Native Plant Center Chesapeake Region Now Available On-line!
A new tool to help citizens in the Chesapeake Bay watershed select native plants is now available through the Internet. Users of the portal, www.nativeplantcenter.net, can search for native plants by name, plant type, sun exposure, soil texture and moisture, and even find native plants with the same shape, color, size or other characteristics as some of their favorite non-native plants.
The site also includes a geo-locator feature to identify plants suited to a user’s specific location.
The Native Plant Center uses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s native plant database, associated with its publication, Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Replacing portions of lawn areas and typical landscapes with native plants that suit local conditions reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizers and pesticides which wash into our streams, rivers and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. Once in our waterways, these pollutants fuel the growth of excess algae, which clouds the water and threatens the health of fish, crabs and the entire Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
An online network for interacting with other Chesapeake Bay stewards is planned.
The Native Plant Center Chesapeake Region is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Image Matters LLC.
For more information contact: