Prime Hook’s new center puts visitors first
It took a little longer than expected, but the new visitor center at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge opened April 11. The refuge’s friends group announced the news on Facebook a couple days before.
“The building is fantastic,” said Refuge Manager Chance Davis, in an interview April 16. “It’s a nice new space.”
Davis said the building as a whole is much smaller than the old visitor center, but there’s also a much better use of space. Primarily, he said, that means more public space and less office space.
“I don’t mind,” said Davis, laughing. “With the exhibit space and multiuse meeting space, there’s really an opportunity for more community events.”
The building is open, but, Davis said, there’s still a good amount of exterior work to do. That includes the creation of a walking trail behind the building that goes through the woods and connects to other trails, the installation of exhibits in the fall, and the continued moving of stuff from the old building to the new one.
“There’s such limited space and so much stuff; some of it will have to be put in storage,” said Davis.
As for the old visitor center, Davis said it’s scheduled to be demolished this summer, possibly July. Everything is coming down except for the pavilion, he said.
Davis is from Utah and was working in the Nevada desert before coming to Prime Hook. He appreciates the differences.
“It’s very different. It’s a lot more green, and I do love the bird songs,” said Davis. “Those first few nights, with the birds, the bugs, nature and other wildlife, it was great.”
Drought conditions improve
There’s been a lot of rain lately. It got me thinking about the status of the drought conditions the state was experiencing in the fall and winter of 2024. It appears water levels are rebounding, but it’s tenuous.
Earlier this month, the Delaware Climate Office announced the launching of a new resource called the Drought Resources and Awareness Website. The website is a partnership among the University of Delaware, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and Delaware Geological Survey.
According to a report posted on the website April 9, the recent rainfall has been helpful in alleviating the drought, but the state is still playing catch-up in some areas. Since Jan. 1, Georgetown is 2.10 inches above normal, while Wilmington is 1.09 inches below normal, according to data managed by the National Weather Service, reads the post. These differences in precipitation amounts show up in statewide soil moisture data as well, with northern Delaware in the normal range, while southern Delaware is above normal.
The report says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a 40% to 50% chance there will be an above-normal amount of precipitation over the next three months. However, the forecast is equal chances for our region, which means precipitation could just as easily be below normal for the next three months.
The report also says there will be a need to monitor the temperature trends just as closely as the precipitation trends in the coming months, since temperature is a critical factor in how quickly we lose water from the soil to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration. If we see above-normal temperatures over the next three months, we would expect to lose more water than normal from the ground to the atmosphere.
Joke of the Week
It’s near the end of April, which means there’s an annual holiday on the calendar that’s going to soon be celebrated the world over. I’m not talking about Easter or Earth Day. I’m talking about 4/20, the holiday beloved by marijuana enthusiasts. I see there will be a local marijuana-related celebration called Blowchella at Hudson Fields the day before. Among other things, this new event is apparently going to feature a cannabis ball drop when the clock strikes midnight. This event is not a joke, but here’s a joke that attendees can use at the event to break the ice among strangers during times of congregation. As always, send jokes to cflood@capegazette.com.
Q: Why couldn’t the lifeguard rescue the hippy?
A: He was too far out, man.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
