Tag Archives: Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy

Tour the Shore

kayak-MunsonTour the Shore 

Where is the fun in restoring our rivers if people aren’t going to get out there and enjoy them!?  This spring Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) will begin our “Tour the Shore” outdoor adventure series.  MRC will lead family friendly outings that showcase the beauty of the rivers we protect.  Whether it is paddling, hiking, or riding shotgun in a Riverkeeper boat, MRC staff wants to help you reconnect to nature. Check out the events scheduled below, space is limited so don’t wait to register! Contact Suzanne@midshoreriverkeeper.org or call 443-385-0511 to sign up and get all the details.  In the mean time what are you waiting for, get out there and tour the shore!

Miles River Paddle & Island Exploration

Meet MRC at Oak Creek Landing and paddle with us to a private island on the Miles River.  The island is home to box turtles, nesting osprey, and a great blue heron rookery.  This excursion is ideal for photographers looking to capture iconic Chesapeake critters.  Pack a lunch and water, there is plenty to explore on this island!

Date: May 24th
Time: 10 am – 3
Meeting location: Oak’s Creek Landing, St. Michael’s, off of Station Rd. at the Rt 33 bridge.
Kayaks: MRC has two, two-seater kayaks and four individual kayaks that can be used.  If you have your own kayak, feel free to meet us at the location.
Cost: $30 per person, $20 if you bring your own kayak

Wye Island Paddle

Wye Island is a protected gem on the Wye River that is steeped in local history and home to native species like the Delmarva fox squirrel and bald eagles.  Join MRC for a complete tour of the island by kayak and foot.  Explore the island’s coves then leave the kayaks behind for a hike through an old growth forest.  Pack a lunch and plenty of water for this full day adventure!

Date: June 17th  & July 25
Time: 10 am – 3
Meeting location: Junkin’s home
Kayaks: MRC has two, two-seater kayaks and four individual kayaks that can be used.  If you have your own kayak, feel free to meet us at the location.
Cost: $30 per person, $20 if you bring your own kayak

Watt’s Creek Paddle

Escape the hustle and bustle for a peaceful kayak along Watt’s Creek.  Bordered by freshwater tidal marshes, Watt’s Creek is the perfect location for birding and witnessing flowering natives.  Guided by biologist, Nick Carter, this excursion will be an amazing opportunity to learn about native ecosystems.

Date: July 11
Time: TBA – tide dependent
Meeting location: Martinak State Park; 137 Deep Shore Road, Denton, MD 21629
Kayaks: MRC has two, two-seater kayaks and four individual kayaks that can be used.  If you have your own kayak, feel free to meet us at the location.
Cost: $30 per person, $20 if you bring your own kayak

King’s Creek Paddle
Paddle King’s Creek with the Choptank Riverkeeper, Drew Koslow .  A survey conducted by the Smithsonian Institution identified King’s Creek as having one of the most important marsh systems in the Chesapeake Bay.  King’s Creek is part of the Choptank River and its brackish marshes are the perfect location for spawning fish, nesting waterfowl, and diverse vegetation.  Call ahead to reserve one of MRC’s kayaks or bring your own!

Date: Sept 12th
Time: 9 am – noon
Meeting location: Kingston’s Landing; 8450 Kingston Landing Road, Kingston, MD 21601
Kayaks: MRC has two, two-seater kayaks and four individual kayaks that can be used.  If you have your own kayak, feel free to meet us at the launch.
Cost: $20 per person, $10 if you bring your own kayak

 

 

2013 State of the Rivers Report Card Released

MRC-Report-Card-2013---cover2013 State of the Rivers Report Card Released

On Friday April 11, 2014 at our State of the Rivers Spring Party, the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy released its fourth annual report card for Eastern Bay, Choptank, Miles and Wye Rivers to an audience of well over 100 people in Easton, Maryland.

