I love electric cars. I’ve owned two and have fallen hard, not just for environmental reasons, but more so because they are fast, silent, and virtually maintenance free. And don’t forget that you do not put gas in them!

Why not boats? And why not workboats on the Chesapeake? I have taken the last half of 2024 chasing an idea to convert a traditional Chesapeake Bay workboat into a prototype electric-propelled, sustainable silent harvester of the Chesapeake. My motivations were twofold: 1. help steer the way toward a cleaner and quieter and more sustainable Chesapeake Bay; and 2. acquire my next boat.

Around the world electrification of marine travel is picking up speed with major ferry systems and large scale industrial use boats running on electric. There are also many high end electric recreational boats emerging. And I even found a smattering of electric workboats – mostly in pilot stages in Northern Europe and even some in the Maine lobster fishery. And lastly, electric outboard motors are fast becoming commercially available.

On the Chesapeake, there are a few models of high end electric recreational boats around and I heard there were a few at the Powerboat Show this fall. Regarding workboats, there is mostly just curiosity. I talked with several of the workboat builders in the middle and upper Bay and all had considered electric propulsion. Most came to the same conclusion – Chesapeake Bay workboats are big and beamy and intended to be stable for carrying a lot of weight – and thus require lots and lots of power – which means excessive battery weight and cost. Even more importantly, many of the builders told me the watermen community are not generally early adopters of new technology – especially with their personal safety and livelihoods on the line.

There are some promising examples of prototype electric boats on the Bay for other uses. Brian Palmer has an electric boat team at Washington College which set a world electric boat record this summer for distance on a single charge (167 miles up and down the Chester). Brian has been an eager and incredibly helpful partner in my electric boat quest and remains interested in electrifying all forms of boats on the Bay. Paul Willey and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation were also helpful. They are building from the ground up two aluminum dead-rise style boats with electric/diesel hybrid propulsion for their environmental education programs.

Regarding converting a traditional Chesapeake Bay workboat into an electric one, I’m afraid we are not there yet. The traditional boats are big and bulky, the batteries are heavy and expensive, and the overall systems are still too new to trust for many. A friend following my journey told me “if you were trying to electrify a car you would not start with your uncle’s ‘83 Buick.” Enough said – for now.

I think we will eventually have electric workboats on the Bay, and probably sooner than we think. The batteries and related systems are advancing rapidly. The call for more climate friendly engines is growing. And in the end I think the lure of silent propulsion will win the day. I can’t wait!

Rob Etgen retired in 2021 after a 40-year career in conservation – the last 31 years as President of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. In retirement Rob is enjoying family and working on global and local sustainability issues with Council Fire consulting out of Annapolis.

On our annual visit to my wife’s family farm on the Maine coast, we tend to do nearly the same set of activities every year. Hike the “Blue Hill” trail. Kayak to the Deere Isle Bridge and “Sand Dollar Beach.” Visit Bar Harbor. Eat lobsters purchased from a local waterman. Hike to Barred Island across the land bridge at low tide. Swim to the big rock in Billings Cove at high tide. Go progging in tide pools. And lots and lots of porch time mixed in with some chores around the farm.

One of the favorites every year is searching for starfish, now called Sea Stars, at the secret place we named “Starfish Beach.” Most years we see dozens or even hundreds of Sea Stars in widely varying sizes and colors in an hour or two of wading around the tide pools. An eight-inch Sea Star slowly inching along a rock or prying open a mussel is magic for phone-obsessed teens. However, this year we found a total of two small Sea Stars over two separate visits with eight children and half that number of adults searching for hours.

According to local naturalists, the decline of Sea Stars and other tide pool critters at our “secret” spot has a variety of causes – starting with collectors. A few years ago, our Starfish Beach was discovered by collectors of Sea Stars and Sea Urchins, who sell them online to aquarium and shell companies. This practice has been stopped and sanctuary status is being pursued for the area. Warming waters caused by climate change are also having a significant impact. The Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly warming oceans on Earth, causing many species to move north, including lobsters and other sedentary bottom dwellers, to suffer from increased disease and competition from invasive species like Green Crabs. There have also been sporadic but severe die-offs of Sea Stars along the Maine Coast from Sea Star Wasting Disease, a little-known condition made worse by warming waters.

In a family conversation later, one of the elders explained that everything must learn to adapt to survive. This drew a sharp rebuke from others about the unfairness of humans adapting to climate change by using more air conditioning while animals were often left to move north or die. This issue of responsibility obviously needs a more careful discussion at a later date.

While I am immensely proud of the conservation wins that have occurred to save species and habitats during my lifetime. I am also often saddened by the more recent tidal wave of losses to crises like climate change and overdevelopment. Seeing those kids looking doggedly for starfish without success is one of the saddest reminders about the world we are leaving to them.

Rob Etgen retired in 2021 after a 40-year career in conservation, the last 31 years as President of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. In retirement, Rob is enjoying family and working on global and local sustainability issues with Council Fire Consulting out of Annapolis.

I spent the last week of April in southeast Texas seeing one of the great wonders of our natural world. Every spring billions of songbirds migrate north from South and Central America through the Yucatán Peninsula and fly over the Gulf of Mexico landing generally on the southeast coast of Texas around Galveston. This is literally a river of birds flying from 500 – 1500 feet in the air from dusk to dawn this time of year.

