Along with summer swimming comes ShoreRivers Bacteria Monitoring season. It is advised that people not swim 24-48 hours after a major rain.
Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Cambridge
Along with summer swimming comes ShoreRivers Bacteria Monitoring season. It is advised that people not swim 24-48 hours after a major rain.
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On Thursday August 17, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) and Skip and Barbara Watson hosted U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen for a tour of Waterloo Farm in East New Market, Maryland. Several bay conservation partners also attended, including representatives from Choose Clean Water Coalition, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Waterloo Farm’s conservation and wetland protection efforts (including impoundments, native plantings, protected woodlands, and vegetative buffers) will be replicated across Dorchester County by ESLC and essential partners through Chesapeake WILD funding, which includes $500,000 in federal funding that the Senator fought to secure to protect habitat migration corridors between Blackwater and the Nanticoke River Watershed.
Through strategic landowner outreach, ESLC and the Chesapeake WILD project will permanently protect 300 acres, benefiting the long-term resilience of wildlife populations and critical ecosystems throughout Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.
“What this shows is that this requires a team effort,” said Senator Van Hollen. “It does require everybody working in the same direction. If we’re going to address all the issues and if we’re going to protect the Chesapeake Bay, which is a global treasure, we have to make sure here in the bay, which is an extra sensitive area ecologically, that we have a program specifically targeted on the Bay and that’s what Chesapeake WILD is all about.”
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The new leader of the Maryland Public Service Commission said Tuesday that he plans to convene meetings with interested parties over the next few months to discuss the increasingly controversial issue of where to place renewable energy installations in the state.
Testifying before a virtual hearing of the state Senate Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment, Fred Hoover, who took over as PSC chair in July, said he wanted to “get all the parties together to lower the temperature in some of these siting topics.”
The PSC is Maryland’s chief energy and utility regulatory agency, but it also has a historical role in approving proposals to build energy-generating facilities in the state. Where once that job meant considering and approving large power plants, as the industry evolves the commission now is tasked with becoming involved in decisions about where to place renewable energy installations. Those fights, especially over whether to allow solar projects on land zoned for agricultural uses or forests — and the PSC’s role in them — have become increasingly contentious.
Four years ago, the state’s highest court, then known as the Maryland Court of Appeals, ruled that the PSC can supersede local zoning laws when it came to applications to build large renewable energy installations.
Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery), chair of the Education, Energy and Environment panel, said in his view the court ruling suggested “the PSC is top dog” in these disputes. But he acknowledged that other entities, including the powerful Maryland Association of Counties, may have a different interpretation of the court decision.
“This issue has been very controversial over the interplay between the Public Service Commission and local governments,” Feldman said. “…This is still a muddied water kind of topic.”
Hoover pointed out that any entity applying to build a large renewable energy installation, such as a solar array on agricultural land, still must obtain relevant permits from local governments before they can proceed.
Earlier this month, Feldman, along with House Economic Matters Chair C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) and House Environment and Transportation Chair Marc Korman (D-Montgomery) wrote a letter to Gov. Wes Moore (D) seeking guidance on how the state should approach controversies over renewable energy installations given the necessity of increasing the state’s renewable energy generation to meet aggressive climate goals, among other things. Under legislation required last year, the state is required to hit a 50% renewable energy goal by 2030 and to use 100% clean energy by 2035.
“To achieve these targets, Maryland must dramatically and equitably increase its deployment of solar installations across the State and identify appropriate locations for energy storage,” the committee chairs wrote. They asked Moore to direct several state agencies to coordinate these efforts, “as well as identifying innovative policies being pursued in other states.”
Hoover told senators that his decision to convene meetings on siting was, in part, a response to the lawmakers’ query.
The Task Force to Study Solar Incentives, which was set up by state legislation this year, is also expected to examine this topic in months ahead.
So far, local governments have taken a piecemeal approach to renewable energy siting policies. In 2021 Montgomery County passed legislation effectively limiting the number of solar arrays that can be installed in the county’s vast Agricultural Reserve. Just last month, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to ban large solar projects from being built on land zoned for agricultural use. Next week, the Anne Arundel County Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on amended legislation that could limit the amount of solar arrays permissible on undeveloped land.
Several stakeholders — including leaders of renewable energy companies, environmental groups, agricultural concerns, business organizations and local governments — have begun wondering openly if the state needs uniform standards on where and how to build renewable energy installations. A bill passed in this year’s General Assembly session makes it easier to install solar arrays on industrial lands, public and private rooftops, parking lots and other public facilities. Baltimore County officials, including County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D), are participating in a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for a rooftop solar project in Rosedale that will eventually provide power to 6,000 area homes.
