Rewetting the Swamp at Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

At Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, a peat wetland in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has installed 46 water control structures in 150 miles of old drainage ditches since 2012. Hydrologists are using the structures to "re-wet" the swamp, retain carbon-rich peat soil and lower the risk of catastrophic wildfire and flooding.

The Service manages the water control structures to hold water in the swamp during the warm summer months, when fire risk is highest, and re-direct water flow in late fall and late winter, when tropical storms can be common.

The refuge’s restored peat wetlands sequester 200,000 metric tons of carbon per year, offsetting the annual emissions of 42,000 vehicles, found a U.S. Geological Survey/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study.

The Great Dismal Swamp hydrology project is one of many nature-based solutions that the Service is using to meet environmental challenges and conserve America’s wildlife. Nature-based solutions are sustainable practices that use environmentally friendly features or processes to make landscapes more resilient. .

Centuries of ditching, draining, and logging — starting in the 1760s — altered Great Dismal Swamp’s ecosystem and made it more prone to wildfire and flooding. The first ditches were built by a company formed by George Washington. More ditches were added later, resulting in the current 150-mile ditch network.

Since 1974, when Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established and put under Service management, the agency has worked to restore the swamp’s hydrology following controlled drainage practices used on agricultural land and managed forests in southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina.

Partners and Financial Contributors
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Ducks Unlimited
The Nature Conservancy, VA and NC
U.S. Geological Survey
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State Parks, Dismal Swamp State Park
USFWS Ecological Services Program, VA and NC
Albermarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program
Virginia Polytechnic University
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission

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