Sunday, June 22, is a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Ozone in Delaware
¡Domingo 22 de Junio es un Día de Acción por la Calidad del Aire de Código Naranja para el Ozono en Delaware!
Dimanch 22 Jen an se yon Jounen Aksyon Kòd Oranj pou Kalite Lè a pou Ozòn nan Delaware! More Info

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 Pages Tagged With: "health"

Delaware’s Push to Cut Diesel Emissions Improves Air Quality Statewide

Many communities across the United States face challenges related to air quality and respiratory health, especially as it pertains to emissions from diesel engines. In Delaware, transportation is a major contributor to pollution, producing 75% of the state’s nitrogen oxide emissions, which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. But Delaware is also taking advantage of a federal program to clean up diesel pollution, replacing and retrofitting older diesel vehicles like school buses and trash trucks.


Meet the Dedicated DNREC Inspectors Protecting Delawareans from Environmental Hazards

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control handles a lot of responsibilities, one of the most important yet often overlooked of which is ensuring companies and other entities are following environmental laws and regulations. This includes regularly inspecting boilers, septic systems, exhaust stacks and more around the state. Learn more about the dedicated professionals who handle these duties in this piece from Outdoor Delaware.


What Fish Die-Offs Mean for Delaware and How DNREC Handles Them

As part of its duties overseeing Delaware’s environment and wildlife, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control regularly responds to fish kills. These die-offs can occur in bodies of water as disparate as an ocean or a neighborhood stormwater basin and can consist of just a few fish or literal millions.


Meet Your Chemical Neighbors: DNREC’s New Portal Reveals Local Chemical Hazards

Do you know what chemicals are stored in your community? For four decades, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act has helped keep Americans safe by requiring officials to track hazardous substances, develop emergency plans in case of spills or leaks and make information available to the public. That includes providing details about businesses, schools and other places storing chemicals, which Delawareans can now view through a new portal from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.


Breathing Easier – Delaware’s Air Quality Monitoring Network

The first week of May marks the beginning of Air Quality Awareness Week. DNREC ‘s Air Quality Monitoring Stations, located throughout the state, are helping us breathe easier.


Delaware Wetland Restoration Strategies

Wetlands across the state of Delaware face many challenges. However, there are opportunities to combat specific issues and to restore and protect Delaware’s wetland resources. The DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program is developing strategies, specific to Delaware’s different watersheds, to identify and pursue those opportunities. The wetland restoration strategies will help


Tick-Tock – The Ticks are Waiting…

By Dr. Ashley Kennedy Last April, returning home after a day of work outdoors, I loosened my hair out of my ponytail and felt a familiar but unwelcome bump on my scalp. Based on the size and location, I immediately guessed what it could be – an adult American dog tick which often bites


PFAS – Fighting Forever Chemicals in Delaware

By Todd Keyser Beginning in the 1970s, firefighters used a special foam to put out jet fuel fires at Dover Air Force Base (DAFB). That foam figured prominently in 2006, when a C-5 cargo plane crashed just short of a runway after developing problems during takeoff. Fortunately, all 17 onboard survived the crash. But


Good Eats from Nature’s Bounty

Looking for something different on your plate? We asked DNREC folks to share their most wildly delicious recipes for harvested game.


Delaware Hunters Against Hunger – A Season for Giving

The Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger program is once again providing venison to people in need, an annual tradition during the holidays.


Salt in Our Water — Saltwater Intrusion and Inundation in Delaware

“Ghost forests.” Salty-tasting well water. Saltwater intrusion is a growing issue in Delaware due to sea level rise and climate change. Here’s what DNREC is doing about it.


How to Stay Safe on the Water

Delaware’s waterways are packed with boat traffic this summer. Here are some tips and requirements you need to know to stay safe and enjoy your nautical adventures in the First State.


Snakes to Watch Out For

There are 19 species of snakes slithering around Delaware. Which ones should you watch out for and what are the best ways to avoid them?


How to Prevent Backyard Mosquitos

zzzzz … slap. Sound familiar? The whine of buzzing mosquitoes followed by swats is a tell-tale sign of summer in Delaware. There’s plenty you can do in your backyard to reduce populations of these pests. Our Mosquito Control Section has tips to share, along with the mosquitos to watch out for.


