Midday on the Bay: Natives, Invasives and Overall Health

In case you missed it, here is the link (Thursday April 19th) to hear my fave Chef Chad Wells talk about the invasive snakehead fish on Midday on the Bay. "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!"

Rona Kobell, from the Bay Journal, was on the show as well and shared some great news: There are 66% more blue crabs (764 million) in the bay since last year and the best year since 1993 which reveals that the restrictions made in 2008 were successful! As far as the report card grade, well... we can't control major weather events. Sigh.

Lots of very interesting conversation about bay health and how policies and threshold limits have helped maintain and improve that health. Some big things coming up surrounding menhaden protection too.

If you are interested in helping to maintain health by invasive snakehead eradication, support Chef Chad at Alewife Baltimore and consider getting a team together for the Potomac Snakehead Tournament this June.

Do you think Omega Protein the Monsanto of the waterways?

Chesapeake Bay Week on MPT

Did you know that the Chesapeake Bay estuary, the largest in the United States, was created by a meteor impact? Can you identify which aquatic life is native, invasive, protected and depleted? Want to know how you and your community contribute to the well-being of the Bay? Lucky for you, this week is Chesapeake Bay Week on Maryland Public Television! Programming throughout April 15-22 2012 will be highlighting some hot topics around the watershed  including several brand new programs:

• Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Bay - Exploration of how the harvesting of Menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay is affecting its water quality (Monday April 16th 10:00pm, Tuesday April 17th 2:00am)
• The Maryland Harvest: A Guide to Seasonal Eating - The food-to-table movement in Maryland and its impact on Maryland restaurants, chefs, farmers and consumers (Tuesday April 19th 9:00pm, Wednesday April 18th 2:00am)
• Restoring the Bay: New Solutions for Old Problems - Riverkeeper Fred Kelley faces challenges to help clean up the Severn River (Tuesday April 19th 10:30pm, Wednesday April 18th 3:30am)

These are just a few of the new and returning programs so be sure and check the website for the full programming lineup and set those DVRs! The week wraps up with a live music broadcast in affiliation with all the amazing folks at WTMD 89.7 too. More info on the Concert for the Chesapeake Bay here. Want more facts? Visit: Chesapeake Bay Journal..

Oysterstock 2012

Atlantic Sturgeon Officially Endangered

Although fishing for the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhychus) has been banned for a decade, the federal government formally acted on a petition from the National Resource Defense Council and declared the prehistoric-looking fish endangered last Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

The fish have been scooped up in commercial gill nets harvesting other species along the East coast and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service is hoping to decision will reduce that bycatch. Each year, a few dozen Atlantic sturgeon have shown up in Chesapeake Bay fishermen's nets. So if you catch one by mistake,just toss it right back in.

Read more here and here.

Love 'em or hate 'em, they are great for the Chesapeake

I highly recommend that our readers spend a few minutes with Charles Cohen's recent article in Urbanite about the state of oyster farming in Maryland waters: Betting on the Half Shell.

Earlier in the week, I attended a lecture on the ecological and industry benefits of oyster economics given by Dr. Douglas W. Lipton, Associate Professor and Program Leader of Sea Grant and Sea Grant Extension Programs at the University of Maryland, and when I came across Cohen's article, which covered a large share of the topics he touched upon, I wondered if he wasn't in that classroom as well.

Here are some highlights:

• The Chesapeake Bay oyster (Crassostrea virginica) population is declining for several reasons including the usual suspects like over-fishing, habitat destruction, poor water quality and sediment run-off, as well as two diseases harmful only to oysters (i.e. not harmful to humans): Dermo and MSX.
• While Dermo (Perkinsus marinus) is a native pathogen, MSX is not and was brought in with pacific, non-native oysters.
• Restoration is important not only for your palette and the net income of watermen and profits to processors and related industries, but for water quality improvements, increased fishing benefits, and even waterfront property values.
• What is being done to aid in this restoration? Repletion. Basically, the state subsidizes the movement of baby oysters from one place - where they will grow slowly - to another place where the survivors of the move will flourish fast, clear up some of that murky water, and later be harvested. While this process seems to aid the waterman and the water, it is quite expensive and perhaps only justifiable if the oyster biomass is raised to near or above the level that provides maximum ecological benefits.

