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Home / Friends of Hunting Creek

Friends of Hunting Creek

Who We Are

The Friends of Hunting Creek is a group of concerned citizens in the Hunting Creek Watershed partnering with the American Chestnut Land Trust to advocate for the health of Hunting Creek and host events that give community members an opportunity to explore the natural resources around them!

Our Vision

The Friends of Hunting Creek envision a future where current residents and future generations act as stewards of a balanced ecosystem functioning sustainably within a healthy, resilient Hunting Creek watershed.

Our Mission

The mission of the Friends of Hunting Creek is to promote the ecological health and resiliency of the watershed’s 50 miles of streams and landscape so that landowners, citizens, government agencies, and elected officials together take an active role in protecting and sustaining the natural and cultural resources.

Facts About Hunting Creek

  • The Hunting Creek watershed covers 19,878 acres of central Calvert County, Maryland.
  • It is the largest of the County’s 22 watersheds and a major tributary to the lower Patuxent River.
  • The mainstem Hunting Creek and its many tributaries comprise about 50 miles of tidal and non-tidal streams.
  • The eastern, western, and southern portions of the Prince Frederick Town Center drain into Hunting Creek.
  • The watershed is currently 56% forested, 29% farmland, 8% impervious land cover, and is criss-crossed by 120 miles of roads
  • The Friends of Hunting Creek are committed to ensuring that the 9,500 people who live in the watershed will continue to thrive among Nature’s abundance. 
Can you find yourself in the watershed?

Citizen Science and Action in Hunting Creek

  • Water Quality Monitoring This past year, the Friends of Hunting Creek Participated in ACLT’s Water Quality Blitz. We tested several sites in Hunting Creek for nitrogen levels with the help of the Chesapeake Biological Lab. Click here to see the report.
  • Community Engagement We host paddles on a regular basis in order to get together with current members and connect with the community and the land!
  •  Stormwater Management Issues The Friends of Hunting Creek has also been monitoring the recent development in the Prince Frederick Town Center and our current storm water management systems. One of the Friend’s keystone issues has become preventing the increase in impervious land cover across the watershed. Check out the slides below, and the link to our StoryMap to learn more! 
Threats of Impervious Land Cover in Hunting Creek
What is Impervious Land Cover?
Impervious land cover is any surface that cannot effectively absorb or infiltrate rainfall or snow/ice melt. Impervious surfaces often include roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, and rooftops.
What is Impervious Land Cover?
Impervious land cover is any surface that cannot effectively absorb or infiltrate rainfall or snow/ice melt. Impervious surfaces often include roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, and rooftops.
They all have one thing in common;
Water runs off instead of through them. The runoff from these surfaces is not allowed to slowly enter the system as it would naturally through evapo/transpiration or percolation, and instead flushes into the system in large amounts, leading to issues with erosion, flooding, and transport of pollutants into vulnerable waterways.
They all have one thing in common;
Water runs off instead of through them. The runoff from these surfaces is not allowed to slowly enter the system as it would naturally through evapo/transpiration or percolation, and instead flushes into the system in large amounts, leading to issues with erosion, flooding, and transport of pollutants into vulnerable waterways.
What is Happening Here?
As plans for a new town center are made, we must keep stormwater management in mind. Prince Frederick is already riddled with several stormwater management failings that are impacting the health of our creeks, creating unhealthy nutrient loads, excessive stream erosion, sediment deposits, and flooding in areas where flooding has not happened before.
How to Help
Join the friends in working to ensure that the county keeps best practices and land preservation at the forefront of development, prioritizing its citizens and ecosystems first. Keep an eye out for our StoryMap highlighting stormwater management concerns in Hunting Creek​
ArcGIS Interacitve Story Map
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Get Involved!

Interested in joining the Friends of Hunting Creek? Like us on Facebook to keep up with event announcements or join our mailing list to hear about upcoming meetings and events. 

Upcoming Events!

Click on the image to register and/or get more info!

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