Chesapeake Bay News

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a wide range of native plants are suitable for landscaping and shoreline restoration projects. Native plant species include grasses, wildflowers, ferns, herbaceous plants, shrubs, trees, and other plants.

Native grasses are useful for constructing and maintaining shoreline habitat. Grasses help retain soil, prevent erosion and provide feeding areas for birds and other wildlife. A variety of native grasses are salt tolerant and thrive in areas which are prone to flooding.

Several species of herbs and emergents are also tolerant to flooding, shade, and other environmental extremes. Many of these plants produce brilliant flowers or unique foliage.

Several native plant species produce berries. Some plants, such as blackberries, are low growing, while others are classified as shrubs or small trees. Blackberries, blueberries, wild cherries, and several other plants bear edible fruits for humans as well as wildlife. Others are not suitable as food for humans, but provide important food sources for wildlife.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to scores of native trees. Several native conifers as well as deciduous tree species are suitable for the wide range of habitats found in throughout the watershed. For swampy areas, conifers include bald cypress, white cedar, pitch pine, and marsh pine.

Several members of the conifers are also well suited for dryer soils. These include eastern hemlock, loblolly pine, yellow pine, red cedar, American holly, and others.

Deciduous fruit and nut trees are well represented in the Chesapeake Bay region. Among the most common fruit bearing trees are wild cherry, choke cherry, persimmon, wild plum, beach plum, and others.

Nut bearing trees include several species of hickories, hazelnuts, and black walnuts. In addition to nut trees, oaks provide food and shelter for wildlife. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to several oak species, including trees suitable for wet or dry soil conditions.

For applications where flowering trees are desired, tulip trees, sweetbay magnolias, crabapple, American dogwood, or other species can be planted.

BluHaven Piers is the newest Maryland Clean Marina to be certified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The marina is the 145th facility to adopt a significant portion of recommendations from the Maryland Clean Marina Guidebook and pass a site inspection.

BluHaven Piers is a small marina with that offers boat repair, covered slips and kayak rentals and sales. The marina changed hands in 2006 and is now managed by St. Mary’s College alumni, Darden Pickall and Dan Sweeney. They have overseen significant improvements to the property in the past five years including taming overgrown weeds, painting and operations.

The Clean Marina Initiative is a voluntary program that promotes and celebrates efforts of marinas, boatyards and yacht clubs to reduce their pollution.

Maryland Clean Marinas are re-inspected at least every three years to ensure they continue to meet award standards. Marinas, boatyards and yacht clubs of any size in Maryland are encouraged to participate in the program.

Benefits include confidential compliance assistance, free promotion by DNR at regional boat shows, a free listing on the DNR website, use of the Clean Marina logo and—in many cases—discounts on marine insurance.

For more information, visit www.dnr.maryland.gov/boating/cleanmarina

source: MD DNR

The Third Maryland Streams Symposium and Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Monitoring Conference will be held August 10-13 at Carroll Community College near Westminster, MD.

Stakeholders from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia will meet to discuss stream-related issues. The theme of the Volunteer Conference is Sustaining Volunteer Involvement in Water Quality Management: Key Roles to Play in Critical Environmental Issues.

The four days will include plenary sessions, informative presentations, hands-on workshops and field trips to local streams. Attendees will also learn about state-of-the-art stream restoration techniques and see natice freshwater fish.

The event is sponsored by Maryland DNR, Carroll Community College, The Maryland Water Monitoring Council, U.S. EPA, and The Maryland Local Watershed Implementation Service.

Each day will start with a plenary session (except Saturday) and the kickoff plenary session for the Volunteer Conference will be held on Thursday, August 11th.

Poster sessions, with authors in attendance, will be held throughout the symposium and conference. There will also be plenty of displays from local and regional watershed associations, governmental agencies, and educational organizations.

Stakeholders interested in attending should RSVP to Josh Davidsburg at 410-260-8002 or jdavidsburg@dnr.state.md.us.

The Board of Trustees of the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) have awarded $26,000 in grants to 11 community groups and schools to restore streamside habitats, create community gardens and educate citizens about the environment across the State as part of the Keep Maryland Beautiful program.

The Margaret Rosch Jones Award is given to ongoing projects or activities that have demonstrated success in solving an environmental issue, whether local or statewide. The award, named in memory of Margaret Jones, the former executive director of the Keep Maryland Beautiful Program, recognizes organizations that have been actively educating people in their community about litter prevention, community beautification and local or statewide environmental issues and have been successful in eliminating or reducing the causes of a local environmental problem.

