BayStat...Monitoring Bay health progress.

       Your link to the Chesapeake Bay                                                                                                       February 2011 
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of Governor Martin O'Malley
BayStat Team Meeting Update
Governor O'Malley Announces FY 2012 Bay Restoration Efforts
Maryland Citizens Surpass Tree Planting Goal
State and Federal Agencies Work Together for Healthy Forests
Climate Commission Releases Strategies to Prepare for Climate Change
Farmers Plant Record Cover Crop Acres
DNR Seeks Volunteer Bay Educators
Department of Planning Releases Annual Report
What Can I Do? 
Cat litter may be used to safely melt ice.

Melt Ice Safely

Do not use fertilizer to melt ice and snow - the nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizer can harm your local stream and the Bay. Instead, try spreading sand, ashes or kitty litter on slippery areas. Learn more about melting ice safely in this Fact Sheet from the Maryland Cooperative Extension. 

Maryland streams. 
Bay Fact
 

From the thousands of large and small streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, five major river systems provide almost 90% of the fresh water to the Bay. They are the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James Rivers. These rivers also bring excess nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment to the Bay along with the fresh water. More details...

More News
 

Restaurants support oyster recovery group

 

Study confirms that old Bay sinking feeling

 

Flush fee paying for local sewage upgrades

 

Want to Clean Up Chesapeake Bay? Plant Forest Buffers Upstream (with video)

 

Navy and DNR Form New Conservation Partnership

 

Trail Running in Patapsco Valley State Park

 

New map charts Chesapeake shipwrecks

 

Port dredging helps reclaim vanishing island

 

Lighthouse replica would illuminate region's past

 

Researchers find virus plaguing soft-crab businesses

 

Restoring Oysters for the Bay

 

Learning what it takes to run a clean marina

 

Shell game: Study finds oysters could help clean Bay

 

Icebreakers clear paths for Chesapeake watermen

 

Report: Out-of-state air pollution threatens Maryland

 

Icy Chesapeake no match for icebreaker 

Quick Links
From the desk of...
Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
Governor O'Malley at the Budget Press Conference on January 21, 2011.

Governor O'Malley at the Budget Press Conference on January 21, 2011.

One of our shared responsibilities as Marylanders is to maintain fiscal responsibility even during tough times, and that includes submitting a balanced budget each year to the General Assembly. This year, facing a $1.3 billion deficit and the loss of federal Recovery Act funds, maintaining those principles presented unique challenges.

 

Together, we chose to present a budget that combines our highest priorities, creating jobs and putting Maryland at the forefront of the new economy. One investment for innovation in a hotly competitive global economy is the creation of InvestMaryland, a $100 million initiative to grow the State's knowledge-based industries and stimulate up to $100 million in venture capital investments, creating thousands of jobs.

Click here to view the video of the budget presentation.

Another investment that advances our goals for the Chesapeake Bay while also creating jobs is the $25 million we are proposing for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund in FY 2012. Ninety percent of these funds are being directed to projects and infrastructure that will employ installers, designers, engineers and construction services. The Trust Fund will not only help us achieve our Bay restoration commitments, but will create jobs and support local economies. 

 

The Trust Fund was created in 2007. It was funded at just under $10 million in its first two years, and $20 million in the current fiscal year. The $25 million we propose for FY 2012 will create nearly a third of the overall annual nitrogen reduction needed from non-point sources, and significantly advance our Bay restoration efforts.
 

Sincerely,
Governor Martin O'Malley's signature 
BayStat Team Meeting Update
 

At this writing, Maryland is achieving approximately 78% of its first 2-Year Milestone commitment. As we enter the final year, however, the BayStat team is closely tracking several important outstanding issues, including: close-to-the-wire implementation plans for several smaller BMPs; the slow pace of technical review and adoption of new and innovative actions by EPA; and MDA's plans to implement new regulations to prohibit fall fertilizers on commodity cover crops.  BayStat is building a 5% contingency plan beyond the required reductions to offset any unexpected shortfalls, and continues to offset expected shortfalls every month.

Maryland Government at Work for the Bay

 
Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. 

Governor O'Malley Announces FY 2012 Bay Restoration Efforts

When Governor Martin O'Malley announced his budget request of $25 million for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, he also detailed some of the Bay restoration projects in river systems throughout the state that will receive that funding. For details, click here.

Maryland citizens surpass the 50,000 tree planting goal.

 

 

Maryland Citizens Surpass Tree Planting Goal

Maryland citizens rose to the occasion and met Governor O'Malley's goal by planting and registering 50,089 trees through the Marylanders Plant Trees program in 2009-2010 and over 52,000 as of this week. Governor O'Malley launched the Marylanders Plant Trees program two years ago with a goal of planting 50,000 new trees by 2010 as part of his Smart, Green & Growing initiative. More details...

Healthy Maryland forests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State and Federal Agencies Work Together for Healthy Forests

Seven state and federal agencies have signed an agreement dedicated to keeping healthy and productive forests throughout Maryland. Partnering agencies include the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture, the Maryland Associations of Forest Conservancy District Boards and Soil Conservation Districts, University of Maryland Extension, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. Click here for details...

New Climate Change publication available online.

 

 

 

Climate Commission Releases Strategies to Prepare for Climate Change

The Maryland Commission on Climate Change has released a report detailing strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change on Maryland. The PhaseII Strategy for Reducing Maryland's Vulnerability to Climate Change: Building Societal, Economic and Ecological Resilience details ways to prepare for the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, increased temperature and changes in precipitation. More information...

Get the 2010 MACS Annual Report Online.

 

 

 

 

 

Farmers Plant Record Cover Crop Acres

Farmers signed up to plant about 506,000 acres of winter cover crops and the soil conservation districts have certified that a record 395,000 acres are in the ground. Cover crops prevent winter soil erosion and use up nitrogen and phosphorus, keeping them from flowing downstream to pollute the Bay. Details are in the 2010 MACS Annual ReportDownload the report...

DNR seeks Volunteer Bay Educators through "TEAM"

DNR Seeks Volunteer Bay Educators

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking interested adults to become TEAM (Teaching Environmental Awareness in Maryland) volunteers. Volunteers will educate students about the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland's environment through interactive activities in classrooms StatewideClick here for details...

  Get the Department of Planning's Annual Report Online.

 

Department of Planning Releases Annual Report

The Maryland Department of Planning has released its 2010 annual report. Titled "Transformative: Promoting a Smart, Green, Growing and Sustainable Maryland," the report highlights PlanMaryland outreach and progress, the Sustainable Communities Act of 2010, and the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission. Download the report...


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