Tom Patton Honored with Golden Osprey Award

The Maryland Coastal Bays Program is pleased and proud to announce that Berlin resident Tom Patton has been named the winner of our prestigious Golden Osprey Award.
The program gives the award for outstanding and life-long achievement toward protecting the coastal bays, and Patton fits the criteria perfectly.

Patton is truly in tune with our natural resources, progging for clams, dipping soft shell crabs, hunting and fervently preserving our natural and cultural heritage through action, advocacy and commitment for decades. The Golden Osprey has only been awarded three times before in the history of the Coastal Bays Program.

Patton has helped the Coastal Bays Program a great deal over the years, serving on the Coastal Bays Fisheries Advisory Committee, and assisting with blue crab issues and development and growth-related concerns. He was one of the driving forces behind the original and two subsequent conferences on the Coastal Bays. It was the first conference that directly led to the state and Worcester County seeking our acceptance into the National Estuary Program.

His volunteer experience also includes work with the Maryland Historical Society, the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Committee, St. Martin's Church Preservation Foundation, and with political advocacy and community association issues. He serves on the board of the Assateauge Coastal Trust (ACT).

His commitment to our natural environment dates back to the 1960s, when he was instrumental in lobbying Congress to create the Assateague Island National Seashore. He was an early participant in the Committee to Preserve Assateague Island – now ACT - and was the driving force behind moving that group from Baltimore to Berlin. He was instrumental in changing the focus of ACT to include the entire coastal bays watershed. Patton played an integral role in the revitalization of downtown Berlin and the formation of the Berlin Farmer’s Market.

In 2005 Patton published the book Listen to the Voices, Follow the Trails - Discovering Maryland's Seaside Heritage, an insightful account of the unique natural and cultural history of Maryland's seacoast. The book captures the rapidly-disappearing oral traditions past generations, urging readers to explore Worcester County's many wonderful rural byways, historical sites, and its abundant natural heritage.

Patton created the nonprofit Rackliffe House Trust in 2004 with the goal to restore the former plantation house once owned by his ancestors. That same year he leased the house and three acres of the 100-acre parcel for 50 years from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The house is located adjacent to the Sinepuxent Bay, near the National Seashore's visitor center. He has devoted himself to the proper restoration of Rackliffe House with the goal to transform it into a coastal heritage museum.

Patton has made a significant difference in the health of our watershed through his dedication and volunteer service. Such involvement is vital to our success as outlined in our Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, which states that the program works by recognizing the mutual dependence of good estuary management practices and citizen-based efforts to sustain the community’s culture and economy. As previous Osprey winner and MCBP Foundation Board member Carolyn Cummins puts it, Patton embodies the role of citizen involvement and all that is vital to the success of the with the Coastal Bays Program. Patton also joins Ilia and Joe Fehrer Sr. and Jeanne Lynch in receiving the honor.

Please join us as we celebrate Patton’s Osprey Award on Feb. 18 at 6 pm at the Globe restaurant in Berlin – a fitting location since it is one of the Berlin properties that Patton restored. Tickets are $20 for MCBP members and $25 for non members, and includes hors d'oeuvres and a signature Osprey drink specially created for the occasion.

To purchase tickets contact Anita Ferguson by Feb. 10 at aferguson@mdcoastalbays.org or 410-213-2297, ext. 109. Ferguson is the Public Outreach Coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

Attention Worcester County Landowners!

Would you like to restore natural function to your shoreline?
Enhance wildlife habitat on your forested property?
Replace lawn with a more natural landscape?
Learn about the current restoration and conservation programs available to large properties?

The Worcester County Department of Development Review and Permitting invites you to a day-long LANDOWNER CONFERENCE. Experts will teach sound shoreline, forest and wildlife management practices that landowners can implement.

Location: Worcester County Government Center, 3rd Floor; 1 West Market Street,
Snow Hill, MD 21811
Cost: $6.00 per registrant (to cover food costs)
Saturday, March 6, 2010

Whether you own a 1-acre lot or a 200-acre farm, this conference will provide valuable information to help you achieve your land stewardship goals. Every household/individual attending will receive a copy of The Woods in Your Backyard, or Forest Resource Management, an $18 value.

Click HERE for information on how to register for this valuable learning experience! This workshop is made possible by Worcester County and a grant from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

MCBP Not Involved with Pending Lawsuit

A recent suit filed by a local environmental organization against a Berlin poultry grower, make it again fitting to note the differences between advocacy organizations and the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

It should be made clear that the Maryland Coastal Bays Program works through consensus, does not get involved in lawsuits, and works closely with landowners to help them do conservation work or solve pollution problems. We are not part of this or any other lawsuit.

As part of the National Estuary Program, we work with local farmers, developers, scientists, recreational and commercial fishermen, tourism professionals and local business owners to find practical solutions to issues related to conservation in the bays behind Ocean City and Assateague. In addition to these constituency groups, Ocean City, Berlin, Worcester County, the state of Maryland and the US Environmental Protection agency are all partners.

