Lt. Governor Brown To Test The Waters At The Patapsco/ Back Wade-In Sunday At Fort Smallwood Park

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PASADENA - Roll up your pants and lace up your sneakers with members from Patapsco/ Back River Tributary Team on Sunday, May 20, as they host the Patapsco Wade-In on the Patapsco River. Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will participate in this year’s event, featuring a picnic in the Historic Cedar Pavilion, guided history and nature tours of the park, and displays.

Also scheduled to participate in the Wade-In this year are Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, Baltimore City Department of Public Works Director George Winfield, Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Eliza Smith Steinmeier, Carroll County Commissioner Michael Zimmer, Carroll County Chief of Staff Steve Powell, and Reds Wolman. There is no fee for this event and it will take place rain or shine.

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 17 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.

“We hope that you will also join us as we wade into the water to continue the tradition started by Bernie Fowler – demonstrating how deep we can go before we lose sight of our white sneakers,” said Tom Filip, chairman of the Patapsco/Back River Tributary Team.

The Patapsco/Back River basin drains approximately 630 square miles of land, including all of Baltimore City and portions of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll and Howard Counties. Larger water bodies in the basin include Back River, Gwynns and Jones Falls, the North and South Branches of the Patapsco River, Lake Roland, Piney Run Reservoir, Liberty Reservoir and Baltimore Harbor, a tidal embayment formed at the confluence of the Patapsco River and the Jones and Gwynns Falls

Directions from Annapolis Area:
Take Governor Ritchie Highway (MD Route 2 North). Turn right onto Magothy Bridge Road (MD 607 North). Magothy Bridge Road becomes Hogneck Road. Follow Hogneck Road to the end then turn right onto Fort Smallwood Road. Follow Fort Smallwood Road to the park at the end.

Directions from Baltimore Beltway (I-695):
From I-695 take Arundel Expressway (MD 10 South) toward Severna Park. Take MD 100 East towards Gibson Island. Turn left onto Magothy Bridge Road. Magothy Bridge Road becomes Hogneck Road. Follow Hogneck Road to end then right onto Fort Smallwood Road. Follow Fort Smallwood Road to the park at the end.

On the day of the event, please call Deborah Yeater at 410-222-0087 for directions or if you have questions.

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 14, 2007

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