Ninth Annual Tributary Team Meeting to be Held April 16
Focus will be on restoring, protecting the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay

---

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s statewide network Tributary Teams will come together on Saturday, April 16, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in Baltimore to hold their ninth Annual Meeting. This year’s theme is “Approaching 2010: Sharing Lessons Learned, Progress Made, and New Ways to Restore & Protect the Water Quality of the Chesapeake Bay & Maryland’s waterways.”

The Annual Meeting of Maryland’s 10 Tributary Teams has become similar to a “Bay Summit” for groups and individuals working to restore water quality throughout the State of Maryland. The meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to come together to share experiences and focus future efforts toward improved water quality in Maryland. Sessions offered at the meeting will focus on the following conference strands:

• Education and Community Engagement - Working with students, teachers, volunteers and others to raise awareness and ultimately change behaviors to improve water quality.
   
• On the Ground Projects Achieving Results - Success stories from local governments, NGO’s, state/federal agencies and the private sector that could help jumpstart implementation of the Tributary Strategy. This includes projects addressing air deposition, stormwater management, habitat restoration, wastewater treatment, agricultural conservation, etc.
   
• Beyond 2010 - A focus on tools, policies and concepts available now or needed in the future to help achieve and maintain water quality goals in Maryland.
   
• Measuring our Progress - Information, tools, ideas and case studies that will help monitor, model, evaluate and track progress made toward the water quality improvements.

Maryland’s Tributary Teams represent a diverse array of stakeholders, including governor appointed members representing agriculture, local and state governments, watershed and community groups and many others that work to reduce the flow of nutrients to local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

The ninth Annual Tributary Team Meeting will be held at the Maryland Department of the Environment in the Montgomery Park Building in Baltimore. For more information about the meeting or to register to attend, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/tribstrat/annual_meeting.html or call Heather Adams at 410-260-8711.

---

March 22, 2005

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 18,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov