|
Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future. |
|
|
ORP Factoid |
 The Oyster Recovery Partnership, working with the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, is now a Leadership Organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to volunteer service.
|
|
EarthSare and GiveCorps | |
Take advantage of one of the easiest and most convenient ways to support ORP! EarthShare, a federated workplace giving fundraising entity that represents environmental charities, allows federal employees to easily support the Oyster Recovery Partnership in the annual CFC (Combined Federal Campaign) by designating #91587 on their pledge forms. Learn more today.
-------------------
ORP is also a member of GiveCorps, a project of local non-profit organizations that make it easy for individuals to direct donations to worthy causes in their own communities. Go to GiveCorps.com and look for the ORP link. |
| ORP Outreach | |
September 24, 2011
Crabtoberfest
Cambridge, MD
October 2-9, 2011
From the Bay, For the Bay
Restaurant Week
Mid-Atlantic region participating restaurants
October 6, 2011
Ryleigh's Oyster Festival
Baltimore, MD
October 8, 2011
Horn Point Lab Community Open House
Cambridge, MD
October 8, 2011
Taste of Kent Narrows
Kent Narrows, MD
October 15-16, 2011
St. Mary's County Oyster Festival
Leonardtown, MD
October 25, 2011
Snakehead Dinner @ Rockfish Restaurant
Annapolis, MD
November 1-6, 2011
City of Baltimore Oyster Festival
November 5, 2011
St. Michael's CBMM Oyster Festival
November 18-19, 2011
Old Ebbitt Grill Oyster Riot XV - Washington, DC
December 1, 2011
Oxfords & Oysters
Four Seasons - Baltimore |
| Oyster News | |
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
|
| Meet Our Board Members |
Kevin P. Boudreaux
Vice President, Asset Management Eastern PJM, GenOn
Kevin Boudreaux manages the business portfolio for GenOn's 6,336 MW of electric generation located in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey and leads project management and issue resolution for GenOn's operations. He is also responsible for developing business strategy, state external affairs, and pursuing new business opportunities for the company.
Kevin most recently served as GenOn's (formerly Mirant's) Vice President of administration overseeing multiple corporate functions including human resources, total rewards, corporate communications, facilities management and corporate security. Prior to this role, he served as Director of Environmental Operations, responsible for the environmental compliance activities and first began his Mirant career in the Northeast region, managing the company's wholesale and retail businesses, before moving to corporate headquarters in Atlanta as the Director of Asset Management for the northeast. Prior to joining Mirant, Kevin served in various engineering roles with Massachusetts Electric Company, the New England Power Pool, and New England Power Company.
Kevin holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Western New England University in Springfield, MA. He is married and has 3 grown children. An avid outdoorsman, Kevin enjoys hiking, fossil hunting, golf, tennis, photography and motorcycle riding. |
|
|
|
Thanks to all of you who were able to attend ORP's 2011 Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest. Congratulations to the 2011 "It's My Bay" awardees who were honored at the event.
 Fall marks the opening of the oyster eating season and the close of another extremely productive oyster restoration season for ORP and our partners, in spite of the environmental challenges we faced this year.
A few quick and easy ways to show support and stay informed are: Like ORP on Facebook, attend one of our upcoming events such as Ryleigh's Oyster Festival, or dine at one of the area's restaurants in the upcoming "From the Bay, For the Bay" Restaurant Week running October 2-9.
-- Stephan Abel, Executive Director, ORP
photos by Sarah Kingston |
 | |
QR Code -
From the Bay,
For the Bay |
 Support local watermen while enjoying the best seafood of our region! For one week in October, participating restaurants from Philadelphia to Northern Virginia will be featuring fresh, locally-caught Maryland Seafood for their guests.
Also, each restaurant will donate $1 for every Maryland seafood dinner sold that week to support the mission of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. Learn more here or use the QR code shown here. If you have a Smartphone, download a QR code reader. |
|
2011 Mermaid's Oyster Kiss Event/It's My Bay Environmental Stewardship Awards 2011
ORP honored stewards of the environment at the 2011 Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest on September 9 at Sandy Point State Park.
Congratulations to our awardees:
  
J.J. McDonnell: Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award
Intercontinental Harbor Court Baltimore: Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award
Woodberry Kitchen: Outstanding Shell Recycling Alliance Award
 Dick Blackistone: The Vernon P. Johnson Exceptional Stewardship Award
Dick is a private citizen volunteer who over the last 18 months has spent a day or two a week in the rain, sun and snow assisting ORP in collecting recycled oyster shells from Washington DC, Baltimore and Annapolis restaurants. This year alone, he provided over 225 hours of volunteer support helping our cause. His direct support enabled ORP to continue with its shell recycling program. Dick is also well on his way to becoming a Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Awardee. Photo by Sarah Kingston.
 Larry Simns: Lifetime Recognition Achievement Award
Larry has been a pillar of the Maryland seafood industry and watermen community for nearly 40 years when he founded the Maryland Watermen's Association. Being a 5th generation waterman himself, it is no surprise that he looks out for the watermen community. Since his involvement with the Oyster Recovery Partnership in its early days, he has always strived to do what is right for the Chesapeake Bay, while promoting the cultural heritage that made Maryland what it is today. ORP thanks Larry for his tireless support and leadership. |
|
Local Schools and Citizens Help Plant Oysters Back in the Bay
In its fourth year of operation, the Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO) program has expanded to 24 tributaries. Hundreds of waterfront property owners and citizen groups are growing millions of young oysters in cages suspended from private piers with the goal of protecting the young oysters during their vulnerable first year of life, so they may be planted on local sanctuaries where the oysters enrich the ecosystem and our oyster population. Local community groups and schools are increasing their participation including the newest addition, the Annapolis-based Chesapeake Montessori School.