The cool thing about southeast Texas in the spring is that the birds are truly on the move. You can visit a natural area one morning and on the next morning there is a totally different mix of birds or no birds at all. The songbird flight from Yucatán to Galveston takes between 12 – 16 hours depending on weather. Experienced local birders know intimately the weather patterns that speed or slow migration, and when they might “fall out” or prematurely drop out of a migration flight. One young birder coached us “if you see rain, head for the trees.”

One of the highlights of the trip was experiencing a Black Rail. Early in our stroll through the marsh trails of Galveston Island State Park we heard the sharp “ki-ki-kerrrr” which we recognized instantly from our research. Our silent high fives and muted celebration drew other birders. Some heard the call, but most didn’t. The Black Rail – known as “mouse of the marsh” – is not only incredibly elusive but also severely endangered due to sea level rise.

The other highlight of the trip, and of birdwatching generally, is the people. Folks from all over the world with widely varying backgrounds gather at birding hotspots to chase rarities or big year lists or life list species. There is definitely an archetype – retired and khaki clad with a flop hat for sun protection and binoculars, although you also see young hotshot birders moving quickly through the forest. In almost all cases the birders we meet are kind, patient, and eager to share a sighting or tip with beginners. We call it sharing “Nerd Knowledge” or “NK” for short and it is a key feature of birders everywhere. 

May is prime time for the migration here on Delmarva. Warblers and tanagers and orioles and vireos are flying at night and feeding in our tree tops during the day. Grab your binoculars and get outside and enjoy the spectacle. Check out  BirdCast – Bird migration forecasts in real-time to see daily migration maps and which birds are coming through your neighborhood. Also download the Merlin app –  Merlin Bird ID – Free, instant bird identification help and guide for thousands of birds – Identify the birds you see – which can tell beginners which species you are hearing. And most of all, cozy up next to a khaki crowd in the forest and feast on some Nerd Knowledge. Enjoy!

Rob Etgen retired in 2021 after a 40 year career in conservation – the last 31 years as President of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. In retirement Rob is enjoying family and working on global and local sustainability issues with Council Fire consulting out of Annapolis.

I have often heard it said that the Delmarva Peninsula is the third most vulnerable region to sea level rise in America. Whatever our rank, we are certainly among the most vulnerable regions to rising seas due to our low-lying landscape and also because our region is sinking ever so slightly. Lower Dorchester County is already feeling severe effects, with many houses elevated or abandoned and school bus routes regularly thwarted by high tides. Critically, most of our towns on the Eastern Shore started as port towns and regularly experience “sunny day flooding” along with seasonal hurricane threats.

What to do about an existential global threat which is causing early and painful impacts on the Eastern Shore. Starting in 2012 Eastern Shore Land Conservancy worked with towns and counties in an attempt to get ahead on climate change and sea level rise. The main lessons from that work were adapt or retreat. Unfortunately, retreat is a tough topic – I think because we are all part oyster and prefer to just stay put once we set down roots here. And adapting to rising seas is an enormous challenge given the pervasiveness of the problem and the high cost for each wetland restoration, flood barrier or road raising.

In my retirement, I have remained engaged in climate change adaptation and have tripped over a number of bright people working on new ideas and having real success. Here are a few hopeful ideas:

Using sediment dredged from our boating and shipping channels for shoreline stabilization, beach nourishment, and marsh restoration. The Maryland Port Administration has been doing this for years in areas around Baltimore and at Poplar Island and more recently in restoring Barren and James Islands off Dorchester County. Similarly, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is using a coordinated approach to marry local channel dredging with nearby shoreline stabilization and marsh restoration needs. One of my family’s favorite parks – Ferry Point Park at Kent Narrows – was built using material dredged from nearby channels and  has now become the Shore’s largest natural baby pool;

Creating nonprofit “resilience authorities” to finance the immense cost of climate change adaptation. In response to Maryland legislation authorizing local governments to create “resilience authorities,” Annapolis and Anne Arundel County created their own authority aimed at efficiently financing the tremendous number of projects needed to adapt to sea level rise and climate change. In their first year this Resilience Authority raised nearly $20 million for adapting to coastal flooding, extreme weather events, and other climate related threats. While much of the early funding is Federal and State grants, these authorities are built to utilize creative new funding mechanisms including selling carbon or other resilience credits. Charles County similarly created their own authority and others are in process.

And here are a few bright people at the forefront of helping communities – all of our communities – adapt to threats arising from climate change: Matt Fleming – is Executive Director of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Resilience Authority and has not only raised a ton of funds, but also targeted those funds toward underserved communities; Brad Rogers – is Executive Director of the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership which is spearheading an ambitious project which will connect South Baltimore’s poorest communities with parks, trails, redevelopment and community amenities in ways that address flooding and systemic racism; Holly Fowler – is with Council Fire consulting and is coordinating large chunks of the above work with the environmental knowledge and personal grace needed for complicated projects with myriad partners and shifting politics. Thanks to all of you for your efforts.

As a global community, we have a daunting challenge in reducing our emissions sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 C degrees of global warming. On the Eastern Shore we must do our share to limit these greenhouse gas emissions. But we also must use every innovation possible and accelerate our adaptation to the coastal flooding and other climate change impacts we already face.

Rob Etgen retired in 2021 after a 40 year career in conservation – the last 31 years as President of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. In retirement Rob is enjoying family and working on global and local sustainability issues with Council Fire consulting out of Annapolis.