In mid-August I joined with University System of Maryland leadership to dedicate a new oyster setting facility at the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge. This new facility will more than double the production of oyster spat available for sanctuaries, harvest reserve areas, public oyster grounds and our burgeoning aquaculture industry. I expect this new state investment to play a vital role in our efforts to return the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population to the vital ecological, economic and environmental resource it once was. Our success in restoring blue crabs in the Bay gives me great hope that we can restore the oyster population as well.

 

 

Last week we met with U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson and Maryland's Military Base Commanders to explore strategies to better engage Maryland's military installations as full partners in our Bay restoration efforts. Military installations in Maryland occupy 77,900 acres, and one-third of the facilities lie within the Critical Area along the shoreline of the Bay. 

 

 

I outlined my vision for enhancing collaboration, tracking military efforts through BayStat, and making technical assistance from the State available to the bases - and I look forward to strengthening our partnership with Maryland's military bases, capturing the good work being done and identifying opportunities to leverage our shared capabilities to meet our Bay restoration milestones. President Obama's willingness to engage as a true federal partner in this effort is unprecedented, and we are taking full advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to fulfill our Bay restoration goals.

 

 

We also completed the first draft of the Watershed Implementation Plan that details how Maryland can fulfill our responsibilities to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. The draft has been submitted to the EPA, and will be revised in response to comments we receive during the next few months. We received many helpful public comments and suggestions during preparation of the first draft and look forward to receiving additional suggestions that result from your review and scrutiny of the draft plan.

 

 

All of these events last month are part of the strategy that has started producing results, including the dramatic increase in blue crab abundance and expansion of Bay grasses for the third year in a row. I will continue as Governor to place a very high priority on restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and to do all I can to see that it becomes once again a vibrant, healthy Bay for ourselves, our children, and theirs, to enjoy for decades to come.