But it’s widely acknowledged that some agricultural land will have to be set aside for renewable energy installations if the state is to hit the clean energy goals laid out in the 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act.
Hoover acknowledged the possible need for statewide legislation to quell the siting controversy when he told the senators Wednesday that he may approach them for “a legislative fix.”
The discussion about renewable energy siting came at the end of a two-hour hearing by the Senate committee that enabled lawmakers to learn more about the Public Service Commission and its myriad responsibilities. The Senate panel was renamed and given a new portfolio at the beginning of the year, so many members of the panel are still learning about energy issues. Additionally, three of the five PSC commissioners have taken office in the past few months, as Moore attempts to make the agency an aggressive partner in the administration’s desire to combat climate change.
PSC officials led the Senate committee through discussions ranging from how the commission considers utilities’ requests to raise rates, to how to read an electric bill, to whether utilities are being given too much license to beef up natural gas infrastructure, to some of the particulars on electric supply competition.
“To me it seemed like the right level of high-level and basic,” said Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery), the committee vice chair.
By Josh Kurtz
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Hershey Co. on Tuesday pledged $2 million to support Pennsylvania dairy farmers in adopting environmentally friendly practices, part of a larger conservation effort to protect the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
They made the announcement at Central Manor Dairy in Manor Township, a 200-cow operation that has been a member of Land O’Lakes (and its predecessor) since 1943.
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, in collaboration with Land O’Lakes, Inc., will use the funding as part of the ongoing “Sustainable Dairy PA” initiative that the agency and the two companies first launched in 2021.
Sustainable Dairy PA participating farmers work with the Alliance to establish best practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve Chesapeake Bay watershed water quality. At launch, the initiative prioritized 119 Land O’Lakes member-owner farms in central Pennsylvania that ship 50% or more of their milk supply to Hershey. Land O’Lakes operates as a member-owned cooperative, representing more than 1,000 farms across the U.S.
Jenna Mitchell Beckett, Pennsylvania director and agriculture program director for the Alliance, told the Capital-Star that the Sustainable Dairy PA program is voluntary for farmers who want to participate.
“The $2M funding from Hershey and EPA will help Land O’Lakes member farms accelerate their sustainability efforts by investing with them in the implementation of manure storage facilities, soil health practices, riparian forest buffers and other efforts to enhance sustainability on farms supplying to Hershey,” Beckett said in an email, “which builds farm resilience, improves water quality, and reduces emissions.” The Sustainable Dairy PA model focuses on all parts of the supply chain working together, she added, rather than the farmers managing everything themselves.
The EPA is supplying $1 million of the new round of funding, with Hershey providing a matching $1 million. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will administer the portion of the funds provided from EPA to the Alliance, the EPA said.
Since 2018, the Alliance has worked to develop agriculture supply chain programs, with an eye toward improving the member farms’ long-term sustainability, improving soil health, and overall efficiencies.
A report released earlier this year by the Chesapeake Bay Program found that pollution reduction efforts by states in the watershed were “more challenging than expected.”
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia are responsible for around 90% of the Chesapeake Bay’s pollution, and according to a 2022 report from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, while the states were on track to meet their 2025 commitments for reducing pollution from wastewater, agriculture or urban and suburban runoff pollution reduction efforts lagged behind.
“States are not on track to reduce pollution to the levels needed for a healthy Bay, or implement the practices necessary to achieve them by the 2025 deadline,” according to the 2022 State of the Blueprint Report.
Under the terms of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, New York, and the District of Columbia have to reach specific milestones in pollution reduction.
The dairy industry is responsible for roughly 2% of the U.S.’ greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
“EPA’s funding commitment to Hershey, Land O’Lakes, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay brings $2 million of much-needed support to Pennsylvania dairy farmers to scale up conservation practices that are good for our farms, climate, local streams, and the Bay,” EPA regional administrator Adam Ortiz said. “With this funding, we are not only investing in the current environment, but into the long-term viability of Pennsylvania farmers – our frontline environmentalists.”
By Kim Lyons
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Recent initiatives to seek critical area allocations on the Mid-Shore are finding significant pushback from citizens worried that they are contrary to the spirit of County comprehensive plans created to protect important habitats.
In one recent example, the Poplar Hill Farm development in Easton, which had plans for more than 400 homes, was withdrawn last month after the developer faced strong community opposition to using critical area allocations to build out a residential development.
