Chesapeake Bay News

On October 22, 2010, NOAA and local partners celebrated the opening of 20 miles of stream habitat along the Patapsco River in Maryland and its tributaries. According to NOAA the action is a critical step towards restoring the Patapsco River. The breaching of the Simkins Dam was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Breaching the Simkins Dam brings us closer to returning this portion of the Patapsco River to a thriving, free-flowing river,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “And it’s terrific that while we are restoring habitat, we are also working to restore our economy through the jobs created in this effort.”

Removing the dam will enhance the health of the river by allowing the natural transport of sediment, restoring 20 miles of spawning habitat for migratory fish—including American eel and alewife—and other species, and creating a safer recreation area.  The dam removal will also increase safety for swimmers and kayakers.

The Patapsco River Restoration Project received $4 million last year funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment to remove both the Simkins and Union dams. NOAA, American Rivers, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of the Patapsco Valley State Park have worked more than 36 months to implement this project and develop partnerships for future dam removals in the watershed.

“The removal of Simpkins Dam to restore the Patapsco River is a historic milestone for Maryland,” said Rebecca Wodder, President of American Rivers. “A healthier river will enhance the economy, local community and the Chesapeake Bay. American Rivers is proud to have partnered with private industry, government and other nonprofit organizations on this landmark restoration project. Rivers are remarkably resilient and we are all excited to see the Patapsco River restored.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. Through the Recovery Act, NOAA was provided $167 million for marine and coastal habitat restoration.

When all the planned projects are complete, 8,700 acres of habitat will be restored, and fish will gain access to 700 stream miles that had been blocked by obsolete and unsafe dams. The projects also will remove more than 850 metric tons of abandoned fishing gear and other marine trash, rebuild oyster and other shellfish habitat and reduce threats to 11,750 acres of coral reef habitat. This will benefit salmon, migratory birds, turtles and a variety of threatened and endangered fish and wildlife species.

source: NOAA press release

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 Trust for Public Land’s Parks for People-Community Rivers program in Maryland is focused on the western Chesapeake Bay shoreline and tributaries of
the four major river systems-the Gunpowder, Patuxent, Patapsco, and Potomac.

Working with government agencies at the local, county, state, and federal levels and with local organizations, The Trust for Public Land’s goal is to see
one-third of the land along these shores protected as parks and open space.

Through a GIS analysis, the program has identified over 230,000 acres of high-priority unprotected lands within a mile of the western shore of Chesapeake Bay and the four tributaries. the program is seeking to collaborate with public and private partners to collectively advance protection of these lands and create one of the greenest and most natural metropolitan river park systems in America.

To learn more, please visit: www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22585&folder_id=628

Or contact: Tom Gilbert, Regional Conservation Services Director- tom.gilbert@tpl.org