During 2013, with our partner/volunteers, Midshore Creekwatchers, we sampled water quality more than 500 times at over 100 various sites in the Choptank, its major tributaries, and the Miles and Wye Rivers. Our testers measured water clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH salinity and sample for nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll A. We use analysis protocol developed in collaboration with the Maryland Tributary Assessment Coalition to analyze this data to come up with our grades.

The results for overall health in 2011 were:

  • The Choptank River scored 54%, a C;
  • The Miles River scored 41% C-;
  • The Wye River scored 65% and the Wye East 51%, a C+.

The results for overall health in 2012 were:

  • The Choptank River scored 54% a C;
  • The Miles River scored 53% a C;
  • The Wye River Complex scored 53% a C;
  • Eastern Bay scored 66% a B.

The results for overall health in 2013 were:

  • The Choptank River scored 52%, a C;
  • The Miles River scored 46%, a C;
  • The Wye River Complex scored 44%, a C-;
  • Eastern bay scored 62%, a B-

Guest speaker former US congressman, Wayne Gilchrest, focused on the importance of educating our younger generation to become environmental advocates for our rivers and bay. He complimented MRC’s educational work, which is in elementary and high schools now in four counties, saying that MRC was “reaching out and touching our future… changing the future of this community for the better.”

Drew Koslow, the Choptank Riverkeeper, explained that increases in nutrient pollution during 2013 were primarily due to heavy rains in June 2013. The June rainfall came at a time when crops were not yet well established and fertilizer had been applied to promote growth. This resulted in intensive nutrient runoff. Our last five years of results demonstrates that water quality improves in dry years because we have less run-off washing fewer nutrients into our waterways. This gives us hope that if we do reduce nutrient pollution, our rivers will respond rapidly. The system is resilient and it is up to us all, working together, to do everything we can to heal our rivers.

Jeffrey Horstman, recently appointed Miles-Wye Riverkeeper, noted a decline in the health of all sections of the Miles, Wye and Eastern Bay, except for Greenwood and Shipping Creek. Jeff noted that 74% more rain fell in June 2013, compared to June 2012. This led to increased nutrient and sediment pollution, and a decline in overall health.

Tom Leigh, who now works at the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a Bay-wide funder, in off-the-cuff remarks, complimented the entire community, saying that by supporting MRC, the community has been supporting an organization that is providing remarkable leadership and innovation throughout the Bay watershed.

MRC staff and volunteers are continuing to work at every level to ensure these grades improve over time. It will not happen overnight. But with the support of our community, we truly can restore our waterways such that they are rich with life, health, beauty and vitality. Please join us in this effort!

To see a full copy of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 report card go to: midshoreriverkeeper.org/report-cards/

Photo: Cover of 2013 State of the Rivers Report Card. Photo on cover taken by Susan Hale.

 

 

 

Jeff Horstman Joins Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy

Horstman,-JeffJeff Horstman Joins Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy 

Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) is pleased to announce that Jeffrey H. Horstman has joined the organization as deputy director and Miles-Wye Riverkeeper.

Horstman comes to MRC following a 30-year career in corporate finance. He spent much of his boyhood on the shores of the Wye River, where his family owned large tracts of land that they later donated for conservation purposes. This land became the Aspen and Wye Institutes and the University of Maryland Agricultural Resource Center. In 1982, Horstman graduated from Washington College with a BA in Political Science. While attending college, he worked for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources helping to integrate Wye Island into a state holding. After graduating, he and his wife, Beth, built a successful pension management company which he later sold to Susquehanna Bank, where he stayed on as chief operating officer of its Retirement Planning Division. During his professional career, Horstman continued with his conservation interests, serving on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s President’s Advisory Council and as a board member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, as well as other boards. He joined MRC’s board in 2010, and was elected chairman in 2011. Horstman provided key guidance and support in building MRC during its formative years.

MRC Executive Director Tim Junkin says, “We are thrilled to have Jeff onboard as our new Miles-Wye Riverkeeper and deputy director. I know he will be an asset to our work and our mission.”

