Chesapeake Bay News

The Maryland “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” (BOW) program is now accepting registrations for its fall 2009 workshop. The fall workshop will be held at the Garrett County 4-H camp near Deep Creek Lake on October 23 through 25. BOW offers outdoor skills workshops in a relaxed environment specifically for women 18 years of age and older to learn outdoor skills. Men are also welcome.

“The BOW program promotes a casual setting helpful to learning, making friends and having fun,” said BOW State Coordinator Patty Allen. “The program’s safe, hands-on approach gives participants the knowledge to further pursue their interest once the workshop is over.”

Maryland adopted the “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman” program in 1994 (which was nationally formed in 1991). Since then, Maryland has offered quality outdoor experiences to over 4,000 participants. The emphasis of BOW is on the enjoyment and camaraderie that goes along with outdoor recreation, whether it’s hunting, fishing, hiking or boating.

Participants choose from of over 30 courses such as outdoor photography, geocaching, turkey hunting, fly fishing, hiking, kayaking, outdoor survival skills and many more. Participants may design their outdoor experience to match their own interests. Weekend workshops begin with lunch on Friday and end with lunch on Sunday.
For more information and to register for the upcoming workshop, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/bowevents.asp or call Patty Allen at 410-260-8537.

Members of the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and the Lower Eastern Shore Tributary Team will host their annual Nanticoke River Wade-In on Saturday, June 27 from 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cherry Park in Sharptown. Maryland citizens are invited to wade into the water of the Nanticoke River to demonstrate the level of visibility and water quality and bring attention to the serious impact of nutrient pollution.

“Everything we do on our lands always finds its way into the Bay, and we are all accountable for the state of water quality in Maryland’s waterways,” Governor Martin O’Malley. “These events remind citizens to be cognizant of their everyday actions and make smart, sustainable decisions for the benefit of our natural resources and our treasured Chesapeake.”

Last month, on a tour of the Bush River, Governor O’Malley and senior scientists discussed two new strategies to accelerate Bay restoration in Maryland. Citing what scientists call a “tipping point” — a stage at which progress within a tributary can begin to promote self-healing — the Governor announced plans for a major new outreach effort to enlist local governments, businesses and citizens to take a more active role in restoring the health of Maryland’s waterways. At the Chesapeake Executive Council meeting, Governor O’Malley announced Maryland’s new two-year milestones, short term goals developed over the past several months by the Governor and his BayStat team to better target, focus and accelerate efforts on the ground, and measure results.

In what has become an annual event for each of Maryland’s 10 Tributary Teams, the Wade-Ins are inspired by former State Senator Bernie Fowler, who began wading into the Patuxent River 17 years ago with family and friends to highlight concerns about declining water quality in Maryland’s tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay. Senator Fowler remembered that, as a child, he could wade into the Patuxent and easily see his shoes. The event became known as a Wade-In and is characterized by participants wading into a stream, river or the Bay, and measuring the point at which they can no longer see their shoes, commonly known as the Sneaker Index. Fowler challenged the other nine Tributary Teams to host Wade-Ins or similar water quality awareness events of their own.

This event is a great opportunity to meet folks who love the Nanticoke and celebrate one of the treasures of the Eastern Shore. The wade-in will begin at 11 a.m., followed by a free cookout sponsored by the Lower Eastern Shore Tributary Team. For more information on this event, contact EB James of the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance at 410-430-3273 or Scott Hymes, coordinator of the Lower Eastern Shore Tributary Strategy Team at 410-260-8746.

This year, the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance will be honoring their Creekwatcher Volunteers at the event. Creekwatchers monitor 40 sites across the watershed. This program recently received the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval of its protocol, marking a high level of acceptance for the accuracy and validity of the information collected by these dedicated volunteers. They are the only volunteer water monitoring program in the Chesapeake who have achieved this level of data acceptance.

The Nanticoke Watershed Alliance’s mission is to foster partnerships and progress in conserving the natural, cultural and recreational resources of the Nanticoke River watershed through dialogue, collaborative outreach and education. Over 40 organizations belong to the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance. Its diverse membership is made up of foresters, industry, small business owners, government agencies, environmental groups, land trusts, realtors, academicians, fishermen, restoration groups, farmers and citizen groups.