For more information, check out the video about oyster aquaculture below and tune in to: The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM, on February 24th, 2011.

Climate Change and the Chesapeake Bay

Just found this great segment on Terpvision:



TERPVISION FALL 2010: CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CHESAPEAKE BAY (Segment 2) from University of Maryland on Vimeo.

Learn more from CIRUN.

New Photo Series About Challanges Affecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

This week, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in cooperation with the International League of Conservation Photographers opened doors and links to a series of new, never before seen photographs depicting the beauty and the challenges that are affecting  the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

FYI: Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (R.A.V.E.) = a visual and media assessment designed to address the challenges of modern conservation.

Here is one of the photos, "Rising sea level is drowning what were once vast expanses of wetlands in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland" by Garth Lenz:

More about Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge here.

Tillman's "The Chesapeake Watershed" Recognized for Excellence a Second Time

Congratulations to local author Ned Tillman for being named the 2010 Winner of the Excellence in Journalism Award by the Renewable Natural Resource Foundation of Bethesda, Maryland for his book The Chesapeake Watershed: A Sense of Place and a Call to Action. Earlier this year the book was selected as the 2010 Winner of the Best Book on Environmental and Natural Resources by The American Society for Public Administration.

“I am glad so many readers are enjoying the book. I wanted to inspire others to take the time to get outside and re-establish a love for the outdoors. We tend to take care of the places we love. It’s up to each and every one of us to get involved today and take care of this area for our own health and the health of future generations.” — Ned Tillman, Chair of the Howard County Sustainability Board, past chair of the Howard County Conservancy, and a Sustainability Advisor to local businesses, colleges, and non-profit organizations.

Local and national demand for the book has brought it into its second printing by the Chesapeake Book Company right here in Baltimore. Tillman is currently on a book tour promoting the work and conducts fund-raising events to provide copies of this critically important book to schools that cannot afford them in an effort to strengthen environmental education throughout the region. Pretty amazing, huh?

What's also amazing is how much I learned from this book. I think it should be required reading for every developer, farmer and land-owner in the region (which is much more expansive than I realized) as well as for those nationwide who are following and observing the human impact on this region. Learn more about Tillman and his efforts to create a sustainable future through education and consultation here.

Former Chesapeake Bay Scientist Weighs in on the Chesapeake Watershed

Kent Mountford, an estuarine ecologist, environmental historian and former Chesapeake Bay Program Scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency, blames a booming bay area population, lack of resources and a lack of restoration enforcement for irreversible damages to coastal Maryland. The Annapolis Capitol reports:

"...One of Mountford's accomplishments was helping to fight for a ban against phosphates in commercial detergents. The result in the Potomac River and ultimately in the bay was "quite dramatic," he said.

He also helped implement a monitoring program for the Potomac River.

Because of that experience and his connection with the bay, the EPA hired him in 1984 to coordinate the monitoring program for the bay.

"We really believed that we could save the Chesapeake Bay," he said. "From the people, there was so much hope and energy, and this was when I was joining EPA, and I thought, 'Oh this is just great, you're on the leading edge of something which has a world focus.' "

People from all over the world were coming to see the kind of new work being done on the bay, he said. But now that's changed.

"I'm afraid … the whole program and all of the dreams we had have been buried in bureaucracy and the inability to deliver," Mountford said. "The Obama administration sort of gave a real firm charge to the EPA to come on, get it together, let's clean up the Chesapeake Bay. But the resources, the muscle is not there."

Mountford doesn't believe there has ever been any serious enforcement aimed at restoring the bay, even today. He said that people keep violating law after law, and that the consequences are never that serious..."

This just in. And essential.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority just announced the release of From My Backyard to Our Bay, a residential guide to help citizens in Howard and Montgomery counties improve our local environment and watersheds.