In just a few years, MRC has continued to grow and succeed with accomplishments on many fronts. “While serving on the board of this organization, I became impressed that it is doing something worthy and important to make a real difference in our Midshore watersheds,” Horstman says. “MRC has certainly become a strong and uncompromising voice for our local rivers. The organization’s reach has expanded as we have become an innovative leader throughout the Chesapeake watershed. I have a deep love for our rivers and a strong sense of place. I am inspired to act on my desire to help fulfill MRC’s mission.”

As he begins his new position, Horstman outlines several priorities. MRC completed the first ever Wye River assessment, and has identified important remediation projects, with reducing polluted run-off as an ongoing priority. Horstman explains that MRC is starting a multi-year effort to have the Miles and Wye Rivers designated as No-Flush or NDZ (No Discharge Zones). MRC plans to expand its Oyster Gardening Program and petition the state for new and larger sanctuaries. MRC also wants to expand its current water-quality monitoring program to include testing for bacteria that is harmful to human health. “As pollution becomes concentrated in areas where people are swimming, public health becomes increasingly important,” Horstman explains. “We want to obtain funding for a Miles River assessment and continue with projects that we already have funding for, such as tree planting, shoreline and agricultural restoration, and education. We have a lot of work to do.”

Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration, protection, and celebration of the waterways that comprise the Choptank River, Eastern Bay, Miles River, and Wye River watersheds. For more information, visit www.midshoreriverkeeper.org, email info@midshoreriverkeeper.org, or phone 443.385.0511.

Photo: Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) is pleased to announce that Jeffrey H. Horstman has joined the organization as deputy director and Miles-Wye Riverkeeper. Photo courtesy of Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy

MRC State of the Rivers Party with Guest Speaker Wayne Gilchrest

Photo-of-Wayne-GilchrestMRC State of the Rivers Party with Guest Speaker Wayne Gilchrest

Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) will host its annual State of the Rivers Party on Friday, April 11 at 5pm at the Talbot County Historical Society Auditorium, in Easton, Maryland. Former nine-term U.S. Congressman, the Honorable Wayne T. Gilchrest, will be the guest speaker. 

MRC will release the results of the 2013 State of the Rivers Report Card. These results assess water quality samples collected by MRC scientists and 50 Creekwatcher volunteers in sampling jurisdictions on the Choptank River, Miles River, Wye River, Tred Avon River, Tuckahoe River, Harris Creek, Broad Creek, Island Creek, La Trappe Creek, and Eastern Bay on the southern tip of Kent Island. The 2012 State of the Rivers reported an overall average score of C for that year. The 2013 results will reveal if that grade improved over the past year.

Wayne Gilchrest is a distinguished Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran who received the purple heart and bronze star during his service in that conflict. Following his service in the military, he graduated from Wesley College and taught high school before being elected to Congress. He served for 18 years as the US Representative from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, consistently advocating for our interests and our environment, and was chosen Legislator of the Year. Among Gilchrest’s many awards, in 2004 he received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service from Washington College, and in 2008 he received the John V. Kabler Award from the League of Conservation Voters. Gilchrest presently serves as the director of the Sassafras Environmental Education Center at Turner’s Creek, furthering his passion for environmental stewardship and education.

The State of the Rivers Party is free and open to the public. Learn more about the health of our rivers, while enjoying beer, wine, BBQ and an oyster bar. For more information, email natalie@midshoreriverkeeper.org or phone 443.385.0511.

 

Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, A Climate of Change, November 22

Facing Climate Change - Oyster Farmers (2) (400 x 225)Change makers are rethinking how we inhabit our planet, and so can you, at the 4th Annual Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival on Friday, November 22, 2013, hosted by Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) and held at the Avalon Theatre.

The festival includes a free afternoon program for children from 2-3:30 pm. The adult program begins at 6 pm, with films beginning at 7 pm. The $50 ticket price includes local food, wine and beer, and a documentary film program lasting approximately one hour.

