. BCREEK_151011_119.JPG: Natural Partners ... Wetlands & Wildlife
Wikipedia Description: Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp (BCCS) is a forested wetland near Prince Frederick in Calvert County, Maryland, USA. It is one of the northernmost sites of naturally occurring bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) trees in North America, and the only large stand of the trees on the western shore of Maryland. In 1965, the National Park Service designated the BCCS a National Natural Landmark.

The BCCS Sanctuary

The Nature Conservancy purchased the wetland, which became the "Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary", in 1957. It was the Conservancy's first preserve in Maryland and encompasses 100 acres (40 ha) (about 1% of the 10,060-acre (40.7 km2) watershed of Battle Creek). A portion of it is now open as a public park with a nature center and quarter-mile boardwalk through the swamp. Since 1977, the preserve has been leased to Calvert County and operated as a county park.

Natural history

Cypresses, such as the bald cypress, and their relatives once covered much of the northern temperate zone. It is thought that these trees disappeared from the BCCS area during the most recent Pleistocene glaciation ("Ice Age"), but then reappeared around 5,000 to 10,000 years ago as the climate warmed.

In addition to the cypress, the Sanctuary protects many songbirds (prothonotary warbler, waterthrush), frogs (green frog, spring peeper) and several wildflower species (cardinal flower, jack-in-the-pulpit). Skunk cabbages emerge early each spring.
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