ABSTRACT
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR) as a National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) program site on July 21, 1993. The DNERR consists of two well-deÞned component sites about 32 km apart (see Figure 4.1):
1. The Lower St. Jones River Reserve site located south of Dover in eastcentral Kent County, Delaware
2. The Upper Blackbird Creek Reserve site located between Odessa and Smyrna in southern New Castle County, Delaware
Both the Lower St. Jones River Reserve site and the Upper Blackbird Creek Reserve site are subestuaries of the Delaware River estuary. Tidal marshes and tidal streams comprise the primary habitats of both reserve sites.