This year’s films combine stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography, and first-rate storytelling with the theme of “A Climate of Change.” The festival presents an array of professionally-made environmental short films, culminating with two local films by award-winning environmentalist writer, Tom Horton.

Horton and renowned Chesapeake photographer David Harp will be the Masters of Ceremony for the program as they share their expertise on the themes and ideas presented in the films.

Silent auction items include:
• Dinner for 10 prepared at your home by noted Chef Jean Carlo Tondin of Scossa Restaurant with accompanying wine provided by Philip Bernot of Wishing Well Liquors;
• Falcon and horse experience with lunch for up to ten people;
• A week’s stay at a ski chalet in Sun Valley, Idaho;
• Dinner or lunch hosted at the home of a local resident (some of these include boat outings);
• Nature boat tour with biologist Nick Carter;
• Boat outings with MRC Riverkeepers with lunch included.

Tickets for the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival are available through the Avalon Theatre box office at http://tickets.avalontheatre.com or 410.822.7299.

Proceeds from the film festival will benefit MRC programs. MRC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration, protection, and celebration of the waterways that comprise the Choptank River watershed, Eastern Bay, and the Miles and Wye Rivers. The organization serves as an advocate for the health of these tributaries and the living resources they support.

For more information, visit www.midshoreriverkeeper.org or contact Natalie Costanzo at 443.385.0511 or natalie@midshoreriverkeeper.org.

 

2013 Tour de Talbot – Riding for Clean Rivers

Tour de Talbot 2012-1 (400 x 223)What: Century (100), 60, and 20 mile bike rides, followed by food and celebration
Where: Starts and ends at Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, Easton, MD
When: Saturday, September 21, 2013
Web: www.tourdetalbot.org

Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) will host the 9th Annual Tour de Talbot on September 21, 2013, at an exciting new location: the grounds of the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School on the banks of the beautiful Miles River. And this year the barbeque lunch at the end of the ride will be accompanied by live music.

Come ride for clean rivers! Early registration at www.tourdetalbot.org is discounted. Register as an individual, join a team, or create your own team. Cycling teams, business teams, family teams, and teams of friends join with individual riders for this popular event. Last year’s 300 registrants included pro riders, kids, and all cycling levels in between.

Registration includes lunch and a drink ticket, a tee shirt, rest stops with food and drinks, fully supported and marked routes of 20, 60, or 100 miles, and cheering crowds at the finish line. Kids under 16 ride free. Routes follow the flat, scenic back roads of Talbot County and multiple rest stops are located on the banks of the Wye and Choptank Rivers.

The ride supports the work of MRC to preserve and protect the Miles, Wye, and Choptank Rivers and Eastern Bay. Once registered, riders can raise funds and sponsors in support of their ride using the event website. Teams and individuals raising the most money receive prizes. Don’t miss it! Visit www.tourdetalbot.org for all the details.

Event sponsors for the 9th Annual Tour de Talbot include Easton Utilities, The Talbot Preservation Alliance, and Charm City Run.

Our Rivers Gain Two Summer Interns!

Summer Interns photo (400 x 299)Midshore Riverkeeeper Conservancy (MRC) is delighted to announce that we will increase our staff of conservation advocates to nine, adding two summer interns for three months. These interns will assist with environmental programs to improve the health of our midshore rivers and will develop valuable career skills at the same time.

Emily Harris is from Salisbury, MD, and is a rising junior at Washington College (WC) majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Chesapeake Bay Regional Studies. She completed the Chesapeake Semester during the fall semester of 2012, which is a multidisciplinary study of the Bay watershed culminating in a comparative study in Peru. During spring 2013 she was a policy and advocacy intern at Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.

