Pocomoke River State Park is a public recreation area lying on both banks of the
Pocomoke River
The Pocomoke River stretches approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 from southern Delaware through southeastern Maryland in the United States. At it ...
between
Snow Hill and
Pocomoke City
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as P ...
in
Worcester County,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
comprises two areas within
Pocomoke State Forest: Shad Landing on the south bank of the river and Milburn Landing on the north bank.
[
]
History
The Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
developed recreational facilities in the forest in the 1930s.[ The state assumed control of Shad Landing and Milburn Landing through a license agreement with the federal government in 1939, before taking full possession of the forest lands in 1955.][
]
Ecology
The park's combination of freshwater swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
and upland, as well as its location between northern and southern physiographic regions, allows for a great diversity of plant and animal life. Notable plant species include flowering dogwood and mountain laurel in the spring, bald cypress, tupelo, yellow pond lily
''Nuphar advena'' (spatterdock or cow lily or yellow pond-lily) is a species of ''Nuphar'' native throughout the eastern United States and in some parts of Canada, such as Nova Scotia.Flora of North America''Nuphar advena''/ref> It is similar to ...
, and loblolly pine. Animals observed include northern river otter
The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that endemism, only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North Amer ...
s, muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
, prothonotary warbler
The prothonotary warbler (''Protonotaria citrea'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is named for its plumage which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (named prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic church.
...
s, pileated woodpeckers, bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
s, northern water snakes, and broad-headed skink
The broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (''Plestiodon laticeps'') is species of lizard, endemic to the southeastern United States. The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry with the five-lined skink (''Plestiodon fasciatus'') and Southeastern f ...
s as well as over 50 species of fish, including largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...
and chain pickerel
The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike.
Taxonomy
French ...
.
Activities and amenities
The park offers fishing, camping, cabins, boat launch, canoeing, hiking and biking trails, picnic areas and pavilions, and playgrounds. The Shad Landing area also has a marina, camp store, swimming pool, and nature center with representatives of native animal species.[
]
References
External links
Pocomoke River State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
{{authority control
State parks of Maryland
Parks in Worcester County, Maryland
Protected areas established in 1939
Civilian Conservation Corps in Maryland
Nature centers in Maryland
IUCN Category III