On October 22, 2025, Alison Zak urged her Zoom audience of 77 to “reframe their thinking that beavers are pests.” She explained that beavers (Castor canadensis) improve water quality, restore freshwater systems, protect wetlands, enhance groundwater recharge and increase biodiversity.
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On August 29, 2025, NPS staffers installed a new wayside on the boardwalk explaining the stone breakwater and sills in the south marsh visible from the boardwalk.
On August 19, 2025, Brent Steury with the National Park Service led a walk in Dyke Marsh for 17 adults and ten youngsters. Steury is the Natural Resources Program Manager for the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance’s July 2025 newsletter puts a spotlight on the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, its history and natural resources in an article by FODM President, Glenda Booth.
Every year, from spring to fall, dedicated FODM volunteers conduct butterfly, dragonfly and damselfly surveys, compiling the number of each species observed. These keen observers also track other insects, birds and plants.
FODMers welcomed Superintendent Jennifer Madello to Dyke Marsh on June 5, 2025. She is a career National Park Service employee who became the superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in December 2024.
