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 8/1/07
Harrison Island - Part 1
Potomac
River
Montgomery County, MD
Mark Burchick
Harrison Island
Potomac
River, Montgomery County, MD
Joe Brown - Found to the left
of the concrete landing to the
island, where you tie-off your boat.
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I spent much of today with
Joe Brown, the steward/owner
of the 400-acre Harrison
Island, just south of Whites
Ferry. We are
evaluating the island for
forest and wetland
mitigation opportunity. |  |
Because of relatively
calm water, this site
has been used for
continuous ferry
operations since 1817.
Confederate, Elijah
White purchased the site
and named his ferry boat
after his commander,
General Jubal Early.
The ferry connects
Leesburg, Virginia to
Montgomery County,
Maryland and was used
numerous times by
General's J.E.B. Stuart
and Robert E. Lee.
It costs $4.00 to ferry
your car across the
river. We
launched Joe's Mercury
Jet-Drive jon-boat from
Whites Ferry. The
jet-drive allows the
boat to run on water as
shallow as 1-foot deep. |  |
An immature white ibis
(Eudocimus albus)
has an ample supply of
small fish to feed on.
Typically this southern
species will go no
further than the coasts
of South and North
Carolina, OMG, must be
global warming! |  |
Tall Coneflower (Rudbeckia
laciniata) was
common above the river
banks. |  |
The private island has a
riparian wood fringe of
hackberry and boxelder,
with the majority
interior in active
agriculture, numerous
habitat improvements,
food plots, managed
meadows and duck pools.
The island has no
electricity but does
have a hunting lodge, a
'double-brick' house
dating to 1850, silos,
barns and other
out-buildings. |  |
The hunting lodge is
built over a former
bank-barn |  |
The river was loaded
with the native,
submerged aquatic
vegetation (SAV) known
as water stargrass (Heteranthera
dubia). This
land-based form develops
a waxy cuticle and
leathery leaves, versus
the long, grass-like
strands in the flowing
water. |  |
Wingstem (Verbesina
alternifolia) and
varieties of Bidens
sunflowers were
beginning to flower,
indicative of the coming
aspect-dominant, late
summer and early autumn
flowers. |  |
Mark and Jeb went with
(I need to get them out
during summer vacation)
and they toured the
property using a
six-wheeled Cub Cadet
with a Honda engine, and
they got in some fishing
too. We saw many
bluegill, large-mouth
bass and monster carp
between and within the
open patches of SAV.
Water quality/clarity
looked great, and I bet
small-mouth bass abound. |
Submitted by Mark Burchick
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