Since 1995, Maryland’s Tributary Teams have assisted with the implementation of the state’s watershed-based plans to reduce nutrient pollution to Maryland’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Support for the Tributary Teams is provided by staff at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR); however the members are volunteers whose tireless energy results in invaluable contributions to restoration efforts. The Wade-Ins are just one of the ways the Teams highlight local water quality and get their communities involved. Visit www.dnr.maryland.gov/bay/tribstrat to explore all of their programs.

Members of the Patapsco/Back Tributary team will host their seventh annual Wade-In on Sunday, May 17 from 10:30 to 2 p.m. During the event, Marylanders are invited to wade into the water at North Point State Park to demonstrate the level of visibility and water quality and bring attention to the serious impact of nutrient pollution.

“The work of our Tributary Teams mobilizes a crucial component of our watershed clean-up efforts,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “By engaging local communities and hosting events like Wade-Ins, they lead restoration efforts on a grassroots level that gives every Marylander the opportunity to become involved in our collective commitment to preserve our Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.”

In what has become an annual event for each of Maryland’s 10 Tributary Teams, the Wade-Ins are inspired by former State Senator Bernie Fowler, who began wading into the Patuxent River 17 years ago with family and friends to highlight concerns about declining water quality in Maryland’s tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay. Senator Fowler remembered that, as a child, he could wade into the Patuxent and easily see his shoes. The event became known as a Wade-In and is characterized by participants wading into a stream, river, or the Bay, and measuring the point at which they can no longer see their shoes, commonly known as the Sneaker Index. Fowler challenged the other nine Tributary Teams to host Wade-Ins or similar water quality awareness events of their own.

This year’s event also marks the 7th time Joe Stewart, a member of the Patapsco/Back Tributary Team, will lead a benefit swim to help raise funds for local watershed groups in the Baltimore County area. The event is rain or shine and free of charge. More information is available by Christopher Aadland at (410) 260-8736.

The Patapsco/ Back River basin drains approximately 630 square miles of land, including all of Baltimore City and portions of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, and Howard Counties. Larger water bodies in the basin include Back River, Gwynns and Jones Falls, the North and South Branches of the Patapsco River, Lake Roland, Piney Run Reservoir, Liberty Reservoir, and Baltimore Harbor, a tidal embayment formed at the confluence of the Patapsco River and the Jones and Gwynns Falls.

Nutrient pollution can be divided into two major categories – point sources (pollution that comes from a single, definable location, such as a wastewater treatment plant or industrial discharge) and nonpoint sources (pollution that cannot be attributed to a clearly identifiable, specific physical location, such as runoff from land and atmospheric deposition). Runoff from different land uses, point sources, and atmospheric deposition are the major sources of nutrients within the Bay watershed.
On the day of the event, please call 410 260-8736 for directions or if you have questions.

DIRECTIONS FROM NORTH BALTIMORE:
Take Baltimore Beltway 695-south towards Essex/Key Bridge. Follow 695 to Exit 42 (151 Sparrows Point/North Point Boulevard). Exit and bear right onto 151 South to first light. Make left onto North Point Road (Route 20). Follow through Edgemere for 1.9 miles to Bay Shore Rd where you will see North Point State Park on left.

DIRECTIONS FROM SOUTH OF BALTIMORE:
Take Baltimore Beltway 695 North towards Glen Burnie/Key Bridge. Follow 695 over Key Bridge to Exit 43 (Bethlehem Boulevard/Sparrows Point). Get off at Exit 43 and make left at first blinking light (Bethlehem Boulevard). Follow Bethlehem Boulevard/158 East for one mile to North Point Boulevard. Cross over North Point Boulevard onto North Point Road (Route 20). Follow Route 20 through Edgemere for 1.9 miles to park on left.

Since 1995, Maryland’s Tributary Teams have assisted with the implementation of the state’s watershed-based plans to reduce nutrient pollution to Maryland’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Support for the Tributary Teams is provided by staff at DNR, however the members are volunteers whose tireless energy results in invaluable contributions to restoration efforts. The Wade-Ins are just one of the ways the Teams highlight local water quality and get their communities involved. Visit www.dnr.maryland.gov/tribstat to explore all of their programs.

The 2009 Potomac River Ramble will be held June 24th – 28th. This year’s Ramble will feature the Monocacy Scenic River from the city of Frederick, Md. through the Monocacy Aqueduct and down the Potomac, ending at the McKee – Beshers Wildlife Management Area.

For 2009, events will include:

* Studying aquatic invaders with the Md. Department of Natural Resources and the Hood College Biology Department;

* Examining the inter-sex smallmouth bass problem in the Potomac with the U.S. Geological Survey;

* Interpretive programs at the Monocacy National Battlefield Park;

* Amphibian and wetland surveys with ICPRB and Montgomery County DEP biologists.

