Eyes on the Bay...Your link to Bay health

September 2011 

This month, your BayStat newsletter becomes Eyes on the Bay... Your link to Bay health.  We are making this change to broaden the scope of information available to our citizens to include real-time monitoring as well as long term tracking.   

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IN THIS ISSUE
* From the Desk of Governor Martin O'Malley
* Eyes on the Bay
* New PlanMaryland Draft Open for Comments
* Land Use/Land Cover Map Reveals Big Changes
* New Blue Crab Assessment
* DNR and CBF Place Millions of Oysters in Cooks Point Reef
* DNR Offers Environmental Education Workshop for Teachers
* Natural Resources Police Seeks Applicants

Bay Fact  

 

Map of earthquake information.
Earthquakes are not really rare in Maryland. 66 earthquakes have actually originated in Maryland since the first documented one in 1758. The Virginia earthquake that Marylanders felt on August 23 was magnitude 5.8 on the Richter scale, compared to 8.3 for the famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The Maryland Geological Survey keeps track of earthquakes in Maryland. Learn more... 

 

What Can I Do?  

 

Emerald Ash Borer photo.
Use only local firewood. Trees and forests play important roles in preventing pollution from getting to the Chesapeake Bay. An invasive beetle, the emerald ash borer, kills ash trees and is spreading in Maryland. Moving firewood can help the beetle get to new locations. To keep the beetle from spreading and also support your local economy, use only firewood cut near where you will burn it.

Click here for more info... 

 

 

2012 Maryland State Park Passport now available online! 

2012 Maryland State Park Passports Available Online Now!

Get your Maryland State Park Passport online now and use it for the rest of the year and throughout 2012. A bargain at only $75, the passport includes many extras such as:

  • unlimited day-use entry for up to 10 people in a vehicle to Maryland's state parks*;
  • unlimited boat launching at ALL State Park facilities by displaying this pass on your dashboard; and
  • a 10 percent discount on state-operated concession items and boat rentals.

Buy online now!

More News

 

Scientists: Time will tell if Irene harmed the bay

 

Hurricane Irene leaves sewage spills in wake

 

Selling chefs on local seafood, one boat trip at a time

 

Lighthouse challenge to be Sept. 17, 18

 

ASMFC takes historic 1st step to protect menhaden

 

Chesapeake crab assessment focuses on females

 

Maryland watermen leaders support new female crab focus

 

Crabbers seek to take charge of their future

 

Rockfish poaching leads to crackdown on watermen

 

Kudzu seemed like a good idea at the time...

 

Less salt in Bay keeps sea nettle numbers down

 

Shark tales: Calvert Marine Museum offers a window into the bay's past

 

Tracking cobia and the possibility of rebuilding U.S. fish stocks

 

Sunken destroyer will offer haven for fish, divers (video)

 

Public Input Sought On Assateague Island's Future

 

Maryland launches new oyster farm permit process

 

Rehabbed Sea Turtles Released Into Bay    

 

Maryland cover crop program sets record

 

Navy Creates Way To Save Shorelines

 

Maryland's oysters more depleted than thought, study says

 

How to fight the nitrogen threat

 

Back River Restoration Committee Cleans Up Storm Debris (with video)

 

Waterman finds purple crab

 

Conservation Corps welcomes new class

Quick Links

From the desk of...

Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland  

 

Governor O'Malley at MEMA headquarters during Hurricane Irene.

Governor O'Malley at Maryland Emergency Management Agency headquarters during Hurricane Irene.

 

These past few weeks have not been easy as this storm left many families without power, destroyed homes and had a significant impact on our small businesses. But Irene also proved once again what I've always loved about the people of our state - in times of great adversity, we don't make excuses, we make progress.

 

Because we were prepared, everyone heeded emergency warnings and we came together as a community to rebuild and restore. So, while we were not unscathed, it could have been much worse.

 

Over the past 10 days I have met with families whose homes were destroyed; and each of them retold the story of neighbors helping neighbors in need. I visited with the 4,000 foreign student workers who were evacuated from Ocean City and generously housed by the people of Baltimore. When I told them that Ocean City had been mostly spared, they let out a loud cheer for the city that many of them called "the best place on earth." I talked to emergency first responders who were thrilled that people stayed off the streets during the storm - allowing them to do their jobs more safely.

