Piscataway Valley Greenway

Piscataway Watershed encompasses approximately 67.6 square miles in southern Maryland just north and adjacent to the Mattawoman Watershed. The main stem of Piscataway Creek, centered in the watershed, flows approximately 20 miles from the upper creeks near Rosaryville, Woodyard and Joint Base Andrews west to Piscataway Bay – enframed by Mockley Point on the south and Fort Washington on the north and opening to the Potomac River below Washington, D.C. across from Mt. Vernon, Virgina. Other tributaries within the Piscataway Watershed include Tinkers Creek, Dower House Branch, Burch Branch, Butler Branch and many numerous smaller tributaries. Occupied by humans dating over 4000 years ago, some of the old and new place names include Clinton, Rosaryville, Woodyard, Piscataway, Accokeek, Thrift, Windbrook, Brooke Jane Manor, Cheltenham, Williamsburg Estates, and Fort Washington Forest. Roads spoking from greater DC and more developed middle Prince George’s County mainly cross Piscataway Creek going north to south and include Indian Head Highway, Livingston Road, Piscataway Road, Brandywine Road, Branch Avenue (Route 5) and Surratts Road. Significant parks within or adjacent to Piscataway Watershed include Louise F. Cosca Regional Park (MNCPPC), Fort Washington (NPS), Rosaryville State Park (DNR), and multiple properties that comprise Piscataway Creek Stream Valley Park (MNCPPC). Portions of the originally planned trails proposed in the Prince George’s County Trails Master Plan have been conceptually located along the spine of Piscataway Creek. The main segment of this concept trail from Indian Head Highway to Rosaryville is 99% in the floodplain. In addition, it was conceptualized at a time that some of the development patterns in the watershed had not occurred. The criteria for trail alignment have changed over the decades. Some of the overarching questions as the students explored the project were: ● Should the entire trail or segments of it be realigned out of the floodplain? ● Should there be additional cross trail connections in the scope of work? ● How can we better connect neighborhoods to a proposed trail system? ● How can we encourage hiking to promote health and stewardship?