Its watershed encompasses 176 square miles and contains 13 subwatersheds in southeast Washington, DC and Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. A watershed worth saving. The watershed of the river roughly covers 176 sq mi (460 km ) in eastern Montgomery County and northern Prince George's County, as well as parts of Washington, D.C. What is the Anacostia Watershed Society Earth Day Cleanup? The Anacostia River might be small — 8.5 miles — but don’t be fooled by  its size. Explore the Outdoors: Recreational Activities Near Washington, D.C. Get to Know Washington, D.C. A recent inventory of species, called a BioBlitz, counted 522 unique species, including rare and endangered species, birds, fish, mammals, amphibians, insects and many more. Sherard grew up along the Atlantic coast in Wilmington, North Carolina, and studied marine biology at Duke. (For more information about local indigenous history, visit DC Native History Project). He also serves o n the board of Friends of the National Arboretum and on Citizen Advisory Committees for the Chesapeake and the Anacostia. Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Number: 88425. Points of Interest Along the Anacostia River, Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership. Rachel Cooper is a travel writer who has lived in the Washington, D.C., area for more than 25 years. In 1608, when Captain John Smith sailed up the Potomac and into the Anacostia, he marveled at its depth and clarity. Since the river was 40 feet deep, it was able to accommodate ocean going ships. The Anacostia Watershed is home to an incredible amount of species, and it takes a village to get out there and document them all! Anacostia Riverkeeper is a member of Waterkeepers Chesapeake, a coalition of the full-time Waterkeepers that span the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (MD, PA, VA, and DC). Early History Before the European arrival, the Anacostia River system ran narrow and fast in the upper parts of the watershed and deep, broad and slow in its tidal parts. A total of 8 episodes will be released, once each week starting April 3, 2018. The George Washington House 4302 Baltimore Avenue Bladensburg, MD 20710 phone: 301-699-6204 fax: 301-699-3317 [email protected], Copyright © 2021 Anacostia Watershed Society. The very first bioblitz was even held right here, at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens ! Life got hard for the Anacostans in the 17th century, their location was choice for trade, but they were also the first tribe to be attacked by other Native tribes from the north. Journey along the river and you might see bald eagles, beavers, ospreys, cormorants, white perch, striped bass, crayfish, herons, turtles, egrets, otters, red fox, shad, kingfishers, catfish and even mussels! A Guide to Transportation in Washington, D.C. Anacostia River (Things to Know About the Anacostia Watershed). The Anacostia Watershed Society’s Earth Day Cleanup is a DC-area tradition where thousands of volunteers cleanup sites all along the Anacostia River and its tributary streams throughout the watershed in DC, … The Anacostia River watershed extends through suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia and is one of the most densely populated urban watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Sherard also serves as chair of the Anacostia Watershed Citizen Advisory Committee hosted by the Metropolitan Council of Governments. In times like these, the Anacostia Watershed Society relies on donors like you to sustain our important work to protect and restore the Anacostia River. It is the anglicized name for anaquash (a)-tan(i)k, meaning a village trading center. The Anacostia River flows from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC to its mouth at the Potomac River near downtown Washington. She is also the author of several books covering the capital and mid-Atlantic regions. In the 1660s, hard times caused the Anacostan chief to leave his tribal homestead, which was located where the Joint Anacostia-Bolling Base now sits. Click here to see a map of the Anacostia Watershed. For their research, they constructed two rain gardens on campus near the Anacostia River watershed in the Fall of 2001. [42] Much of the runoff from the University of Maryland campus, a member of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership, ends up in the Anacostia River feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. Despite centuries of development and pollution, the Anacostia River Watershed is still a remarkably rich natural area. Things to Know About Washington DC's Potomac River, 10 Things to Do on the Capitol Riverfront in Washington DC. Local community groups offer special programs and activities such as clean-up days to provide additional support. The Anacostia Riverwalk is a 20-mile multi-use trail under construction for bicyclists, joggers, and hikers along the east and west banks of the river stretching from Prince George’s County, Maryland to the Tidal Basin and the National Mall in Washington, DC. Development along the river led to the destruction of the forests, meadows and wetlands that make for a healthy watershed. In the 18th century, the Port of Bladensburg served as a major center for colonial shipping. This data report is a summary of chemical analyses conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey on ground water and sediment in the tidal Anacostia River watershed, Washington, D.C. … The candidate projects fall The Anacostia Watershed is approximately 170 square miles with a population of more than 800,000 people who live within its boundaries.< br/>The Anacostia River and its … The name "Anacostia" derives from the area's early history as Nacotchtank, a settlement of Necostan or Anacostan Native Americans. With our fellow Waterkeepers in the Chesapeake Bay Region, we protect families by stopping pollution. These wetlands supported a wide variety of plants, including wild rice, American lotus, and several … And he is a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Coordinating Council for the River. It was banked by an estimated 2500 acres of wetlands that inundated and dried according to the tides and the seasons. Anacostia River Subwatershed Map The Anacostia has 13 major tributary creeks and streams: Northwest Branch, Northeast Branch, Sligo Creek, Paint Branch, Little Paint Branch, Indian Creek, Beaverdam Creek, Still Creek, Dueling Creek, Lower Beaverdam, Hickey Run, Watts Branch and Pope Branch. Much of the runoff from the University of Maryland campus, a member of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership, ends up in the Anacostia River feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed, which stretches 176 miles across portions of the … The bridge is sure to become an architectural icon. That land and much of the shoreline upriver on the Anacostia was cleared for farming by the settlers. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. The 11th Street traffic bridges that connect Capitol Hill and historic Anacostia neighborhoods will soon be transformed into the city’s first elevated park providing a new venue for outdoor recreation, environmental education and the arts. The tribe he found living at the mouth of the river were traders and the name he recorded for them was “Nacotchtank,” which seems derived from the Native word for “a town of traders.” Over the years, that name evolved to “Nacostine” and later “Anacostine,” eventually giving us the names which we use today - “Anacostan” for the tribe and “Anacostia,” for the river. The Capitol Riverfront BID celebrates the many years and transitions of the Anacostia River Watershed with a photography exhibit shot by DC-based award-winning photographer and author Krista Schlyer. In recent years, private organizations, local businesses, and the DC, Maryland and federal governments have formed a partnership to reduce pollution levels and protect the ecologically of the watershed. The 8.7-mile-long Anacostia River runs from Bladensburg, Maryland, to the District of Columbia, where it passes through several residential neighborhoods and … Much of the runoff from the University of Maryland campus, a member of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership, ends up in the Anacostia River feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. The settlers brought new diseases, which afflicted Natives throughout the Chesapeake, and conflicts that also cost them lives. Anacostia Watershed Society – The organization is dedicated to cleaning the water, recovering the shoreline, and honoring the heritage of the Anacostia River and its watershed communities in Washington, DC and Maryland. The Anacostia River watershed is home to 43 species of fish, some 200 species of birds, and more than 800,000 people. The mission of Anacostia Riverkeeper is to protect and restore the Anacostia River for all who live, work, and play in its watershed, and to advocate for a clean river for all its communities. In what we now recognize as a counterproductive approaches, the Army Corps of Engineers built a series of levees designed to control flooding, further degrading the natural systems of the Anacostia. From Hains Point, the Anacostia joins the Potomac River for 108 miles until it empties into the Chesapeake Bay at Point Lookout. 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