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he Bay hosts the world's largest population of spawning horseshoe crabs, and their eggs provide necessary sustenance for the thousands of Red Knots, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones as they move from their winter grounds in South America to their breeding grounds in the sub-arctic. Horseshoe crabs are also an important food source for many species of fish and the loggerhead sea turtle. The Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 8,800 acres of freshwater wetlands and salt marshes and open water in the Delaware Bay Estuary. The Prime Hook Refuge is a stop-over spot for snow goose and numerous species of ducks and is home to a the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel and the Virginia White Tail Deer. Nesting bald eagles and migrating peregrine falcons also receive sanctuary in the refuge. The Prime Hook Refuge helps protect coastal habitat from escalating development in the area. However, the refuge protects only a tiny percentage of the vast horseshoe crab habitat that once spanned much of Delaware’s lower bay coastline. Sierra Club and other groups are working to protect the beachfront immediately adjacent to The Prime Hook Refuge on Delaware Bay, ideally by purchasing it. Acquisition of this beachfront would assure spawning habitat for the horseshoe crab. Find out more by contacting the Delaware Chapter at delaware.sierraclub.org.
Photo: Horeshoe Crab, courtesy Dave Muhly; used with permission. Up to Top |