The Potomac River Rambles are a series of multi-day canoeing and kayaking expeditions that feature environmental programming, riverside camping, restoration projects, festive meals, meetings with elected officials, and much more.  Novice and experienced paddlers alike enjoy a unique on-the-water experience that builds a strong environmental ethic, while having a lot of fun in the process. The Rambles aim to elevate awareness of the Potomac River’s importance to the region and to encourage local residents to play an active role in its restoration.

The Magothy River Association will hold its seventh annual “State of the Magothy River” presentation on Wednesday, February 18, 2009, starting at 6:30 PM. The meeting will feature the annual Magothy River Index and a report on the Magothy Watershed Conference held in January.

Scheduled speakers:

1) 2008 Magothy River Index. Prepared by Dr. Peter Bergstrom, NOAA and MRA. (Produced each year since 2003)
2) The first Magothy River Watershed Conference. Presented by Dot Leonard, Ocean Equities
3) New MRA Committees – Education/Action; Stormwater Runoff; Zoning/Enforcement.

Displays:

1. Arlington Echo Watershed Academy
2. Bayland Consultants, Mill & Dividing Creek Study
3. Friends of Dobbins Island
4. Watershed Action Group (WAG) – Cypress Creek Stream Restoration
6. Magothy River Land Trust – Conservation Easements in the Magothy Watershed
7. MRA Team Science Diver
8. Magothy Aquatic Health
9. Seasonal Variation in Biodiverstiy on Oyster Reefs
And other displays or posters.

Doors and displays open at 6:30. Program to start at 7:00. Following the presentations, there will be refreshments and time to visit the displays and chat with watershed residents and the experts. Anyone interested in clean water, healthy fish, living oyster reefs and limiting suburban effects on the Magothy are urged to attend.

Date: Wednesday February 18, 2009
Place: Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, West Campus
CALT 100 (Applied Learning & Technology)
(use Parking Lot G, F, or E closest to Ritchie)
directions at: http://www.aacc.cc.md.us/locationsandmaps/maps.cfm

Doors open 6:30 P.M., program 7:00-9:00 PM
Refreshments will be served
For Information call: Paul Spadaro, President of Magothy River Association, 410-647-8772, email: spadaro@cablespeed.com, or visit www.magothyriver.org

In case of inclement weather, if the college is closed, the program is postponed.
College closings are announced on WNAV radio (1430 AM) and on the college web site, http://www.aacc.edu/

Together with its partners, Environmental Trading Network, the International Certified Crop Advisers, the Water Environment Federation, and the Maryland Departments of Agriculture and the Environment, Conservation Technology Information Center will host this interactive event at Chesapeake College to complement Maryland’s public outreach on its newly developed nonpoint-source trading program.

WHEN: March 4 and 5, 2009

WHERE: Chesapeake College Higher Education Center, Wye Mills, MD

Water quality trading is a market-based approach to improve water quality. It is an innovative, voluntary tool that connects industrial and municipal facilities (point sources) with agricultural producers or other landowners (nonpoint sources) to economically achieve water quality improvements and to accommodate growth. It is a flexible and cost-effective approach for maintaining, restoring, or enhancing water quality.

Workshop planners hope to increase awareness of water quality trading in Maryland, and improve understanding of the voluntary process among agricultural producers and their advisors, wastewater treatment representatives, and potential “aggregators” (organizations that serve as a kind of broker,facilitating trading).

Expert speakers will include MDE and MDA program representatives, water quality trading policy and program experts, credit aggregators, wastewater treatment plant representatives and agriculture interests. They will introduce the concepts, benefits and challenges of trading and the steps involved in trading specifically geared to Maryland’s nonpoint source trading policy. The training will include breakout sessions to give participants specific skills to develop or participate in the Maryland trading program. Case studies from other states will be highlighted so participants can learn from existing trading programs.

For more information or to register for the workshop contact CTIC at 765-494-9555 or ctic@conservationinformation.org.

Baltimore, Maryland will play host to the 10th National River Rally, May 29-June 1, 2009. Like the nine River Rallies preceding it, River Rally 2009 is sure to be an event you won’t want to miss. Events planned include:

* A series of intensive, 4-hour workshops on Friday afternoon

* Over 70 additional workshops covering topics of interest to staff, volunteers and board members of river conservation organizations

* Office hours, mentoring sessions and real life, in-person conversations with funders and exhibitors

* The River Heroes Banquet: a memorable and inspirational night of celebrating our own leaders

* Unsurpassed networking opportunities

* River Action Day: American Rivers is organizing a day on The Hill for the river conservation community. Spend Monday learning how to make the most out of your visit and spend Tuesday meeting with your congressional leaders.

