THE FWCCSP RECORD

Friends of White Clay Creek State Park Newsletter

Friends of White Clay Creek State Park

P.O. Box 9734

Newark, DE 19714-9734

http://fwccsp.udel.edu

Volume 3, No.2 July 2000

Reforestation Project Receives Grant

We are delighted that the Longwood Foundation has recognized our reforestation project
with a $20,000 grant toward expenses for our Fall planting, which will place 600 trees on two
acres of a field in the Possum Hill section of the park. Congratulations to proposal writers Christa
Stefanisko and Andy Urquhart.
The planting is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of October 27/28/29. We will need
lots of volunteers, so please save some time for this exciting project. We will get back to you
with more details as plans are finalized.
Incidentally, to protect our public charity status with the IRS, we are arranging for the
grant funds to flow directly to the state where they will be placed in a special account for this
project. Thus, these funds will not show up in our financial statements.

Delaware Migratory Songbird Festival

A higWy successful migratory songbird festival was held at WCCSP on May 7. The
festival began on May 6 at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. At WCCSP we began with a
bird walk at 7:30 AM led by Jeff Gordon, a member ofFWCCSP and the current president of the
Delmarva Ornithological Society. He is also a bird tour leader for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours,
Inc. About 50 participants were thrilled with Jeff's ability to arrange excellent sightings of marty
interesting and beautiful birds such as the Cerulean Warbler, Northern Parula, and Scarlet
Tanager. Several people from out of state, who had been at Bombay Hook on the 6th, were on
the walk and had nice comments about the festival, the leaders, and the beauty ofWCCSP. About
25 persons attended Jeff's presentation on songbird migration later in the morning at the
Chambers House Nature Center (CHNC).
In the afternoon Julie Smith led a wildflower and folklore walk in the Preserve for about
12 participants. Late in the afternoon Frank Rawling, with help from Andy Urquhart and Meta
Little, led about 15 participants on a second birdwalk. They had good views of a female Cerulean
Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Special thanks are due to the
activity leaders and to Frank Rawling for organizing the festival.
Birder's Guide
Copies of "A Birder's Guide to White Clay Creek State Park" by Mark C. Keese and Gene
K. Hess are available free on request at the park office and the nature center. For novice birders
or for experienced birders who are not familiar with the park, this guide should be a great help in
finding some of our special birds. Mark and Gene have done an outstanding job on this, our first
publication

Liberty Day
The Fourth of July dawned warm and got hotter (but no storms) as many vendors,
entertainers, political organizations, and community information groups gathered at the Carpenter
Recreation Area for Liberty Day. The Friends were there with an exhibit and information about
the Park and our organization's activities. We also had a magnet for the younger set, the bubble
machine. Tom Hallenbeck and Andy Urquhart had lots of interested visitors to our exhibit and
distributed 58 membership forms and other information, received a new family membership, and
had 14 others sign up to be on our mailing list for this newsletter.

Water Ice Sales At Wednesday Evening Concerts

With the support of the Park staff, the Friends have started a fund raiser by selling water
ice at the Wednesday evening concerts at Carpenter Recreation Area. Attending a concert is a
great way to spend a summer evening, and with the variety of musical groups performing, there's
bound to be some that you'll want to attend (the season has been extended to August 30 to re­
schedule a previously rained out concert). And while you're there enjoying the music, cool off
with a water ice and support your organization. We have a good core group of members who
have volunteered to work at the water ice stand, but we can use more help. If you can spare one
Wednesday evening this summer, contact Tom Hallenbeck at (610) 274-1345.

Newark Community Day

The Friends group will again staff a booth at the Newark Community Day event on
Sunday, September 17, at the University of Delaware in Newark. The booth serves to educate the
public about the Friends group and their activities. Contact Kyle Bottorff (239-9828 or
Kbottorff@herc.com) if you are able to volunteer some of your time to help set up, take down, or
staff the booth. Hope to see you there!

