Second Annual Patapsco/Back River Wade-In Set For North Point State Park

---

Edgemere (May 18, 2005) -- Roll up your pants and lace up your sneakers with members from the Patapsco/Back River Tributary Team on Sunday, May 22, as they host their 2nd annual Wade-In at North Point State Park. This free event will be held from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. with the actual wade-in occurring around noon.

This year’s event features a benefit swim by Joe Stewart who will be making his fourth trip across the mouth of the Patapsco River. There will also be a presentation from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Scales & Tales program, fish seining, music, food, and many more activities and displays for the entire family.

The Wade-In is a great opportunity to come out and meet your elected officials. Senator Bernie Fowler, the founder of the state’s Wade-In events, and DNR Secretary C. Ronald Franks will be in attendance.

What have become annual events for Maryland’s 10 Tributary Teams, the Wade-Ins were inspired by former State Senator Bernie Fowler, who began wading into the Patuxent River 15 years ago with family and friends to illustrate concerns about declining water quality in Maryland’s tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay. Senator Fowler remembered that, as a child, he could wade into the Patuxent River and easily see his shoes. Subsequent events became known as “wade-ins” and are characterized by participants wading into a waterway and measuring the point at which they can no longer see their shoes, commonly known as the Sneaker Index. Fowler challenged each of the other nine Tributary Teams to host Wade-Ins or similar water quality awareness events of their own.

Since 1995, Maryland’s Tributary Teams have assisted with the implementation of the state’s watershed-based plans to reduce nutrient pollution to Maryland’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Though largely a volunteer effort, the Tributary Teams are coordinated by staff at DNR. The Wade-Ins are just one of the ways the Teams highlight local water quality and get their communities involved. For directions to the Patapsco/Back River event, visit www.dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/central/northpoint.html or call 410-477-0757.

---

May 18, 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