  

Even as the storm raged, State employees were out monitoring conditions in the streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. On Monday, crews from the Department of Natural Resources began monitoring Chesapeake Bay proper aboard the RV Kerhin. The data they collected provided the basis for their initial assessment (below) of the storm's effects on the Bay we all love.

 

We cannot control the occurrence of natural disasters. We can be prepared, we can be resilient and we can implement effective systems that help us bounce back from disasters as quickly as possible-and working together, we've made progress over the past few years to become even more resilient.


Sincerely,

Governor Martin O'Malley's signature 
Eyes on the Bay

Eroded Severn River beach exposed by extreme low water.
Hurricane Irene and Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake

The passage of Hurricane Irene off of Maryland's Atlantic coast August 27-28 had significant impacts to both the coastal area of the State, as well as the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary streams as far west as Frederick County.  All US Geological Survey stream gages in the Maryland Bay watershed showed peak flows from the heavy rains, which were more dramatic at gage sites on the Eastern Shore. These flows carry a high level of polluted runoff toward the Bay which can fuel late season algal blooms in rivers and in the Bay and reduce water clarity which can impact the growth of aquatic grasses and fishing activities.

 

The strong, mostly northerly winds in the Maryland portion of the Bay created turbulent currents that all but eliminated the summer-long "dead zone" of low oxygen conditions in the deep waters of the Bay. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will continue to monitor water quality conditions and aquatic resources in State waters, including the Chesapeake Bay. For more information... 

BayStat Update

At the August BayStat meeting, agency representatives discussed progress to date and options for accelerating the development and issuance of stormwater management permits and a statewide growth offset policy, and restoring natural filters on farms and public lands. 

Your Government at Work
Aquaculture permitting streamlined.

Governor O'Malley Announces Streamlined Aquaculture Permitting

Applicants for oyster aquaculture leases in Maryland waters will now receive faster responses as a result of a newly streamlined aquaculture permitting process. The simplified permitting process was made possible by legislation passed by the General Assembly earlier this year and an agreement between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Qualifying applicants will now be able to submit a single state-federal application.

Click for more info... 

PlanMaryland Draft open for comments.
New PlanMaryland Draft Open for Comments
A new draft, posted on the PlanMaryland website September 7, includes changes based on public comments received since the first draft was released last April, and will be open for comments from the public for an additional 60 days. PlanMaryland is the State Growth Plan proposal that is intended to be a guide to how and where Maryland should grow, and where it should not. More details...
Land use/land cover map.

Land Use/Land Cover Map Reveals Big Changes

The Maryland Department of Planning  has released an updated Land Use/Land Cover map, which classifies Maryland into 13 distinct types of land use (such as low-to high-density residential, commercial and industrial) and land cover (such as agriculture and forest). Developed lands in Maryland increased by 8.4 percent, compared to a 4.8 percent increase in population, from 2002 to 2010.

See the map...

New Blue Crab Assessment.

New Blue Crab Assessment Shows Rebuilding Efforts Should Continue

A recently-completed blue crab stock assessment concludes that blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay were more depleted than originally believed and will take longer to rebuild than had been expected. The assessment sets a new overfishing threshold and emphasizes new safe abundance level for female crabs to continue the rebuilding that has occurred during the last three years. More details... 

Millions of oysters place in Cooks Point Reef. 

DNR and CBF Place Millions of Oysters in Cooks Point Reef 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Artificial Reef Program joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation  on August 11 to place 306 oyster spat-laden reef balls on a 2-acre site near Cooks Point in the Choptank River. The reef balls will increase habitat for many species of marine life. Learn more... 

DNR offers environmental educatoin Worshop for teachers.

DNR Offers Environmental Education Workshop for Teachers

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources  is now enrolling teachers in Project WILD, a conservation and environmental education training workshop that will take place on October 6 in Annapolis. The workshop is free and will cover an assortment of teaching resources and hands-on activities that focus student attention on a new way to think about the world around them. Learn more... 

NRP Recruitment Facebook Page.

Natural Resources Police Seeks Applicants

The Maryland Natural Resources Police are currently recruiting motivated applicants. If you think you have the right ingredients and the desire to serve, they're  interested in you. To begin your career as a Maryland Natural Resources Police officer, please contact Officer First Class Mance McCall at 1-866-430-0082, 443-534-2288, [email protected], or FaceBook at Maryland Natural Resources Police Recruitment.

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