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Klingle's Wildlife

Klingle Valley's original "old growth" forest was clearcut as part of D.C.'s Civil War defenses, to deny the Confederates hiding places and to make charcoal for smelting armaments. The woods have recovered since then nicely, and are approaching an old growth condition with a mix of old and young trees, standing "snags" critical for wildlife and rotting wood on the forest floor to rebuild soil. Indications are that the ten years without traffic has benefited the songbirds dependent on interior forest habitats.

Most of the stream valleys in Rock Creek Park have been surveyed by birders for many years. The Klingle Valley hosts an abundant variety - Olive-sided Flycatchers are sometimes seen in the snags around the Klingle Mansion, as well as a pair of Broadwinged Hawks nesting in the woods. Pileated Woodpeckers are also a common visitor. Since 1948, Rock Creek Park has been used to study the decline of neo-tropical migratory songbirds such as warblers and the exquisite wood thrush, (due to habitat loss in South, Central and North America) who nest in Rock Creek during spring migrations.

Rock Creek's most important commuters aren't federal workers; they're deer, beaver, fox and songbirds who use it to safely cross the Washington area with minimal highway crossings. Rock Creek, Great Falls, Patuxent Wildlife Center and other moderately large green spaces are extremely important habitat reserves, and they have rudimentary inter-connections between them via the region's stream valley parks, which serve as animal highways. If core island wilderness areas lack connecting corridors, genetic diversity suffers and viable populations of species are harder to maintain.

There is a federally endangered species Hay’s Spring Amphipod (Stygobromus hayi), which occurs in underground spring and aquifer habitats in Rock Creek Park. At least one of the three known habitats is within a mile of Klingle Road. Another amphipod species, Kenk’s (Stygobromus kenki) is documented as occuring in Rock Creek Park, and is currently under consideration by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for endangered listing. A second endangered species also occurs in Rock Creek Park, the Dwarf Wedge Mussel (Alasmidonta heterodon), which occurs in stream bed communities along Rock Creek Park. These mussels are known to be sensitive to heavy water sediment and pollution.

The pesticide-related fish kill last June in upper Rock Creek reportedly killed 150,000 fish. Such a tremendous loss suggests an abundance of fish not previously thought possible - implying that perhaps a quarter of a million fish live in the silted, sometimes smelly waters of Rock Creek. The species found dead bore exotic names—rosyside dace, cutlips minnow—both relatively pollution-intolerant members of the carp family; the tessellated darter, a moderately tolerant species of perch; there were also chub, suckers, sunfish, bluegill. How the fish population of Rock Creek will tolerate Klinge Valley's coming construction is unknown and should be studied.