New FWCCSP Web Site

Check out our new web site at http://fwccsp.udel.edu. Thanks are due to webmaster Rick
Hall, assisted by Kyle Bottorff, for this great new communication tool.
Membership Report
During the second quarter seven new members joined the Friends, bringing the
membership total to 159. We anticipate further growth in the third quarter after membership
drives at Newark Liberty Day and Community Day events. To date, most of the members up for
renewal in 2000 have renewed, and we thank you for showing your continued support of the
White Clay Creek State Park and the Friends group. For those who have not renewed yet, the
deadline has been extended to July 31. Please take advantage ofthis extension.
Lisa Wool has agreed to assist with the Membership duties. Lisa brings a lot of energy
and many new ideas on increasing membership and serving our existing members even better.
We are looking forward to continued growth, both in membership and in activities throughout the
year. If you know of any persons who would like information on joining the Friends group please
refer them to the new Friends web site at http://fwccsp.udel.edu or they can call Kyle Bottorff at
239-9828 or Lisa Wool at 235-2240.

Treasurer's Report
Revenues for the second quarter of 2000 were $303.58, and expenditures were $431.29 for
a net change of$-127.71. Most of the income was derived from member dues and contributions
for the park bench project with minor revenue coming from unrestricted contributions and
interest. Major expenses consisted of costs associated with the birder's guide and bird house
projects. There were minor expenses associated with the reforestation project, annual meeting,
and mail. The FWCCSP books are open to all members. Call Kyle Bottorff at 239-9828 if you
have any questions.

Adopt-a-Highway
rd
Our June 3 clean-up ofFoxden Road yielded 12 bags of trash, about half the usual
amount we have picked up previously, perhaps because other refuse is hidden by vegetation at
this time of year. Dee and Dick Benson, Laurel Pearson, Frank and Phyllis Rawling, Maggie
Thomas, and Chris Yasik comprised the pick-up crew. One item picked up by Chris was a
"needle in a haystack" placed along the road by a field editor of Country magazine as part of their
"Great Country Cleanup" campaign. Finders of these plastic needles placed in a plastic bag with
accompanying note each receive $100. Unfortunately, the program ended on May 31, 2000, and
the note says to not bother to call if you find the needle after that date. Sorry, Chris, you missed
the prize by three days.

Park Bench Update

Volunteers Tom Braatz, John Thomas, and Andy Urquhart have recently completed 6 new
benches that are now ready for placement in the park. We will be installing some of these
benches at selected locations over the next month or two. By the way, we can still accept
donations for 4 of these benches.
Advocacy

As part of a broad coalition of environmental and civic organizations, representatives of

the Friends are continuing their efforts to encourage the state to preserve as much open space as
possible, including additions to our park. The state has been very generous in the past, and we are
hoping the generosity will continue. Please remember always to thank your representatives for
their past foresight in open space preservation and encourage them to continue this important
work.

Trail Work

The scheduled monthly trail workday on June 3 commemorated National Trails Day with
a work session at the Judge Morris property. Joining us on this special day were volunteers from
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Newark and members of the state parks trail
crew who accompanied each work group. The morning consisted of closing short spurs off of
main trails, some trail maintenance, and the removal of debris. Participating from the Friends
were Bob Bennett, Wendel and Andrea Cassel, Charlie Gaines, Tom Hallenbeck, and John
Thomas. See the calendar of events for upcoming trail workdays. If you think you'd like to
participate in the future by receiving specific plans for each date, contact Wendel Cassel at 737­
3319.

Trail Watch

As part of the continuing program to provide monthly monitoring, minor maintenance,

and feedback to the park staff on more serious trail conditions requiring attention, more
volunteers from our membership are being recruited both for additional trails and as replacements
for former trail-watchers. The level of participation committed by each volunteer is also being
surveyed, ranging from (1) walking the assigned trail and removing debris, to (2) performing
maintenance activities such as trimming brush and clearing water passages across trails, to (3)
checking trail conditions shortly after major storms in addition to normal monitoring. There are
currently a few trails that need to be covered, so if you are interested contact John Thomas at 456­
3242.

