About the Project
Several habitat restoration projects have improved the fishing opportunities and water quality within Claude Moore Park and ultimately in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) staff and Claude Moore Park Summer Naturalist Interns installed bio-logs and coconut fiber mats, purchased by the park. These stabilize the shoreline by allowing plants to grow through the mats and logs to reduce the silt in the pond.

 
Summer Naturalist Interns and VDGIF staff installed bio-logs (left) and coconut fiber mats along the shore and dam (right) to reduce silt in Frogshackle Pond. Cleaner water will produce healthier fish and better fishing opportunities.

Planting Trees & Shrubs
Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and a local school helped plant trees and shrubs to slow and filter rainwater entering the pond. An Eagle Scout project planted eleven huge sugar maple trees, built steps into a hill, and cleared drainage ways.

Park staff planted nine additional mature trees near the pond. All of the trees and shrubs, plus a buffer of wildflowers, were purchased by our advisory board, The Friends of Claude Moore Park, using a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. An Eagle Scout and his crew moved fifteen cedars and cleaned ditches along Vestal’s Gap Road as part of this watershed project. Plants were purchased with a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund.

Pawpaw trees were planted in a grove near Frogshackle Pond by Faith Christian School and Park View High School’s volunteer teams. These students also lined Vestal’s Gap Road with Redbud trees and planted Blackhaw Viburnum to the east of Lanesville Stream.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund
Having a crab on your license plate does much more than let other drivers know you enjoy the Chesapeake Bay. Money generated from the sale of Friend of the Chesapeake license plates is used to fund projects that restore or educate people about the bay.