Since 1996 our focus has been to protect and enhance the health of the bays behind Assateague and Ocean City, and our method to accomplish these goals has always been to reach common ground through listening and learning.

A group that does engage in advocacy and lawsuits is the Waterkeeper Alliance, a global coalition of water-quality watchdog groups. In Worcester County, the local Assateague Coastkeeper (Kathy Phillips) is also the director of Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT). In her position she does what she is supposed to do – be an advocate and watchdog for water quality. ACT has a long history of environmental advocacy in the coastal bays, beginning with efforts in the early 1970s to preserve Assateague Island, which is now protected as a National Seashore.

The director of the Coastal Bays Program is Dave Wilson. His role is to provide oversight and direction to implement the Coastal Bays Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The CCMP represents a consensus of the best means needed to preserve the economic and ecological prosperity of the coastal bays in the next century. The plan includes reachable scientific goals and the most effective means for implementing them. To be sure, when our partners eschew their commitments or when they act in a manner that gives priority to special interests rather than the community as a whole, we work to hold them to their commitment. However, this is far different from being an advocacy organization.

Still we have worked with ACT in the past on projects like the Worcester County Comprehensive Plan and the Grow Berlin Green Initiative, and there is no doubt that we share a common goal with ACT to preserve and protect the watershed. But our methods to accomplish these goals remain quite different.

In making the distinction between the methods of the Coastal Bays Program and those of the Coastkeeper, ACT and other advocacy groups, we do not intend to disparage. Watchdog groups are vital to ensuring that protocols are being followed and laws are being abided. Sometimes this results in legal action, which can lead to frustration and anger within the community regardless of the merits of the accusations.

There will always be some who confuse the Coastal Bays Program with other environmental groups, and we will have to work to dispel that misconception. Along the way we will continue our mission to care for our natural resources.

Coastal Stewards Wins Award for Best New Heritage Initiative

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council (LESHC) today awarded the Coastal Stewards as Best New Heritage Initiative of 2009. During the LESHC Annual Meeting, held at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, MD, representatives of the program gratefully accepted the award in front of an audience of over 100 attendees.

The award recognizes programs, events, or products that represent new initiatives achieved in the last year by an individual or organization that educate the public by expanding understanding of, or access to, the area's rich heritage.

Coastal Stewards is a Summer Youth Employment Program partnership which, in 2009, was funded by President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the National Park Service, and the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club.

During the summer of 2009, 11 local students were hired – for green jobs – and trained to work as interpreters at Assateague and other local parks and museums. Throughout the summer, these 11 Coastal Stewards engaged over 6,000 visitors to and residents of the Eastern Shore, providing powerful connections to local nature and heritage. Jay Parker, Executive Director of the Heritage Council, thanked Maryland Coastal Bays Education Coordinator Carrie Samis and Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences Director Jim Rapp for their efforts to inspire and lead this next generation of stewards.

Throughout the summer of 2009, Coastal Stewards shared information about coastal nature and heritage, and encouraged tourists to visit our parks and museums. Coastal Stewards were educating and involving the community through public outreach and education efforts at parks, local festivals, and official meetings of local and state elected leaders.

Teams were outfitted with mobile exhibits featuring information, literature, games, and live animal displays, designed to highlight efforts that local citizens and tourists can make to conserve and restore our land and water. Coastal Stewards assisted interpretation staff at Assateague with conducting public programs. During programs and events, Coastal Stewards promoted the variety of nature-based and heritage tourism experiences that exist in the region. Public outreach programs were conducted at several locations at Assateague Island National Seashore, Assateague State Park, Berlin, and Ocean City.

Joriee’ Dorman said, “being a Coastal Steward opened my eyes to the diversity of the Lower Eastern Shore, my home. I grasped so much and learned about my own heritage, in a way that no classroom or lecture could teach me.”

Coastal Stewards is managed by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences. Partner organizations include the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, Assateague Island National Seashore, Assateague State Park, the Maryland Conservation Corps, and Worcester County Tourism.

Thanks to an expanded partnership with the Maryland Park Service’s Civic Justice Corps program, 24 Coastal Stewards will be hired in 2010! Summer job openings will be advertised through the MD Department of Natural Resources.

Pictured Aabove (left to right): Carrie Samis, Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Joiree’ Dorman, Nick Clemons, Assateague Island National Seashore, Janae Dorman, Angela Baldwin, Assateague State Park, Joe Dorman, Hoa Nguyen, Jim Rapp, Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences

We Need You for our Citizens Advisory Committee

Citizen involvement is a vital component to a successful non-profit organization, and the Maryland Coastal Bays Program has certainly been blessed to have so many people step up to the plate and volunteer their time to help protect and preserve our watershed.

The Coastal Bays Citizen’s Advisory Committee was formed when the MCBP came into being more than a decade ago. The committee included representation from the farming, business, recreational and commercial fishing interests. This diverse group of people brought together to solicit opinions from a broad spectrum of resource groups for the purpose of participating in the development and review of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the bays behind Ocean City and Assateague. This plan, aimed at preserving this precious coastal resource, represents a consensus of the best means needed to preserve the economic and ecological prosperity of the coastal bays in the next century.

