Description
Wetipquin Pond is a Delmarva bay. This type of bay is a non-tidal, seasonally flooded freshwater wetland and is one of Maryland’s rarest natural communities.
These bays occur only on the Delmarva Peninsula, typically along the backbone of the peninsula where soils are poorly drained.
Seasonal flooding and saturated soils discourage many tree species from growing and create meadow-like openings dominated by grasses and sedges, providing habitat for rare plants like pond spice, purple bladderwort, Torrey’s mountain mint and reticulated nutrush and the nationally-rare creeping St. John’s wort.
TNC owns 40 acres protecting the pond and surrounding forest. Because the pond is remote and largely surrounded by the State of Maryland land, it has needed limited ecological management to date.
Because of the fragile ecology of Delmarva bays, Wetipquin Pond is only open to scientific research with prior permission from TNC. Thank you for your understanding and help in protecting this important part of Maryland’s natural heritage.