And last week, there was a similar debate in Queen Anne’s County on how those allocations would be used. In this case, the question of the table was a proposal to provide allowances for a 150,000-square-foot storage facility at Kent Narrows to be built.
In the second of two formal reviews in front of the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners, the applicant sought final approval for the structure after the first review resulted in a 5-1 vote in favor of the development project.
In public comments at the August 8 meeting, Bib Zillig, a citizen advocate against the proposal, once again made his case by reminding the commissioners that the proposed land use was contrary to the spirit of the QAC Comprehensive plan. Zillig and several other environmental advocates outlined the fallout of overdevelopment, swelling traffic, and stressed infrastructure to these ambitious undertakings.
In response, the Commissioners asked QAC Department of Planning & Zoning County’s Planning and Zoning staff Amy Moredock and Stephanie Jones, who helped coordinate the latest update of the comprehensive plan, their analysis of the proposed use.
They reported that the project aligned with the comp plan, particularly concerning stormwater management. They further stated that the applicant’s proposal had minimal need for sewage capacity, and that the project documented a commitment of the developer to exceed minimum zoning standards.
It is anticipated a final decision on the application will be made at the next County Commissioners meeting.
The Spy captured both points of view to share with our readers.
This video is approximately 8 minutes in length.
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Celebrate the end of summer with ShoreRivers and the Miles-Wye Riverkeeper at the Shaw Bay Raft-Up Concert from 3–6 pm on Saturday, Sept. 9. The Eastport Oyster Boys will be making their 20th appearance and the Wye River Band will be back for their fourth at this free concert, which aims to raise funds and awareness for clean water efforts on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
This annual benefit concert is a must for mariners of all kinds. Bring your dinghy, paddle board, kayak, sailboat, or power boat, and join the floating raft up to enjoy live music in Shaw Bay, near the mouth of the Wye River. Visit shorerivers.org/events to find sponsorship opportunities, a map of nearby locations from which to launch your vessel, and to sign up to receive text updates on the event.
While the concert is free, donations are welcome, with all proceeds helping to promote the clean water initiatives of ShoreRivers on the Miles and Wye rivers and Eastern Bay. Attendees are asked to use the organization’s pumpout boat services while in Shaw Bay, and throughout the boating season, to help with these efforts.
Since May 2016, the ShoreRivers pumpout boat has removed more than 90,000 gallons of waste from boaters on the Miles and Wye. The pumpout boat is funded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and operates in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD. The vessel operates Friday–Sunday and on holidays from mid-May through mid-November. Pumpouts may be scheduled on VHF Channel 9 or by contacting Captain Jim at 410.829.4352 or [email protected].
ShoreRivers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education. Our local waterways are polluted by excess nutrients and sediment that run off of urban, suburban, agricultural, and commercial land. ShoreRivers is dedicated to implementing real solutions through programs and projects to improve the health of these waterways. To learn more, please visit shorerivers.org.
Event questions may be directed to Freya Farley at [email protected].
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When Kristen Lycett joined the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center in early 2020, the then 14-year-old non-profit was located where it got its start, on Tilghman Island. Under the aegis of founder Kelley Phillips Cox, the center ran a robust environmental program to educate the public on maintaining a healthy Chesapeake Bay. With a focus on oyster aquaculture, the center began an oyster restoration project, planting over 835,000 oysters. The center also acquired an oyster lease and began selling oysters to local restaurants to underwrite its diverse operations which also included a visitor’s center and classroom on three acres by the Tilghman Island bridge. There was even a skipjack that took visitors out to the oyster reef.
In addition, the center housed an aquarium for up close interaction with creatures that depend on clean Chesapeake waterways—turtles, crabs, and dozens of native fish. Educational outreach was conducted by bus. Lycett, who has a PhD from the University of Maryland in marine science, was brought in to manage the center’s popular Fishmobile, a school bus colorfully transformed into a rolling aquarium for transporting tanks of creatures to local schools and community events.
Then along came COVID.
Just five weeks into her new job, the pandemic brought operations at Phillips Wharf to a grinding halt. Lycett, said, “We closed to the public, canceled all in-person programming, and created a virtual Fishmobile program for fourth graders in Talbot County.” Going from in-person to onscreen was a big challenge. “It was definitely hard,” said Lycett. “I have minimal video editing skills and had minimal resources at the time.” And because not all students had access to the Internet, Lycett had to come up with alternative formats for students. She said, “A lot of work went into making this program accessible.”