The guide, available for download here, offers tips for "living in harmony with the Chesapeake Bay. It provides ideas for how you can contribute to the health of your local watershed, maintain an environmentally friendly lawn, and manage storm-water runoff, wells, and septic systems--all in ways that will reduce the flow of nutrients and sediment into the bay."

As many of you are aware, excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment encourage the growth of algae that can be toxic to marine life - think Dead Zones - so it is essential that we learn how to care for and manage agricultural practices in our own communities and backyards as to not effect the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. It's as simple as proper waste disposal, cleaning up after pets, controlling weeds, and managing your water and energy use.

This guide, although focused on the Chesapeake Bay region, is applicable far beyond the borders of these two counties. Pages and pages of valuable information in here, folks.

(Thnx, Singleton. Big time. This is fantastic.)

Get ready for Earth Day!

I know what you're all thinking: "What can I do this Earth Day to reduce my carbon footprint?" Well, you've come to the right place. JustSaying likes to use these days/weeks of Earth Awareness to highlight the simple daily decisions you can all make that will have the greatest impact on the planet. We've sorted through the Official 2010 Earth Day Action Campaign and would like to suggest that our readers adhere to a few of the following pledges submitted by greenies like us:

• I will abstain from meat at least one day a week to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry.
• I will use a reusable water bottle and coffee mug.
• I will buy local produce whenever possible.
• If I see a piece of litter I will pick it up.
• I will pay my bills online and take the time to make a phone call and stop paper statements.
• I will call my utility provider and make sure I am using the greenest energy option available.
• I will take shorter showers.
• I will turn off the tap when brushing my teeth.
• I will turn off lights, computers and other electronics when not in use.
• I will unplug my cell phone charger, microwave, etc when not in use.
• I will opt for environmentally friendly cleaning products.
• I will use public transport more often.
• I will use fewer paper towels.
• I will recycle more.

Thinking of a pledge that we haven't listed? Be sure and add it to our comment section and post it on the Earth Day Action Center's website - where you can browse and sign tons of great pledges and green ideas.

If you're looking for an activity to celebrate, might we recommend helping out our friends over at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation this Sunday April 25th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help plant over 1,000 native trees and shrubs at the Foundation’s Holly Beach Farm located near the Bay Bridge in Annapolis. The vegetation planted will filter pollution and sediment coming from adjacent farm fields. This activity is suitable for adults, families, youth and community groups. Please bring shovels, work gloves, insect repellent, a water bottle/lunch and a smile. Registration is required though so sign up by sending your complete contact information to Marcy Damon at MDRestoration@cbf.org

Good News

Maryland legislators approved a bill requiring thousands of homes in "critical areas" near the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and coastal bays in Maryland, to install more costly nitrogen-removing septic systems in order to keep the polluting nutrient out of rivers, The Baltimore Sun reports.

While realtors and home builders aren't thrilled about the bill, environmentalists certainly are. The best news is that the state even has about $18 million in grants to aid voluntary septic upgrades.

Next on the agenda: farm fertilizer and sewage treatment plants.

poultry pollution

We've talked about the negative effects excessive poultry production has on the Chesapeake Bay in some previous posts and Ian Urbina addressed Maryland's growing poultry pollution problem in his recent NY Times article. It turns out 650 million pounds of chicken manure is produced in our state each year. Holy crap. Pun intended. From the article:

As the amount of cropland in Maryland has shrunk and the number of chickens raised has grown to 570 million, these mountains of manure have become a liability because the excess is washing into the Chesapeake Bay, one of the nation’s most polluted estuaries, and further worsening the plight of the fishermen who ply its waters.

Poultry is Maryland's most lucrative form of agriculture and state officials are finally starting to realize that being able to sell masses of skinless, boneless chicken breast for around $2 a pound has consequences, like growing phosphorous and nitrogen levels in the bay.

Read about proposed regulations and farmers reactions here as well as in the aforementioned NY Times article. I'm not sure, however, how fair it is for the liability for manure to fall to the growers raising the chickens, rather than the larger companies that "own the birds, provide the feed and drop off a new batch of chicks every eight weeks."