2005 Upper Western Shore Wade-In Set For June 4 At Anita C. Leight Estuary Center

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ABINGDON, MD (May 23, 2005) -- Roll up your pants and lace up your sneakers with members from the Upper Western Shore Tributary Team on Saturday, June 4 as they host their 8th Annual Wade-In at the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center in Abingdon. This free event will be held from 2 to 5 P.M. with the actual wade-in occurring at 2:30 P.M. This year’s event features free t-shirts to participants (first come, first served!), a Scales & Tales program, insect exploration with Stream Waders, canoeing, fish seining, pontoon boat rides, music, food and many more activities and displays for the entire family.

In what has become an annual event for each of Maryland’s 10 Tributary Teams, the Wade-Ins are inspired by former State Senator Bernie Fowler, who began wading into the Patuxent River 15 years ago with family and friends to highlight 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 and easily see his shoes. The event became known as a Wade-In and is characterized by participants wading into a stream, river, or the Bay, and measuring the point at which they can no longer see their shoes, commonly known as the Sneaker Index. Fowler challenged the other nine tributary Teams to host Wade-Ins or similar water quality awareness events of their own.

This is also a great opportunity to come out and meet your elected officials. Delegate Mary-Dulany James and Cecil County Commissioner Phyllis Kilby will be in attendance.

The Upper Western Shore basin drains about 920 square miles of land including Harford County and portions of Carroll, Baltimore, and Cecil counties. This watershed supports over 75 varieties of fish in the freshwater streams and brackish waters.
For directions to the Wade-In, call (410) 612-1688.

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. Support for the Tributary Teams is provided by staff at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR); however the members are volunteers whose tireless energy results in invaluable contributions to restoration efforts. The Wade-Ins are just one of the ways the Teams highlight local water quality and get their communities involved.

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May 25, 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