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Volume 1, Issue
3 |
December 2008 | |
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You Are Now... IN THE
ZONE
IN THE
ZONE is a service from
the Maryland Department of Natural Resources'
Chesapeake & Coastal
Program that delivers timely
information, tools and resources to those living and
working in Maryland's coastal
zone. |
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Joins Virgina Governor Tim Kaine
in Announcing Presidential
Ask
Washington,
D.C. - Governor Martin O'Malley today hosted the 2008
annual meeting of the Chesapeake Executive Council (EC)
at Union Station in Washington, D.C., marking the 25th
anniversary of the regional partnership. The meeting
resulted in several significant actions, including
regional agreements to advance the production and use of
biofuels and accelerate the pace of nutrient
reductions.
Last year, the Council confirmed that
the region would not meet the 2010 nutrient reduction
goals set by the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. This year
the Council adopted a new strategy for establishing a
deadline that involves moving the annual meeting to the
spring, beginning in 2009, when the most current
scientific information about pollution levels becomes
available. To focus attention on needed progress and
allow for better tracking, more adaptability and
accountability, the Council further agreed to establish
specific milestones for restoration in two-year
intervals next spring.
Click here to view the
full press
release. |
 WATERSHED ASSISTANCE COLLABORATIVE
ESTABLISHED IN RESPONSE TO 2010 TRUST
FUND
The Watershed Assistance Collaborative
(WAC) is a new service developed to
connect local communities to the financial and technical
resources they need to undertake comprehensive watershed
restoration projects in
Maryland. |
The Watershed Assistance Grant Program will provide
technical and funding assistance to local governments
and communities for planning, design and training
related to watershed implementation activities. The
Chesapeake Bay Trust and Maryland Department of Natural
Resources welcome requests that will address protection
and restoration efforts that lead to improved water
quality in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay
watershed and the Maryland Coastal Bays. Watershed
planning, assessment, site design (small watershed
action plans), forestry, agriculture, wetland,
stormwater and other urban design practices will be
accepted.
Click here for more information
and to download the application package. Applications
will be accepted starting on December 15, 2008 and will
be on a rolling
basis. |
The University of Maryland SeaGrant Extension and
Maryland Department of Natural Resources are employing
two Regional Watershed Restoration Specialists
(RWRS) to work with Counties, State, Federal, and
others to improve project management and oversee
restoration efforts related to the State's Local
Implementation in key areas of the state. The
Specialists will also work within the communities to
foster enhanced coordination, outreach, and ensure
project evaluation and success.
Click
here to access
the job description and application instructions
online. Applications are
due by close of business on December 18,
2008. |
 MARYLAND'S ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENT
PROGRAM
(ME2)
At this year's Chesapeake Executive
Cabinet meeting Governor O'Malley announced a new
partnership between the Maryland Departments of
Environment, Natural Resources and Transportation that
will use a BayStat targeting approach to employ a better
model for the State's mitigation funds to accelerate Bay
restoration and improve cost effectiveness. These
Departments, along with the Critical Area Commission and
other entities, will be working on developing an
innovative program to implement this concept over the
next year.
It is the purpose
of Maryland's Ecosystem Enhancement Program, or
ME2, to provide more timely and effective
mitigation from transportation project impacts by
targeting mitigation to sites that provide the greatest
ecological and economical return while furthering the
Bay restoration effort. Click here to view the the
Memoradum of Understanding between the state
partners.
For more information, contact Kristen
Fleming with the Maryland Department of
Natural Resources at
410-260-8813. |
 COASTAL COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE
PROJECTS ARE SELECTED AND UNDERWAY
Ten coastal communities who submitted proposals for
CCI Round 5 were selected to receive funding and kicked
off projects this fall. Those communities are:
Baltimore City, Dorchester County, Elkton, Forest
Heights, Hurlock, Ridgely, Salisbury, Snow Hill and
Vienna.
Coastal Communities Initiative (CCI) is a
program of Maryland's Chesapeake & Coastal Program
that provides financial and technical assistance to
local governments to promote the incorporation of
natural resource and/or coastal management (e.g. coastal
hazards, public access, water-use activities) issues
into local planning and permitting activities.
Communities interested in this opportunity to
work with the Department of Natural Resources and its
partners to plan for growth and economic development
while taking into account the natural, coastal, and
socio-cultural characteristics of the area should
contact Chris
Cortina with the Chesapeake & Coastal
Program at
410-260-8774. |
 VISUALIZING SEA-LEVEL RISE IN
MARYLAND'S CHESAPEAKE
BAY
What would the
worst-case scenario of sea level rise look like in the
Chesapeake Bay? To continue efforts on sea level
rise outreach and education for the public and public
officials, the Chesapeake & Coastal Program has
teamed up with the Maryland Sea Grant College and the
University of Maryland, College Park to help demonstrate
sea level rise in a visually creative
way.
The series of photographs for each
site takes viewers from an average high tide scenario
today, to showing approximately 4 feet of sea level
rise, and ending with the effects of a moderate-sized
hurricane storm surge on top of that (based on the real
storm surge of 6 feet experienced during Tropical Storm
Isabel in 2003).Though these levels are only
projections, they give us some sense of the kind of
change that could be coming to the
Chesapeake.
Click here to view
the images online. Those interested
in sea-level rise and the learning more about potential
impacts on your community, contact Gwen
Shaughnessy with the Chesapeake & Coastal
Program at
410-260-8743. |
MARYLAND SEA GRANT MAKES AVAILABLE
OYSTER ADVISORY COMMISSION AQUACULTURE
INFORMATION
For the past year, the Maryland
Oyster Advisory Commission has been developing
recommendations to restore this important resource in
our state for both economic and ecological purposes. As
part of that work, Maryland Sea Grant assembled a great
deal of information for the commissioners to provide
them with a history of Maryland oyster aquaculture, laws
and regulations affecting the industry, surveys of
leaseholders across a thirty year span, education and
training programs, and other aspects that they would
need to consider in modernizing the industry.
Click here to view these
documents online.
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 THE ORIGINAL GREENE TURTLE
FUNDS FOR FRIENDS TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE MARYLAND
COASTAL BAYS PROGRAM
The Original
Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille in North Ocean
City will hold a fundraiser Monday, Dec. 8th to
benefit the Maryland Coastal Bays Program as part of its
Funds for Friends program. They have coincided this
event to be same day as their annual locals' Christmas
Holiday Party.
The party begins at 4 pm, but
the fundraising is an All-Day-Event! For every dollar
spent throughout the entire day, open to close, 10
percent will be donated to the MCBP.
For
more information contact Anita
Ferguson, Public Outreach Coordinator,
Maryland Coastal Bays Program at 410-213-2297 or visit
www.mdcoastalbays.org. | |
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 Please feel free to contact us
with any comments, questions or ideas for future IN THE ZONE
e-mails. Sincerely,
Your Chesapeake & Coastal Program
Team
Maryland Department of
Natural Resources |
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A publication of the
Maryland Coastal Zone Management Program pursuant to National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award
No.NA08NOS4190469. This publication is funded (in part) by a
grant/cooperative agreement from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The views expressed herein
are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of NOAA or any of its
sub-agencies.
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