The 2011 recipients of the Margaret Rosch Jones Award are Antietam Creek Watershed Association, Braddock Run Watershed Association, C.A.R.E Community Association, Friends of Pataspco, Maryland Public Television, Marley Middle School, the National Aquarium and St. Mary’s River Watershed Association. Projects include community gardens, invasive plant removal, stream clean-ups, rain gardens and conservation education programs.

The Bill James Environmental Grants are awarded to nonprofit youth groups for new environmental education projects in their community. The grants are given in memory of Senator William S. James who drafted legislation in 1976 to create the Maryland Environmental Trust, incorporating the activities of the Governor’s Committee to the Keep Maryland Beautiful program.

The 2011 recipients of the Bill James Grants are Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School Green Club, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Red Wiggler Community Farm and Manchester Valley High School Science Research. Projects include reducing stream erosion, native tree nursery and planting programs, blue crab and water salinity science projects and on-farm learning opportunities in educational programs.

The Keep Maryland Beautiful program is funded in part by the Maryland State Highway Administration, a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation.

For more information on Keep Maryland Beautiful, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/met/grant_programs.asp

source: MD DNR

A new online Native Plant Center for the Chesapeake Bay Region allows for the identification and selection of native plant species for habitat restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The guide is intended to help property owners replace portions of lawn areas and typical landscapes with native plants that suit local conditions, reducing or eliminating the need for fertilizers and pesticides which wash into streams, rivers and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

Users to 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 portal also includes a geo-locator feature to identify plants suited to a user’s specific location. An online network for interacting with other Chesapeake Bay stewards is planned.

The portal uses the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s native plant database, associated with the publication entitled Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

To reach more citizens and organizations, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, with support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, contracted with Image Matters LLC to create an online version of the guide, the Native Plants Center, Chesapeake Region.

On May 25, 2011, A coalition of environmental groups announced that they have filed a motion in federal court to oppose the efforts of major national agricultural organizations to force an end to federal and state programs to reduce pollution and restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The coalition includes the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Defenders of Wildlife, the Jefferson County Public Service District, the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Within days after the federal government announced scientific pollution limits and the states laid out specific plans to reduce pollution in local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau went to federal court in Pennsylvania to stop those efforts.

They have since been joined by other national agricultural lobbying groups, including the Fertilizer Institute, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Chicken Council, the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, and the National Turkey Federation.

“Just as the Bay is making progress in its long fight to survive, these big money industry lobbyists are trying to derail the process.  Why? A simple profit motive,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker. “They want the rest of us to suffer dirty and dangerous water so they can maximize their corn, hog, and poultry profit.”

For decades, science has known that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are responsible for the dead zones, fish kills, and harmful algal blooms that annually plague the Chesapeake Bay. Under the Clean Water Act, and as the result of numerous court cases, a scientific limit, or TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), has been set.

State governments then developed plans designed to ensure that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025, with at least 60 percent of the actions completed by 2017. Science set the limits, and the states designed individual plans to achieve the goals.

Opponents of the pollution limits claim that EPA is overstepping its authority, and wants the process to start all over again.

source: press release from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,  Defenders of Wildlife, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation & Penn Future

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Virginia State Waterman’s Association (VSWA), Merck & Company, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have agreed to settle a CBF/VSWA lawsuit challenging pollution limits granted to Merck by the State Water Control Board in 2009.

The settlement, approved by Richmond Circuit Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., confirms that Merck’s nitrogen and phosphorus pollution discharges into the South Fork Shenandoah River will conform with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The Water Board agreed to the settlement provisions earlier this month.

CBF and VSWA sued the Water Board in 2009 for issuing a permit to Merck that allowed the company to dump more pollution into the South Fork Shenandoah River than state law then allowed. Since that time, EPA has issued the TMDL for the Bay and its tributaries, including the Shenandoah River system.

“Since CBF and VSWA filed their lawsuit, Bay cleanup has received a tremendous boost through the issuance of the Bay TMDL, which when implemented will significantly reduce the levels of pollution entering Virginia rivers and the Chesapeake Bay,” said CBF Virginia Staff Attorney Peggy Sanner. “Merck’s legal pollution discharges are and will be consistent with the Bay TMDL under this agreement. That is a victory for a cleaner Bay.”

Ken Smith, president of the Virginia Waterman’s Association, called the settlement a positive step for Bay restoration and watermen.