Volunteer Hours

The Friends are continuing to be very active organizing and doing volunteer work for the
park. During April, May, and June we recorded 165,83, and 227 hours, respectively, for a total
of 475 hours for the second quarter of 2000. We can be proud of our level of support for the park.
Thanks to all our volunteers.
Update by Park Superintendent Nick McFadden

The Wedgewood Road pedestrian bridge crossing White Clay Creek will be placed on the
reinforced bridge abutments during September.
Construction of the day-use parking area for the Judge Morris area will begin this summer
and is scheduled for a fall completion.
Band stage, playground, and parking lot improvements at the Carpenter Recreation Area
are scheduled to begin this fall.
Renovation of the equestrian barn into the new maintenance center should be done by this
summer.
Creek Road between Wedgewood and Hopkins roads will be gated from sunset to 8:00
AM, seven days a week, beginning sometime this summer. After a new day-use parking lot is
completed at the Wedgewood Road end, the road will be gated 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, with a possible modification during trout season.
Newly designed exhibits are planned for installation this summer in the CHNC.
The Division has created a State Parks Trail Crew supervised by David Bartoo. Their
primary focus is completion of a trail system in the Judge Morris area, but they will also assist
WCCSP staff with trail maintenance in other areas of the park.
Division representatives met with DELDOT engineers about the safety of the Thompson
Station Rd. and Hopkins Rd. intersection. DELDOT is proposing possible late summer or fall
work to elevate the curve or level it out, pave the road with a more porous surface to lessen
skidding, and install a guardrail on the curve.
Culvert replacement on Thompson Station Road is still scheduled for this fall and will
result in closure of the road between Chambers Rock Road and Hopkins Road.

Friends Support Parks Projects

Occasionally park personnel call on the Friends to provide volunteers when help is needed
on their projects. As a recent example, Phyllis Rawling and Lyn Urquhart served food and helped
clean up at the Garden Party held at the Judge Morris House on June 17. Also, on June 24
Wendel Cassel, Mike Cassel, Tom Hallenbeck, and Keith Weaver helped carry building materials
to a site in the Judge Morris area where a new footbridge is to be built. We can look forward to
more such requests in the future.

Meeting Schedule Reminder

The next meeting of the Friends will be on September 21 at 7:00 PM at the Chambers
House Nature Center.
Calendar of Events
July 4 - Newark Liberty Day at Carpenter Recreation Area
July 15 - Trail Work
August 14 - Executive Committee Meeting
August 19 - Trail Work
September 11 - Executive Committee Meeting
September 16 - Trail Work
September 21 - Quarterly Membership Meeting
September 17 - Newark Community Day
October 9 - Executive Committee Meeting
October 21 - Trail WorklMake-A-Difference Day
October 27/28/29 - Reforestation Planting (tentative)
November 12 - Trail Work
November 13 - Executive Committee Meeting
December 4 - Executive Committee Meeting with the Advisory Board
December 7 - Membership Meeting
December 17 - Trail Work

Usually there are also unscheduled activities underway. Call Projects Coordinator Tom
Hallenbeck at (610) 274-1345 for more information if you think you might like to get
involved.

Executive Committee:

President: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471, AUrqu@aol.com

Vice-President: Frank Rawling 738-0913, rawling@wserv.com
Treasurer: Kyle Bottorff, 239-9828, KBottorff@herc.com
Secretary and Newsletter Editor: Dick Benson, 410-398-4180, rbenson@dol.net
Projects Committee Chair: Tom Hallenbeck, 610-274-1345, hallentj@msn.com

Current Project Leaders:

Trail Watch: John Thomas, 456-3242

Adopt-a-Highway: Dee and Dick Benson, 410-398-4180
Park Benches: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471
Advocacy: Andy Urquhart, 239-2471
Reforestation: AI Zverina, 239-5046, and Christa Stefanisko, 369-1933
Birder's Guide: Mark Keese, 455-1076, and Gene Hess, 738-4690
Birding Festival: Frank Rawling, 738-0913
Trail Improvement Work: Wendel Cassel, 737-3319
Website: Rick Hall, 831-1295, and Kyle Bottorff, 239-9828