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Natural Resources Management

Deer herd at Monocacy National Battlefield

Natural resource management at the park focuses on projects that protect and preserve the wildlife, vegetation, trails, water, and other resources to encourage biodiversity, while helping to maintain the condition of the park’s overall historic battlefield landscape.

Completed Projects

• Treated approximately 200 acres of invasive, exotic plants using chemical and mechanical controls. The park’s Youth Conservation Corps crew also assisted with pulling approximately 5 acres of exotic garlic mustard in and around a rare native plant area.

 

Ongoing Projects

• Maintain the approximately 7.5 miles of hiking and interpretive trails.
  
• Conduct biannual spotlight counts of the park’s deer population to estimate deer density.
  
• Began initial phases of a Water Resources Stewardship Report, with the help of the Water Resources Division from the National Park Service’s Washington Office. The report will help park managers with identifying, monitoring, and managing the park’s significant water resources – including the river, streams, wetlands, and springs.
  
• Continued preparing sites for, and planting, warm season grass meadows in recently converted agricultural fields on the Gambrill Farm. The meadows will provide habitat for grassland bird populations, as well as help to encourage insect and small mammal biodiversity.