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

October 2011 

Last month, your BayStat newsletter became Eyes on the Bay... Your link to Bay health.  We made 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...Tropical Storm Lee
* Enjoy Maryland Seafood and Help the Bay
* Coupons Help Replace Trees Lost in Recent Storms
* Study Launched on Sediment Behind Conowingo Dam
* Smart, Green & Growing Website Gets New Look
* New Fishing Laws Took Effect October 1
* Department of Planning Creates Social Media Dashboard
* Web-Based Tool Aids Assessment of Bay Restoration Strategies

Bay Fact  

 

Underwater grasses provide crucial food and shelter for Bay life.
Underwater grasses provide crucial food and shelter for molting blue crabs, young fish, and other Chesapeake Bay life. The Bay is home to more than 16 species of grasses, or submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Learn more...  

What Can I Do?  

 

Composting helps keep nutrients from entering the waste stream.
Compost Leaves and Other Waste
Dead leaves and other organic waste from kitchen, yard or garden are the raw materials for compost. Making a compost pile saves these materials to nourish your garden next year, and keeps the nutrients from entering the waste stream and reaching the Bay. How-to hints... 

 
After the Storms...










More News

 




























Quick Links

From the desk of...

Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland  

   

From the Bay, For the Bay Dine Out Week is in full effect.
From the Bay, For the Bay Dine Out Week is in full swing. Last week Governor Martin O'Malley joined Secretary John Griffin for lunch at Hell Point Seafood in Annapolis, where they enjoyed a variety of the Bay's delicacies including striped bass, blue crabs and bay oysters.

This week you have an opportunity to eat well while giving back to the Chesapeake Bay. Over 200 restaurants in Maryland and our neighboring states are participating in a week-long celebration of Maryland seafood, From the Bay, For the Bay. This special promotion of Maryland seafood is already underway and continues through Sunday, October 9. Click here to find a participating restaurant near you.

We are incredibly pleased by the enthusiasm surrounding our Dine Out celebration. Restaurants from across the mid-Atlantic recognize the quality and variety of Maryland seafood, and have added it to their menus in support of this effort. By promoting the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay and encouraging citizens to buy local, this program supports local economies among watermen, seafood wholesalers and retailers, and the restaurant industry.

Restaurants participating in the promotion will donate one dollar from every Maryland seafood dinner sold during the week to the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a non-profit organization that does excellent work to rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population.

I have already sampled some of the outstanding, fresh Maryland seafood at one of the participating restaurants, and hope you will be able to as well. If you are not able to dine at one of the restaurants this week, please bring some Maryland seafood home to enjoy.

Sincerely,

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

See real time monitoring at eyesonthebay.net.
Tropical Storm Lee 
 

Tropical Storm Lee was the second part of a one-two punch that slammed the area just after Hurricane Irene, dropping large amounts of rain in the Bay watershed. While Irene increased Susquehanna River flows at Conowingo Dam, it was dwarfed by those from Lee, which reached 778,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on September 4. Lee's massive flows, however, still pale in comparison to those of Tropical Storm Agnes, which peaked at over 1,000,000 cfs for three straight days in June of 1972. Based on United States Geological Survey estimates, more than twice as much flow entered the Bay from the Susquehanna during Agnes.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) real-time monitoring showed peak turbidity levels exceeding 50 times normal conditions. This muddy water contained large amounts of nutrients capable of fueling large algal blooms that rob the water of dissolved oxygen when the algae dies and settles to the bottom to decompose. This large discolored freshwater plume could have major impacts to the Bay's fish, shellfish and underwater grass communities by smothering habitat, blocking light and decreasing salinity levels for months to come. In addition, the high flows of both storms caused sediments and nutrients behind Conowingo Dam to move into the Bay, which were visible in satellite photos for weeks. Large amounts of floating debris also made boating difficult.

The longer-term effects of these two storms may not be evident until 2012. Still, citizens can rest assured that DNR is continuing extensive monitoring throughout Maryland's streams, rivers and bays to better understand the storms' impacts. As always, citizens are encouraged to visit Eyes on the Bay (eyesonthebay.net) for real time storm and monitoring information. 

Your Government at Work  


From the Bay, For the Bay Dine Out Week is in full effect.


Enjoy Maryland Seafood and Help the Bay
For the week of October 2-9, participating restaurants from Philadelphia to Northern Virginia are featuring fresh, locally caught Maryland Seafood for their guests. The restaurants are donating $1 to the Oyster Recovery Partnership for every Maryland seafood dinner sold during the week. This gives you an excellent way to support our local watermen and other businesses, while enjoying the best seafood the region has to offer. To find a participating restaurant near you, click here.
Get a $25 discount tree coupon.



Coupons Help Replace Trees Lost in Recent Storms

Help is available to replace trees destroyed by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. The State offers $25 coupons toward the purchase of a Maryland native tree through the Marylanders Plant Trees program. Trees pull nutrients from groundwater, keeping the nutrients from flowing into the Bay. Read more...
Study Launched on Sediment Behind Conowingo Dam
About half of the fresh water that enters the Chesapeake Bay comes from the Susquehanna River. The river water carries particles of soil, or sediment, most of which settles behind the Conowingo Dam at the head of the Bay.  It is estimated that the Conowingo pool will reach capacity in 15 to 20 years.  Several State, federal and private organizations are working together to develop options for extending the time before the Conowingo pool fills with sediment, decreasing the threat of a major release of sediment that could smother underwater grasses and oyster beds in the Bay.
More details...
Smart, Green & Growing website gets new look.
Smart, Green & Growing Website Gets New Look

Governor Martin O'Malley recently relaunched the Smart, Green & Growing website to make BayStat, GreenPrint, Marylanders Grow Oysters and other tools more accessible. The more user-friendly site encourages local governments, businesses and citizens to share their green practices and learn from others. As it announced the revamped website, Maryland's Smart, Green and Growing Initiative also provided a day of programming for volunteers and guests at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sustainable Build in Mardela Springs, Maryland. Check it out...
Striped bass that were poached earlier this year.

New Fishing Laws Took Effect October 1  

While the new law banning reading of text messages while driving is getting the most publicity, many other new laws also took effect October 1. Among them is a law setting a fine of up to $25,000 for commercial fishing on a revoked or suspended license, which was passed by the General Assembly in response to the massive striped bass poaching discovered last February. Another new law allows the Fisheries Service to revoke the ability to harvest oysters after a conviction or finding of guilt for a serious oyster violation. Several other new laws to deter poaching in the Bay became effective earlier this year. More info here and here.
Department of Planning creates social media dashboard.

Department of Planning Creates Social Media Dashboard

The Department of Planning has created a dashboard for connections to discussions about PlanMaryland, Smart Growth, legislative redistricting and other planning issues. The connections include twitter, Facebook, flickr, WordPress and You Tube. Check it out...

Chesapeake Assessment and Scenario Tool.
Web-Based Tool Aids Assessment of Bay Restoration Strategies
The federal Chesapeake Bay Program has released a new web-based tool to help assess the most effective ways to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Called Chesapeake Assessment and Scenario Tool (CAST), the new tool was developed by the State of Maryland under a grant from EPA. Learn more...
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