The
more seaward Lower St. Jones River Reserve is about 1518 ha (3750 ac) in
designated size, distributed along 8.8 km (5.5 mi) of medium-salinity tidal
river situated at the lower end of the St. Jones River watershed, with the
river discharging into mid-Delaware Bay. The St. Jones Reserve contains 35 parcels of land held by 23 private land-owners, plus the DNERR and one other state agency. Within the St. Jones Reserve’s designated boundaries, about 282.8 ha (698.5 ac) of tidal marshes, upland fields, woodlots, and croplands were purchased or protected by the DNERR in 1991-92 [with 174.7 ha (431.3 ac) purchased through fee-simple acquisition, and 108.1 ha (267.2 ac) protected through conservation easement], but the remaining majority of the Reserve is still in private ownership.
The Lower St. Jones River Reserve is home to the new DNERR education/research facility (containing a small but well equipped laboratory for DNERR researchers) which opened in May of 1999. A marsh boardwalk for interpretive and research activities has already been constructed on the DNERR property. Adjacent to the Lower St. Jones River Reserve on its eastern side is the Ted Harvey Conservation Area, owned and managed by DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, consisting of 817 ha (2019 ac) of woodlands, upland fields, croplands, freshwater ponds and wetlands, coastal wetland impoundments, and Delaware Bay shoreline. While the Ted Harvey Conservation Area is not within the DNERR’s designated boundaries, it is nonetheless available through cooperative arrangements with the Division of Fish and Wildlife for use in DNERR research and educational activities.
The Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Roberts Tract, a 71.2 ha (176 ac) parcel of the Little Creek State Wildlife Area, borders the St. Jones Reserve at its western end; in conjunction with the Division’s Ted Harvey Conservation Area, the Roberts Tract provides conservation-oriented land ownership on both upstream and downstream ends of the St. Jones Reserve.
The John Dickinson Plantation and Mansion, owned and managed by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, provides another 106.4 ha (262.8 ac) of protected area within the Reserve’s designated boundaries, adjacent to the DNERR property’s western border. A small-boat ramp and fishing pier at Scotton Landing, owned and managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, provides good boat and water access to the main channel of the St. Jones River towards the Reserve’s western end.
On its far eastern end, the Lower St. Jones River Reserve also contains about 1036 ha (2560 ac) of Delaware Bay bottom and nearshore waters, running for 3.2 km (2.0 mi) along the Ted Harvey Conservation Area’s bay shoreline and extending outward 3.2 km (2.0 mi) into the open bay.
The St. Jones River watershed has significant development in upstream non-tidal areas, where urbanized Dover (Delaware’s state capital) dominates the middle and upper watershed. However, downstream portions of the St. Jones River watershed, where the Lower St. Jones River Reserve is located, are still primarily agricultural, with the Dover Air Force Base nearby. The two DNERR component sites are about 32 km (20 mi) apart.
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