But as Lycett dedicated herself to maintaining the Fishmobile program, the shutdown set off a cascade of bad news. When restaurants closed, revenue from oyster sales plummeted. A tropical storm later in the summer caused costly damage to the center’s classroom and aquarium facilities. In spring 2021 the Philips Wharf board made the hard decision to sell its assets, divesting itself of the oyster farm and then the environmental center. When Phillips Wharf closed down, all that remained was a small endowment and the Fishmobile. Heartbreakingly, in the midst of this, Kelley Phillips Cox died.
But a new door was waiting to open. As it happened, the Town of Easton had planned to move its public works facility from an industrial area on Easton Point to another location. In its place, the town began creating a park. Back in 2009, then Mayor Bob Willey determined he could provide something residents had long asked for: access to Easton’s waterfront on the Tred Avon River. He asked newly elected council member Megan Cook to oversee park development. Cook led the effort with a focus on environmental stewardship, using native plantings, developing a living shoreline, and favoring greenspace over hard-top and cement. From the start, the town wanted an organization to help visitors to enjoy and learn about the park’s natural resources.
“It turned out that the town was looking for an environmental center for Easton Point Park,” said Phillips Wharf board vice-president Barbara Boyd. “The Town of Easton was very, very accommodating.” The Phillips Wharf board had been exploring a move to Dorchester County but, she said. “We owed it to Kelley (Cox) to keep the center in Talbot County. And Easton is a much easier location to get students here for our programming. For Easton, Phillips Wharf brings educational, environmental, and community purpose to help visitors understand how to support the Chesapeake Bay.”
It was a natural fit. Mayor Megan Cook said, “It’s a great partnership. Phillips Wharf is an asset to the community and a win-win for everyone involved.”
The Fishmobile and its menagerie rolled into the park in March 2022. Its new home consists of office spaces and open bays that the town had used for parking trucks and storing materials. As the public works moves out, the center is moving in. “Our goal is to turn the closest garage bay to the building into additional aquarium space and aquarium prep space,” said Lycett, who is now the center’s Executive Director. By September she hopes to have access to more space to use as classrooms.
Phillips Wharf is adapting its offerings to Easton Point Park. “From the new location most of Phillips Wharf’s charter is still the same. But there’s less aquaculture and history and more emphasis on STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics),” Boyd said. At Easton Point, the center provides free onsite educational tours where children have hands-on experience with a mini oyster reef. “They test the waters and count and measure the oyster spats,” Boyd said. “We offer this as summer programming that camps can take advantage of.” In July came big news and a big boost for the center’s educational programming. Phillips Wharf was awarded a three-year NOAA B-WET grant, the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), to teach environmental literacy to all fourth-graders in Talbot County. Lycett also hopes to eventually offer adult education programs on topics in ecology and sustainable living. In addition, the tireless Lycett manages a scaled down oyster growing program on Tilghman Island. She has also run a very successful spring cleanup called “Tidy Up Talbot.” As Boyd put it, “We are unbelievably lucky to have Kristen onboard.”
And, of course, there’s the ever-popular Fishmobile. If you miss the bus this summer, you can always come to the park to meet Larry, the irrepressible Diamondback terrapin, and other creatures at the aquarium. “Our animal collection changes throughout our programming season as we find species in our oyster cages or go out and catch them,” notes Lycett. “We do release some animals to minimize the amount of care and food required during months when our Fishmobile program is not running (end of November through March). However, the turtles are with us for life, so we care for them year round.” In the end Lycett hopes the animal experiences are memorable. “My hope is our visitors take something from that interaction–whether that it’s OK to be excited and interested in something or a love for weird critters or just an interest in marine science and the Chesapeake Bay.”
While Phillips Wharf busily settles into its new home, Easton Point Park also continues to transform. Town Manager Don Richardson says the town is now in the planning phase to build a marina with a boat ramp and parking by the water. The building opposite to the one occupied by Phillips Wharf will be torn down to create parking space for a new entrance to the park accessed from Flood Street. Eventually there will be trails, including a connection to Easton’s expanding Rail-to-Trails paths. There’s much to see and more to come at Easton Point Park.
Marion Arnold is leader of the Plastic-Free Easton action committee. She lives in Easton. For more information on Phillips Wharf please go here.
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With a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision sharply curtailing federal oversight of streams and wetlands, environmental groups working to restore the Chesapeake Bay say they’re worried about gaps in state laws and enforcement practices that now leave those waters vulnerable to unrestricted development and pollution.