The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) delivered 20 cages and 7 bags of oyster spat to children from the Chesapeake Montessori School last week at Hollywood Farms in Annapolis. Ten students from the school placed the cages into Whitehall Creek and will monitor the oysters, learning about their growth, other aquatic life and water quality, while taking part in Governor Martin O'Malley's citizen oyster growing program, Marylanders Grow Oysters.
 Phillips Wharf Environmental Center recently provided hands on stewardship with the MGO program this September. ORP delivered 200 cages and 78 bags of spat on shell. We had over 20 volunteers, as well as TV and newspapers joining in for the festivities. Thank you Phillips Wharf!
Rock Hall Elementary and Eagle Cove School have also grown oysters with student groups.
"Ultimately, the Bay's long-term recovery rests in the hands of our children," said Stephan Abel, Executive Director of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. "While some children come in contact with the Bay on a regular basis, many don't. This program provides a simple, easy to understand teaching tool to connect the public with the Chesapeake Bay and the life it sustains."
 Citizen oyster growers enjoy the personal rewards of stewardship and learn about oysters while contributing to the enhancement of an oyster reef in their local tributary. The year-old oysters are collected and planted in a local oyster sanctuary, and a new group of young oysters is distributed to participating growers to start the process again.
"The program has grown tremendously since 2008, from 1 tributary to 24, thanks to the local coordinators and all the volunteer growers," said DNR Shellfish Manager Chris Judy. |
Crabtoberfest
9.24.11 @ Sailwinds Park, Cambridge, MD
ORP is presenting and providing an educational display at this annual fall festival held to honor Dorchester's rich past, and embrace positive growth and development of the sister county partnership for the future.
Ryleigh's
10.6.11-10.9.11 @ Ryleigh's Oyster Bar, Baltimore, MD
Join ORP and Ryleigh's Oyster Bar for a fun weekend of oyters, libations, and competitions. Part of the proceeds of this entertaining and delicious event will be donated to ORP.
Horn Point Oyster Hatchery Community Open House
10.8.11 @ UMCES Horn Point Lab, Cambridge, MD
This event highlights on-going research at the lab and offers activities for all ages. Join us 10a-3p and learn about Bay investigations as well as global research being carried out by their faculty. Hear about current restoration efforts to enhance the wellness of the Bay. There will be hands-on-activities and free t-shirts for the kids. This is a free event with plenty of parking on the Horn Point campus.
If you can't make any of these events, you can still help by visiting ORP's website to Volunteer, Donate, or Friend us on Facebook.
|
|
 Q: How will the rainfall from the remnants of tropical storms Irene and Lee affect the oyster populations in the Bay?
A: With the near record rainfall that the Chesapeake watershed has experienced recently, an influx of fresh water is expected in the region. Fortunately, the way that the Bay's water flow patterns work,
the Eastern Shore will be the last to experience the lowering of salinity. Along with the influx of fresh water will be a large amount of sediment, which has the potential to silt over oyster beds. It's not known exactly how much sediment will be deposited in our area, therefore we will need to be vigilante with our monitoring to determine the final impact. On a brighter note, the lower salinity that we have experienced this year will help with a lower incidence of DERMO and MSX related mortality.
--Steven Allen, MSc, Sr. Manager, Aquatic Restoration Program, ORP |
Partner Profile
 GenOn's Environmental Partners program offers a unique and proven approach to address some of our nation's most pressing environmental and ecological problems. As part of GenOn's commitment to responsible environmental management, GenOn operates and maintains aquaculture centers along the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), University of Maryland, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The centers help restore important fish species in the area's rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
For nearly 20 years, the Chalk Point Generating Station located on the Patuxent River in Maryland has participated in programs to help restore threatened fish species in the Chesapeake Bay by raising millions of fish and releasing them back into the Bay waterways.
GenOn is also a corporate leader for oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay as recently recognized for its long-time support and commitment by its predecessor companies by ORP. GenOn actively participates on ORP's Board of Directors as well as provide monetary support for scientific research relating to the quantification and qualification of nutrient removal from restored oyster reefs.
|
How many restaurants are participating in From the Bay, For the Bay restaurant week October 2-9?
a. over 50 b. over 100 c. over 200
Read the next issue of The Bay Restorer to learn the answer! Answer from last issue's question: The original steam-powered patrol boat of Maryland's "Oyster Navy" was the Leila.
|
|
|
|
About the Oyster Recovery Partnership |
Working with more than a dozen stakeholder groups to rehabilitate historic and relic oyster bars, the Oyster Recovery Partnership has planted 3 billion new oysters and rehabilitated more than 1,500 acres of once viable oyster reefs. Learn more .
Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future. This is the mission of the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) -- a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Annapolis, MD. ORP actively promotes, supports and restores oysters for ecologic and economic purposes. We engage in numerous Chesapeake Bay-related projects by conducting science-based "in-the-water" and "on-the-land" recovery efforts, while conducting public outreach and education in our quest to protect our environment, our heritage, and our knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay, its marshes and rivers, and the life that it sustains.
A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by contacting the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. at 1805A Virginia Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 or 410.990.4970. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization -- donations to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. |
|
|
|
|
|