“At the end of the day, watermen are among those who suffer most from a polluted Chesapeake Bay,” Smith said, “and they will be among those who benefit the most from full implementation of the TMDL. The settlement is evidence Virginia is taking seriously its commitment to reducing pollution.”

source: CBF

According to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, watermen succeeded in hauling up more than 10,000 derelict so-called “ghost pots,” lost fishing nets, and assorted metal junk from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in the third year of Virginia’s one-of-a-kind Marine Debris Removal Program.

The program, funded by NOAA through the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and administered by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, paid the watermen to use side-imaging sonar units to detect and retrieve lost or abandoned crab pots and other marine debris that litter the Bay floor. The 70 watermen participants were paid $300 a day, and were compensated for their fuel costs.

VIMS scientists  have analyzed the program’s accomplishments in its third year and discovered:

• A total of 9,970 derelict crab pots were recovered, along with 52 lost nets and 532 other pieces of junk, including a jon boat, a portable generator frame, and a large metal crate used to transport hunting dogs.

• Many of the recovered pots had been derelict for several years, and continue to inadvertently trap and kill crabs and a variety of fish and wildlife.

• The recovered crab pots were found to have captured over the winter more than 11,000 animals, including thousands of crabs, as well as turtles, fish, eels, and whelks. Scientists have determined that each functional lost crab pot can capture about 50 crabs a year.

Ongoing research at VIMS funded through NOAA’s Marine Debris Program suggests 20 percent of all the crab pots set in a year are lost, primarily due to storms or boat propellers that accidentally cut the pots free from their buoys.

The marine debris removal was the first, and is the largest program of its kind in the country. The program costs roughly $1 million a year. It is funded by NOAA through blue crab disaster funds made available to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. VIMS handled the daily operation of the program and supervision of the participating watermen. The program ran from December through March 15.

Recovered ghost pots and other debris were GPS-located and photographed, and participant boat tracks were also recorded. All marine debris were disposed of in a safe and environmentally conscious manner or recycled.

Since the Marine Debris Removal Program began in December 2008, more than 28,000 lost or abandoned crab pots have been removed from the water, as well as 150 lost fishing nets and 1,300 pieces of assorted metal junk. More than 27,000 animals, many already dead, were found in crab pots retrieved since 2008.

This year’s haul of marine debris was more than in either of the last two years.

More information on the program’s results can be found on the program’s website http://ccrm.vims.edu/marine_debris_removal/index.html

source: VMRC

Revised fish consumption advisories from the Maryland Department of the Environment show that a healthy diet can include more striped bass than previously recommended.

MDE’s revised advisories increase the recommended meal limits for striped bass for nearly every population group for fish caught in the Chesapeake Bay or in Maryland’s Atlantic coastal waters.

The new recommendations stem from recent test results that showed a significant decline in levels of contaminants in striped bass from Maryland waters. Also, MDE data suggest that contaminant levels are even lower in striped bass fillets prepared, as the Department has long recommended, without fatty portions of the fish.

The striped bass, also known as rockfish, is the iconic species of Maryland sport fishing. Its population, once so threatened that a moratorium was placed on its harvesting, has rebounded in recent years.

The revised advisories being announced also include recommendations on the consumption of bluefish caught in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast.

MDE publicizes fish consumption advisories in a number of ways, including information on the Department’s website, postings at fishing locations as practical, and through outreach to target audiences such as anglers, through the guidebook typically distributed with fishing licenses, and to pregnant women and to children, through WIC centers.

source: MDE

On April 15, the Chesapeake Bay Trust  announced a $25,000 environmental education grant to fund the the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s “MUDDY FEET” Program.

The program, which stands for “Maritime Unbounded Damp & Dirty Yucky Fun Environmental Education & Training,” seeks to provide all Annapolis-area schoolchildren with at least three meaningful watershed educational experiences prior to high school graduation.

The Trust announced this grant as part of its Environmental Education grant program, which awarded more than $450,000 in 2010 to fund educational initiatives throughout Maryland.

The MUDDY FEET Program has grown dramatically since it was launched in 2008 with 350 students participating.  During the 2009-2010 school year, 1,200 students participated. By the end of this current school year, the Museum will have achieved its objective of reaching all city-based elementary and middle schools, serving 1,700 students in 25 schools.

The Chesapeake Bay Trust grant is expected provide a boost which  could result in over 2,300 students in 33 Anne Arundel County schools getting “MUDDY FEET.”

The Museum’s education programs are aligned with Anne Arundel Country Public School standards and curricula in language arts, social studies, science and math. Students participate in a myriad of activities that include making observations, taking measurements, keeping journal records, exploring historic Bay sites, handling artifacts, and speaking with watermen, tradesmen, historians, and artists.

For more information on the Museum and its programs, visit http://www.amaritime.org