Baltimore Regency Hyatt
300 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

For more information, visit the River Network website – www.rivernetwork.org

Senator Gerald W. Winegrad will speak at the Severn River Association Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 7: 00 PM on the topic “WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO RESTORE THE BAY? (The inconvenient truths of Bay restoration)”
The location is Calvary Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis MD 21401. This lecture is free of charge and open to the public.

Sen. Winegrad will make a presentation and lead a discussion on the decline of the Chesapeake Bay and what needs to be done to restore this great estuary. He will show why the Bay is in serious trouble after 25 years, even after recovery efforts under the Chesapeake Bay Program and the expenditure of billions of dollars. Collapsed fisheries, including oysters and shad, and the crab fishery’s recent decline are among many signs of the serious ecological collapse as proud Smith Islanders become prison guards, leaving their island homes forever.

The renowned Bay scholar and leader will discuss how we have so poisoned our waters that reports abound of serious infections in humans who come in contact with Bay waters. These reports are widespread-from the Severn to the Nanticoke rivers, and beyond. Rockfish, one of the few success stories in the recovery of living resources, have been turning up with lesions from a chronic wasting disease, which is transmittable to humans. Catfish in the South River have cancerous lesions and male bass from the Potomac are turning up with female egg sacs.
Bay grasses acreage is only one-third of target agreed upon by the states, and oyster populations show no signs of recovery.

When the Bay Program began with the adoption of the first Bay Agreement in 1983, Gerald Winegrad notes, if anyone had chosen to frighten the public into action with a doomsday scenario, it would have probably read as he describes above and yet this scenario has become reality: Just how much worse does this horrible situation have to become before policy makers take the bold but necessary actions to reverse the decline of the Bay? Half-measures and “save the Bay” palliatives won’t do–come learn of the bold, decisive actions that can be taken now to turn the tide.

Senator Winegrad will present startling data on the impacts of growth and agricultural pollution on the Bay’s decline. He will describe the details of nutrient and sediment pollution choking the Bay and their sources Baywide and in the Severn River Watershed. Most importantly, he details what needs to be done to reduce pollutants to restore water quality. Gerald makes the case for controlling human population growth, sprawl development and the loss of forest land. He then describes the problems of storm-water runoff from development and how this can be addressed to restore the Severn and the Bay. The necessity of regulatory controls for agricultural pollution–the Bay’s greatest source of nutrient and sediment pollution–also will be a focus of his talk. Come see this up-to-date presentation and learn how we can Save the Bay and our natural heritage. SRA members have a special role to play in making these changes to turn the tide.

You Don’t Want To Miss this Sails Event!

Take a break from winter at SailFest January 21-25 during the Baltimore Boat Show. Chesapeake area sailing businesses have come together to create an island of sailing fun. It will be warm in the Baltimore Convention Center, and the sailing community will be there in full force.

At this year’s SailFest, activities will include Seminars, the Tiki Bar and Beach, Radio-Controlled Boat Racing, Industry Pros Ready To Answer Questions, Sailing Footage on the Big Screen, Kids’ Cove and RC Sailing

Visitors can spend some time chatting up the local boat dealers without any pressure. Saturday will be Sailing Club Day at the show where boating and sailing clubs can share information with other clubs and potential new members.

SpinSheet Magazine and SailFest are hosting a Sailor’s Happy Hour from 5 to 7 p.m. at the show, including door prizes, cool camaraderie, and a chance to wet your whistle. For more details about the Show, visit baltimoreboatshow.com.

The Magothy River Association will hold the first Magothy Watershed Conference to establish a watershed master plan on January 24-25, 2009.  An impressive list of speakers, with provocative topics to encourage discussion, will precede participant discussions.  Representatives of watershed communities and other interested parties are encouraged to register.

Topics include:

* Stormwater Pollution & Controls
* Living  Shorelines
* Critical Areas Program
* Septic Systems & the Bay Restoration Program
* Oyster Restoration
* AA Co Watershed Assessment & Planning Program

A $10.00 registration fee includes lunch on Saturday and the latest version of the Magothy River Map (suitable for framing).

See more information at www.magothyriver.org.