The Transformers

You may not have heard about them, but there are brownfields all over Delaware. They’re neither pretty nor healthy. That is, until we step in to clean them up and make way for redevelopment.


More Than a Drink of WATAR

Safer water for us, less flooding and shad returning to their spawning grounds in the Brandywine River. Our WATAR team is making it happen.


Library: Wetland Health Reports

A collection of wetland health reports from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section.
Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring



  • Wetland Monitoring and Assessment

    By understanding the health of our wetlands, we also can better understand how to restore them and protect them from actions that cause damage.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Delaware Wetlands 302-739-9939
    Wetland Health Assessments


    Delaware Wetlands

    The DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, known as Delaware Wetlands, provides quality reports on the status, health and function of Delaware’s wetlands. It collaborates with other government agencies, businesses, non-profits and universities to further wetland research.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Delaware


    Answering the Call 24/7 – Our Emergency Response Team

    Our Emergency Response Team is the state’s designated first responder for environmental emergencies. The team is on call 24/7 to respond to emergencies from oil spills to clandestine drug labs, chemical leaks, radiological incidents and many more that may occur.


    Microplastics: A Not So Tiny Tale

    What happens to plastic after it fulfills its original purpose? Recycling gives many plastic items a second use but vast amounts are discarded and make their way into the environment. Some of this becomes microplastics. DNREC scientists are working on ways to clean them up.


    Our Weatherization Assistance Program – Helping Families Reduce Energy Costs

    DNREC can help even out the potentially high costs of home heating, and make a home more energy efficient, through the Weatherization Assistance Program.


    Hanging with the Bats

    Many of us are scared of bats. But they’re far more beneficial than harmful – and they’re not out to get us.


    “Not My Trash – But I Picked It Up.”
    Coastal Cleanup 2020

    For 32 years, volunteers cleared tons of trash from Delaware beaches in single-day events. In 2020, to make the Coastal Cleanup accessible and safe for everyone, the effort transitioned to a month-long campaign.


    Gone Herpin’ — DNREC Catalogs Delaware’s Reptiles and Amphibians

    As anyone who’s searched for them knows, finding snakes, turtles, frogs and other reptiles or amphibians isn’t always easy. For conservationists, who must develop detailed plans around propagating species that are typically rare to begin with, it can be even more difficult. Experts have too often lacked good data about these critters, including where exactly they live. Mapping the range of every species in our state is a very big task. But, thanks to a very extensive project that took the better part of a decade, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control now has a better idea about the location of reptiles and amphibians here.


    Our Own Toliara

    Toliara is a radiated tortoise who lives at the Brandywine Zoo. Radiated tortoises are reptiles and considered among the most beautiful in the world. His ancestors emerged on land shortly after dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago.


    What About Kestrels? DNREC is Finding Out

    The American kestrel is a pint-sized yet ferocious aerial predator notorious for taking out tree swallows or bluebirds in mid-air. About the size of a mourning dove, this raptor is the smallest and most colorful falcon in North America. But the species is also in danger. Kestrel populations have been falling, with the Mid-Atlantic region experiencing the greatest decline.


    Jellyfish to Watch Out For

    Are you planning to go for a swim? If so, you may encounter jellyfish because they love warm water. And there are several species of jellies you should keep a watchful eye on as you venture out for a dip.


    Everything Including the Kitchen “Sink” — Delaware’s Artificial Reefs

    Over 20 years, Delaware has recycled more than two million tons of rock, 100,000 tons of concrete, 86 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 1,329 retired subway cars and 27 retired vessels to create new, artificial reefs.


    Electric Vehicles – On the Move in Delaware

    Our relationship with electric automobiles has run hot and cold over the last 100 years, with gas-powered vehicles always winning in the end. Now people are looking for cleaner alternatives as concerns for the environment increase.


    Climate + Health Conference

    On June 6, 2017, the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy hosted the Delaware Climate + Health Conference at the Buena Vista Conference Center in New Castle. The event brought together health and medical professionals, environmental and social groups, and critical services stakeholders to explore the ways





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