Dylan Taillie is a rising junior at Tulane University down in New Orleans, LA. He has lived next to the Choptank River in Caroline County for all of his life and is elated to be given the opportunity to work preserving something so beloved to him. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies at Tulane. He has been heavily involved in the Green Club and Divest Tulane this past year and looks forward to adapting the experience and knowledge he will gain working with MRC to New Orleans this fall.

Bringing on these youthful, energized, and committed conservation advocates to Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy assists us in broadening our scope and expanding our reach as we work at every level to restore and protect our rivers. As a community please welcome Emily Harris and Dylan Taillie to Easton and to our efforts!

 

 

CBMM Participates in Project Clean Stream

CBMM_ProjectCleanStream2013 (400 x 280)Through the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy’s coordination and as part of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s Project Clean Stream, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) hosted a team of 13 volunteers on April 6th to clean up Heron Haven—a stream running through CBMM’s property and feeding into St. Michaels Harbor and the Miles River.

Participating volunteers included from left, front row: Ronan, Cyrus, and Darcy Yonkers. Back row, from left: René Stevenson, John Ford, Kate Yonkers, Michael Gorman (holding Hazel Gorman), Courtney Gorman, Bob Hinkel, Ben Ford, Kate Livie, David Crosson, Robin Gordon. Not shown: Don Goodliffe.

Two, sixty-five gallon recycling containers—filled with discarded beverage containers, along with 20 bags of trash were collected from approximately 500 feet of stream. Invasive species of plantings were also found to be growing throughout the stream bed.

CBMM’s 18-acre, St. Michaels waterfront campus includes several environmental features that help sustain the health of the Chesapeake Bay, including a recently extended living shoreline, rain gardens and swales, native plantings, and more.

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has been connecting the public to their local outdoor space through Project Clean Stream for 10 years. The program culminates in a unified day of service when volunteers spend a few hours outside cleaning trash from parks, rivers and streams or otherwise improving their communities.

For more information, visit www.cbmm.org or www.allianceforthebay.org.

 

2012 State of the Rivers Report Card Released

The Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy released its third annual report card for Eastern Bay, Choptank, Miles and Wye Rivers to an audience of well over 150 people in Easton, Maryland at our State of the Rivers Spring Party.

During 2012, with our partners Midshore Creekwatchers, we sampled water quality more than 500 times at over 100 various sites in the Choptank, its major tributaries, and the Miles and Wye Rivers. This year we have added new sampling sites within the Eastern Bay watershed as well as the Tuckahoe River. Our testers measured water clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH salinity and sample for nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll A. We use analysis protocol developed in collaboration with the Maryland Tributary Assessment Coalition to analyze this data to come up with our grades.

The results for overall health in 2011 were:
• The Choptank River scored 54%, a C;
• The Miles River scored 41% C-;
• The Wye River scored 65% and the Wye East 51%, a C+.

The results for overall health in 2012 were:
• The Choptank River scored 54% a C;
• The Miles River scored 53% a C;
• The Wye River Complex scored 53% a C;
• Eastern Bay scored 66% a B.

Drew Koslow, the Choptank Riverkeeper, said drought conditions, like the ones faced in 2012, usually make for better water quality because of less run-off, more underwater grasses and strong oyster production. Year 2012 was a bit odd in that the Choptank experienced a slight decline in underwater grasses and had high phosphorus levels. Underwater grasses, however, were still more abundant than in typical years past. Koslow hypothesizes that the high phosphorus levels are due to legacy nutrients in slow moving groundwater.

The Choptank River watershed comprises 700 square miles, approximately 60% of which is in agricultural land use. “When you hear the majority of pollution and nutrients are coming from agriculture, it makes sense as it is the dominant land use in our watershed,” Koslow said. ‘We’re right now working with farmers to put projects in the ground to reduce pollution. If we lose agriculture, we’re going to have sprawl development and we’re going to lose our quality of life.’

