Restoring Jabez Branch

The Center for Ecosystem Recovery is working to restore the Jabez Branch, a unique and ecologically significant watershed that once supported the only remaining wild brook trout (Salvilinus fontinalis) stream in the Maryland Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The Jabez Branch supported a naturally reproducing brook trout population due to groundwater seeps and springs that fed its streams with waters cooled underground. Highway construction and urbanization in the watershed, however, led to the demise of the brook trout population due to undertreated stormwater runoff that degraded the stream. The last brook trout was captured during a stream survey in 2017.

CER is a partner under the Whole Watershed Act, which is a state program managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, funding a 5-year investment in restoring the Severn River and its tributaries, including the Jabez Branch.

Relevant studies of the Jabez Branch:

Assessment of the Headwaters of Jabez Branch to Identify Stress Factors to a Native Brook Trout Population (2022).

Report on the degradation of the South Fork and West Fork Jabez Branch (2022).

Summary of Habitat and Water Quality Requirements for Brook Trout (2007)

Study of Non-point Source Thermal Pollution in Jabez Branch (1991).