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Hidden
Beauty: Rare plants & Significant Habitats of C&O Canal
National historical Park
 Guardians
of Biodiversity
C&O
Canal NHP includes nearly 20,000 acres of natural habitats where
4 million people each year enjoy hiking, biking, fishing and various
other recreational activities. Bordering the Potomac River from
Cumberland, MD to Washington, D.C., the park's 184.5 miles support
a wide range of habitats and a great variety of species. A vital
role of the National Park Service, and contributors such as Canon
USA, Inc., is to protect native biodiversity along the Potomac River.
Canon's Expedition into the Parks Program funds priority conservation
projects in national parks. As areas of natural habitat outside
the park are altered by modern land use practices, C&O Canal
NHP becomes a refuge for the preservation of biodiversity.
 Treasures
of the C&O Canal NHP
C&O
Canal NHP is home to approximately 1,200 species of native plants.
Park records include more than 150 plants listed as rare, threatened
or endangered in Maryland and the District of Columbia. This represents
one of the highest concentrations of state-listed rare plants in
the eastern U.S. Several are GLOBALLY rare, and some occur here
because they are dependent upon special habitats and ecological
conditions present along the Potomac River.
Why
Here?
...
Numerous ecological factors along the Potomac River create a mosaic
of different natural habitats. Major factors influencing biodiversity
here include:
- The
canal begins just below the fall line and winds it's way westward
along the Potomac River, transecting the Piedmont, Blue Ridge,
and Ridge & Valley physiographic provinces.
- ...As a result, a variety of geologic formations are exposed,
supporting diverse native plant communities.
- Areas
along the Potomac River are subjected to frequent floods, causing
canopy gaps, scouring and deposition.
- ...As a result, this changing environment creates a diversity
of habitats, and therefore, diversity of organisms.
- Distributions
of many northern and southern plant species overlap the Potomac
River. Also, isolated populations of western species survive where
rare prairie habitat persists along the river
- ...As a result, rare species occur here that are known from
few other places in the Mid-Atlantic region, adding to the great
diversity of this area.
Did
you know?
- It is against federal law to pick, dig or otherwise collect
plants in the park
- Staying on officially marked trails helps prevent damage to
and trampling of native vegetation, including rare plants.
- Dumping yard waste in parks introduces non-native plants to
fragile ecosystems
 How
You Can Help
- Don't
pick or dig plants.
- Don't
hike off trails
- Don't
dump waste or refuse in parks
*Volunteer
for park conservation and management projects*
 Cooperation
in Protection
Canon
USA, Inc., through the National Park Foundation, provided a generous
grant to C&O Canal NHP and the Nature Conservatory, provides
ongoing inventory and monitoring of rare species and habitats in
the park, and maintains computerized databases for tracking rare
species.
This
project is made possible by a generous grant from Canon USA, Inc.,
through the National Park Foundation.
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