“Harris Creek, an oyster sanctuary, saw an improved grade of a B in 2012, stemming from improved nitrogen levels,” Koslow said. Though Koslow said he couldn’t pinpoint where the nitrogen is coming from, a big reason nitrogen levels improved in 2012 was probably because of the cover crop program. “After three years of cover crops, you start seeing the big reduction. It’s not a stretch to say that the reason we’re seeing improvements in nitrogen is because of the cover crops the farmers are planting,” Koslow said.

The overall grade for the Miles River improved from 41% to 53% in the past year, with substantial improvement in water clarity. Tom Leigh, Miles-Wye Riverkeeper believes the improved water clarity is due to decreased nitrogen levels leading to less algal blooms.

This was the first year that Eastern Bay was included in our testing and got a B grade. It’s better grades are not surprising in that the Eastern Bay is a well-flushed body of water, open to the tidal flows of the Bay and has less proportionate influence from land based runoff and groundwater. This result underscores a key truth: the excess of nutrients and sediments that degrade our rivers comes primarily from surrounding land, not from the Chesapeake or the Susquehanna. Thus, in order for us to reduce these pollution threats, we must address the conditions on the land that surrounds our rivers.

Tom Leigh, Miles-Wye Riverkeeper, concluded his presentation with a statement that we all need to pay attention to. “Somebody lives downstream from you, and guess what, somebody lives upstream from you, and keep that in mind,” Leigh said. “Shout it from the treetops; shout it loud and shout it often and it will get heard; it will get noticed and it will get the job done”.

MRC staff and volunteers are continuing to work at every level to ensure these grades improve over time. It will not happen overnight. But with the support of our community, we truly can restore our waterways such that they are rich with life, health, beauty and vitality. Please join us in this effort!

For more information please contact:
• Tim Junkin, Executive Director: 301 980 0634 (cell)
• Drew Koslow, Choptank Riverkeeper: 410 533 2753 (cell)
• Tom Leigh, Miles-Wye Riverkeeper: 443 995 5570 (cell)

 

Dr. Jana Davis, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Dr. Bill Dennison, University of Maryland– Guest Speakers

Jana Davis headshot (400 x 300)IAN released their 2008 Chesapeake Bay Report Card on the Patuxent RiverbankMidshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) will host its annual State of the Rivers Party on Friday, April 12 at 5 pm at the Talbot County Historical Society Auditorium, in Easton, Maryland. Dr. Jana Davis, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and recently named to The Daily Record’s 2013 List of Influential Marylanders, will be the Honorary Speaker. Dr. William Dennison, Vice President for Science Applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, will be the Guest Presenter. Each of these environmental leaders will provide key insights into the environmental landscape for 2013.

As Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Dr. Davis is instrumental in looking for ways to incorporate the best and newest science and technologies in all areas that affect the Bay, from the social science of behavior change to advances in engineering for restoration work. The Trust is at the forefront of and supports a host of Bay-wide efforts in watershed restoration, education, outreach and innovation. Dr. Dennison, as Professor of Marine Science and Vice President for Science Applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, coordinates the Integration and Application Network, a group of scientists committed to solving, not just studying, environmental problems. He will use satellite images combined with citizen monitoring data to look at water quality issues and review where the pollution originates, and will address issues surrounding the Susquehanna River and the Conowingo Dam.

Additionally, MRC Riverkeepers Drew Koslow and Tom Leigh will release via a Powerpoint presentation the results of the 2012 State of the Rivers Report Card. These results assess the water quality samples collected by MRC scientists and the 50 Midshore Creekwatcher volunteers on all of our local rivers for the past year. This year, Eastern Bay and the southern tip of Kent Island have been added to MRC’s sampling jurisdictions. Included as well are the Choptank, Miles, and Wye Rivers, the Tred Avon River, Harris Creek, Broad Creek, Island Creek, and La Trappe Creek. Portions of the Tuckahoe River were also sampled. Let’s see if our rivers score higher than a C this year!

The event is open and free to the public and includes a wine and cheese reception. Please come join us and support the health of our rivers!