In a May 25 ruling the nine justices unanimously agreed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority in declaring part of an Idaho couple’s home site wetlands and demanding that they get a permit to fill it.
But the court’s majority went further in Sackett v. EPA and, with a 5–4 vote, drastically redefined which streams and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act. In doing so, it sought to settle decades of debate by removing federal regulation of activities affecting isolated wetlands and tiny streams that flow with water only after heavy rains.
“I’m not aware of anyone who predicted this,” said Peggy Sanner, Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
She called it a “serious setback” for environmental protection efforts in general, as well as for the Bay restoration effort.
Wetlands and those periodically dry stream beds help keep water-fouling nutrients and sediment from reaching the Bay while also providing critical habitat and soaking up floodwaters.
Farmers, developers and other business organizations welcomed the ruling. The Virginia Farm Bureau’s blog called it “a major victory for farmers and property rights,” while the chair of the National Association of Home Builders dubbed it a win against “federal overreach” and for “common-sense regulations and housing affordability.”
Passed in 1972, the Clean Water Act gave the federal government jurisdiction over “navigable waters” and set up a permitting program to regulate discharges of dredged or fill material into “waters of the United States,” including wetlands.
A legal and political dispute has flared on and off since then about how far upstream that authority applies. Congress amended the Clean Water Act in 1977 to specify that it also covered wetlands “adjacent” to navigable waters, but that hasn’t quelled the controversy. The Supreme Court has weighed in repeatedly since the 1980s, with shifting and conflicting opinions.
In 2015, the Obama administration sought to clarify what’s regulated with a rule that protected isolated wetlands and “ephemeral” streams with a “significant nexus” to navigable waters.
That drew fierce backlash from farmers, developers and energy companies. The Trump administration repealed it and proposed a much narrower rule that applied federal regulations only in cases where surface water contributes to the wetland or waterway in question. States and environmental groups sued.
A court threw out the Trump rule, and the Biden administration has been working on another, more expansive version.
Environmental lawyers say the Sackett ruling appears to restrict federal jurisdiction even more than the Trump regulation. The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the two agencies that regulate activities affecting wetlands and waterways, had estimated that the Trump regulation would have stripped federal protection from more than half of the nation’s wetlands and roughly one-fifth of its streams.
Bob Dreher, legal director for the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, estimated that the recent court decision removes protection from as much as 65% of wetlands nationwide and more than 80% of the streams.
In the Bay watershed, the impact is somewhat muted. Five of the six states and the District of Columbia provide at least some protection under their own laws for wetlands and streams now removed from federal jurisdiction. Delaware is the only outlier, one of 24 states nationwide that rely entirely on the Clean Water Act for safeguarding their waters, according to the Environmental Law Institute.
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia each have comprehensive state laws that provide protection from disturbance for their wetlands and all waters, even groundwater, noted the Bay Foundation’s Sanner.
West Virginia law also contains a broad definition of “waters of the state” but, according to the law institute’s James McElfish, the state has not always required permits for activities in wetlands and streams that fall outside the federal interpretation.
New York last year strengthened its protections for freshwater wetlands, but the state only requires permits for activities affecting wetlands larger than 7.4 acres, unless they’re deemed to be of “unusual importance.”
David Reed, executive director of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, foresees trouble, even in states with strong legal protections on the books. State and federal agencies have jointly reviewed applications for permits to disturb a wetland or stream. Now, with the federal role shrinking, he said, there won’t be a backstop for state regulators facing intense pressure to look the other way.
“It will push them inevitably toward laxer enforcement,” Reed said of the states. “It will be this insidious direction toward less and less protection.”
Before the court’s ruling narrowing federal jurisdiction, Virginia, for instance, had relied on the Army Corps to review developers’ delineations of wetlands and surface waters when they were seeking permits.
In late June, the state’s Department of Environmental Quality announced that it would take over that task and would prioritize those applications where the delineations are performed by certified private wetlands professionals. The agency said the change would “restore certainty in the permitting process and allow projects to move forward in a timely manner.”
The Bay Foundation’s Sanner said she was encouraged by DEQ’s “thoughtful” process for continuing to protect wetlands while ensuring efficient permitting. But she cautioned that “many questions remain” about the state’s response to the court ruling.
Another major concern is that most states do not offer their citizens the same right to go to court to enforce their laws as the Clean Water Act does. The federal provision for “citizen suits” has allowed environmental groups to go after polluters in federal court and often prod state regulators to act when they haven’t before, Reed said.
