Monday, April 22, 2013
The currently nameless heron appears on Maryland license plates.
Officials at the Chesapeake Bay Trust are looking for input to help name its blue heron mascot. The heron, which also currently adorns "Treasure the Chesapeake" Maryland license plates, is nameless at the moment. But from now through April 26, the organization is asking Marylanders to vote on its website for one of three finalists: Hattie the Heron, Seemore D. Bay and Wade. More than 550 names were submitted to the organization's contest, according to a press release. "Submissions ranged from names that rhymed with heron, to ones that represented famous Marylanders, to others that held a personal story or connection the submitter had with the bay," Molly Alton Mullins, director of communications at the trust, said in the release. "It was …
Friday, April 19, 2013
A state Department of Natural Resources report found that the number of female blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay is up, but reproduction is down.
Maryland's Department of Natural Resources reported good news and bad news Friday about the Chesapeake Bay's blue crab population. In a press release issued Friday, department officials said 2013's winter dredge survey found the spawning-age female population has reached 147 million—a 52 percent increase over last year and twice the lowest possible healthy threshold. However, the study also found that the total abundance of crabs plummeted from 765 million to 300 million, as did the number of juvenile crabs in the bay, signaling what officials believe to be high mortality in last year's class of crabs. “The results of this year’s winter dredge survey are by no means ideal, however, our strong management framework includes a buffer that …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The bill would impose fees on residents, businesses and nonprofits for federally mandated efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
At least two members of the Baltimore County Council say they would like to delay a vote on proposed stormwater management fees. Vicki Almond and David Marks both said Tuesday they would like to delay the vote for a month. "Considering the enormity of all this and the information that we have I would personally like us to have a little more time to come up with some amendments and really study this even further," said Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat. "I think three weeks really isn't enough to digest all of this," Almond said, speaking of a briefing the council received last month. Almond added that County Executive Kevin Kamenetz developed the new fees without involving the council or holding any public meetings. The council, in its …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Environmentalist group says the bay's health is still "dangerously out of balance."
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) again gave the bay low marks this year for pollution levels, but said some of the fruits of federal guidelines are beginning to show. "While the Bay is still dangerously out of balance, I am cautiously optimistic for the future. The federal/state Clean Water Blueprint for the Chesapeake Bay is in place and beginning to work," said CBF President William C. Baker in a press release. The CBF regularly evaluates 13 levels of the bay's health and grades them accordingly. This year, the Chesapeake Bay's overall score was 32 percent, which the CBF labeled a D+. That's up one point from the last State of the Bay report in 2010, and four points since the report in 2008. "While hopeful, a Bay health index of 32 on…
Monday, August 6, 2012
Staff members from the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center will talk about the Chesapeake Bay and the creatures that call it home.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Marge Neal
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Monday, August 6, 2012
The North Point Library hosts the "Fishmobile" today at 11 a.m. Children ages 6 to 12 are invited to join staff members from the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center in Tilghman, MD, for a hands-on program about the Chesapeake Bay and the creatures that call it home. The free program is possible thanks to a grant from the Stansbury Park Project and the Dundalk Renaissance Corp. After the indoor formal presentation, the outdoor Fishmobile tanks will be available to visitors until 1:30 p.m. For more information, call the library, 410-887-7257.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Gov. Martin O'Malley said the state has reached milestones while also accounting for growth.
Maryland has met its milestones to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday. The 2009-2011 milestones are part of the state's Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP), which puts the state on track to achieve its next two-year goal, as well as the 2017 goal. “There are some challenges so large that we can only tackle them together. Restoring the Bay is one of them. And all of us are here today because we understand that the choices we make together for our Bay matter for our health, our environment, our quality of life, our economy and for future generations," O’Malley said, according to a statement. “We have worked closely with our local partners to create and carry out a Watershed Implementation Plan that …
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Councilman John Olszewski Sr. says bill could help protect bay while allowing some shopping centers to decrease parking.
Parking could be harder to come by at some Baltimore County shopping centers this Christmas but not because of a sudden change in the economy. A proposal to allow some shopping centers to reduce the number of parking spaces required by the county has some activists worried it will also limit community input. Shopping centers with 100,000 square-feet or more of retail space could seek county approval for as much as a 40 percent reduction in the number of parking spaces required by county law under a bill sponsored by Councilman John Olszeweski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat. Activists are concerned the new rules could be used to allow expansion of shopping centers in a way that would not be allowed by current law. They also expressed concern that …
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Saturday, April 14, 2012
Three different community cleanup efforts provide an early kick-off to Earth Week.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Marge Neal
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Saturday, April 14, 2012
If you're looking for a way to spend Saturday outside on what is forecasted to be a beautiful day, and help your community and the environment at the same time, opportunities are plentiful. Three local organizations are sponsoring community and environmental cleanups on Saturday, and more volunteers are always needed and welcome, according to organizers. Clean Bread and Cheese Creek volunteers will work from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to clean up the section of the stream that runs from Merritt Boulevard to Plainfield Road. This section of the creek is between two shopping centers and Merritt Boulevard, which contributes to both its waters and banks being choked with trash and debris, according to organizers. The cleanup effort is in association …
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Our environmental stewardship of this natural treasure must continue.
For many folks throughout Baltimore County, summertime means spending time in and around the Chesapeake Bay. Some of us take time to go fishing or crabbing, while others enjoy watersports or perhaps some pleasure boating. I have many fond memories of spending weekends at my grandparent's shore place on Miller's Island. We would go out on my grandfather's boat and fish for white perch or rockfish while my younger sister would go crabbing off of the end of the pier. I hope the bay will flourish for generations to come, although a couple of recent announcements indicate good and bad news for the beloved natural resource. On the plus side, the annual assessment of the bay's blue crab population came back with exceptional results. According to …
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
With the help of the Living Classrooms Foundation, Dundalk Elementary School painted a local storm drain to alert neighbors that what goes into the storm drain eventually ends up in the Bay.
On an early morning last week, a class of fourth-graders from Dundalk Elementary School followed their teacher Kelly Conlon like a gaggle of geese, down the sidewalk outside the school. The children wore special T-shirts from Living Classrooms to commemorate their task for the day. They were on a mission to improve the neighborhood, transforming an ordinary storm drain into an environmental message for all to see. Behind the children and their teacher walked a group from the Living Classrooms Foundation, which assists neighborhood schools, integrating education with projects to benefit the neighborhood. Also in line were representatives from the Honeywell Corporation, which funds Living Classroom’s efforts locally. The children were …
Fred Cullum
4:38 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Now that would be quite an honor. more ›