Environmentalists say the Supreme Court decision also puts a cloud over the section of the Clean Water Act that establishes federal and, by extension, state authority to regulate discharges of stormwater and other pollutants into dry stream beds or isolated wetlands.
Activists say the Supreme Court’s ruling means they’re going to have to press for stronger state laws and for staffing and budget increases for regulatory agencies to enforce them.
“If we’re going to have hope for states to be a little of a backfill here, we’re going to have to help states get up to speed,” said Betsy Nicholas, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s vice president of programs.
by Tim Wheeler
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U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman John Sarbanes introduced the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act, which, if passed into law, would create the Chesapeake National Recreation Area (CNRA). The CNRA would be a land-based, 21st-century park, uniting new and existing National Park Service (NPS) sites and trails, as well as partner parks, to increase public access to the Chesapeake Bay and create a national park-worthy visitor experience for all to enjoy. Co-sponsors include Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) and U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), David Trone (D-Md.), and Rob Wittman (R-Va.).
One year ago, a July 2022 public opinion poll showed profound support for National Park Service status for the Chesapeake, with 83% of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC respondents in favor of establishing a Chesapeake National Recreation Area. A congressional working group was formed in June 2022, and draft legislation was shared in November 2022. Hundreds of public comments were submitted.
Representatives of United4CNRA, a coalition of organizations and people advocating for the CNRA, issued the following statements celebrating this significant step toward establishing the CNRA:
“Latino Outdoors wholeheartedly endorses Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman John Sarbanes’ vision for the Chesapeake National Recreation Area. It is a vision that has been thoughtfully crafted by a broad range of stakeholders, and it centers the protection of diverse landscapes, increased diverse public access, and the celebration of cultural diversity. We applaud the efforts of Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Sarbanes, and the entire CNRA working group. We see their actions as an affirmation of the importance of diversity, not for diversity’s sake, but rather for its potential to be a catalyst for a thriving and sustainable regional economy, community, and recreational asset. – Latino Outdoors Executive Director Luis Villa
“Thank you, Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Sarbanes, for making a more than 30-year-long dream come true. The Chesapeake Bay is as spectacular as Yellowstone or Yosemite, as great as the Great Smokies and as grand as the Grand Tetons. Establishing the Chesapeake National Recreation Area expands resources for environmental protection and makes it clear that the United States cherishes the Chesapeake, the birthplace of American identity. As a great gift to future generations, this legislation ensures everyone’s right to visit and recreate on our nation’s largest estuary while balancing the needs of those who live here and depend on the bay for their livelihood.” – Chesapeake Conservancy President & CEO Joel Dunn
“We appreciate the many years of hard work that Senator Chris Van Hollen, Representative John Sarbanes and the Chesapeake working group have dedicated to charting a path forward for the Chesapeake National Recreation Area.
“There is only one Chesapeake Bay, and everyone deserves a chance to experience its wonders. Working together to create a Chesapeake National Recreation Area would expand public access to the largest estuary in the world, bring economic growth to nearby communities, and help the National Park Service, native Tribes, and Chesapeake watermen interpret thousands of years of impactful history. Introducing legislation is the next step to make the dream of this park a reality.” – National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) President & CEO Theresa Pierno
“The Chesapeake Bay has nourished Indigenous people both physically and spiritually for more than 10,000 years. The Chesapeake National Recreation Area would help educate our young people about the long-standing connection between the Chesapeake Bay and American Indians and ensure that the bay’s plants and animals, which are so essential to the sustaining power of life for everyone, are protected while preparing our next generation of leaders for the future.” – Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson
“The National Park Service serves as one of our nation’s foremost storytellers and steward of our rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage. The Chesapeake National Recreation Area would allow all of the American people and our international visitors to learn about our country’s history and how the Chesapeake Bay has been the landscape of Indigenous history, European exploration, colonialism, independence, slavery and freedom.” – former National Park Service Director “Bob” Robert Stanton (retired)
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Looking for something fun to do with the kids? Join us at our upcoming Field Day at the Refuge for an adventurous day of outdoor exploration, arts and crafts, and Hoverball archery! Youth will have a chance to embark on an exciting garden scavenger hunt before practicing binocular skills with a game of bird bingo. Field Day at the Refuge takes place at the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center on Saturday, July 29th anytime from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Help the kids in your life enjoy the summer wonders of Blackwater! For more information, call 410-228-2677.
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