The Coastal Bays Program is part of the National Estuary Program, which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, program decisions and activities are carried out by committees made up of relevant stakeholders to identify and prioritize the problems in the estuary. Most NEPs choose a management framework that includes a Citizens Advisory Committee to represent the interests of estuary user-groups and the public.

The CAC membership should be broad-based and provide a non-governmental perspective on how policies affect citizens who live and work in the coastal bays watershed. The CAC should address a whole range of environmental problems facing the estuary.

Over the years, the Coastal Bays Program CAC has evolved to include a speaker series, in which experts from a variety of subjects regarding watershed issues present information at a public meeting. This has been well-received, but the committee’s work to help guide management in the coastal bays is far from over. It is our hope to again form a CAC that meets on a quarterly basis with the goal to provide ongoing advice to the Program on implementing the CCMP for the restoration and protection of the coastal bays.

Community support created the CCMP and will drive it in the future and ultimately it is the residents of this estuary who will benefit. Balancing growth with natural resource protection is the ultimate challenge this estuary faces in the next millennium. When citizen involvement is strong issues remain on the radar screen, raising awareness levels and changing attitudes.

The Coastal Bays Program is a partnership among the towns of Ocean City and Berlin, National Park Service, Worcester County, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Environment, and Planning. This coalition is strong, but there is no substitute for broader public involvement.

With the goal of broader public involvement, we hope to reinvigorate the original concept of the CAC and will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 pm at the Ocean Pines Library, with the goal to form a committee of stakeholders that will meet quarterly for the longer betterment of our bays.

Ultimately, the responsibility to protect the Maryland Coastal Bays rests with those who live in the watershed. Only by becoming stewards of the Maryland Coastal Bays, caring for them consistently and managing their resources responsibly, can we preserve them for generations to come.

Shifting Sands Authors at the Ocean City Library Jan. 26

In June the staff of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program was proud to release one of our most important accomplishments – a book focusing on the environmental and cultural changes in the watershed. This month we are just as pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the book directly with the community.

Shifting Sands - Environmental and Cultural Change in Maryland’s Coastal Bays was a collaborative effort from the Coastal Bays Program, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Coastal Bays Executive Director David Wilson Jr. and staff scientists Dr. Roman Jesien and Carol Cain are among the 80 authors from 24 different organizations and agencies who contributed to the book.

Copies of the book are available at each of Worcester County’s public libraries, and on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 1 pm, the public will have the unique opportunity to talk directly to authors Wilson, Jesien and Cain at the Ocean City branch on 100th Street. Through their unique approach of weaving together the region’s scientific exploration and history, cutting-edge science and peer-reviewed analysis synthesizing decades of work, the authors will give a holistic view of the bays behind Assateague and Ocean City.

Shifting Sands is a unique effort that provides a comprehensive look at the coastal lagoons and barrier islands making up Maryland’s Atlantic coastline. The book leads the reader through the history, setting, context and ecology of these waterways, their islands and mainland watershed, as well as management activities, history, setting, context and ecology of these fragile lagoons.

Shifting Sands is appropriately named considering the dynamic nature of the watershed. The name also refers to the changing perceptions regarding Maryland’s Coastal Bays, which differ among groups and individuals and have transformed over the years. The ongoing ecological transitions and rediscovery of the watershed inspired the book’s subtitle.

The book provides vital information relevant to our six sub watersheds – the St. Martin’s River and Assawoman, Chincoteague, Newport, Isle of Wight and Sinepuxent bays – with discussions on overall management issues, geologic and hydrologic information, and water quality and habitats concerns. Also contained in Shifting Sands is a rich history of the area, as well as insight on the watershed in a national and international context.

Our coastal bays are a unique and dynamic ecosystem, with a variety of wildlife and habitats. These factors are the very foundation for the success of our agriculture, recreation and tourism industries that support the local and state economies. Moreover, the very legacy we will leave future generations depends on the health of our watershed, but nutrient pollution and habitat destruction have put more pressure on this already vulnerable ecosystem.

As Sen. Paul Sarbanes wrote in the preface of Shifting Sands, “the continued economic prosperity and the quality of life that the citizens of Worcester County, and indeed, citizens throughout the region, enjoy will depend in large part on our ability to manage the Coastal Bays in a sustainable manner.”

We are grateful to Worcester County Public Libraries for providing the perfect venue to discuss this book. We hope the public will take this opportunity to learn directly from the authors just how relevant the Senator’s words are when it comes to the health of the watershed and economic vitality of our community.

Our Accomplishments in 2009

As we embark on the first week of a new year, it’s a good time to review a few of our accomplishments from last year.

In 2009 we continued to study horseshoe crabs, which thanks in large part to our efforts now have the highest population numbers to date in Maryland, according to a 2002-2009 report recently completed by MCBP staffer Carol Cain and Steve Doctor of the Maryland Fisheries Service. Data from this survey will be used to develop estimates of relative abundance, determine timing of spawning activity used to direct regulations, and make comparisons with horseshoe crab spawning behavior in the Delaware Bay.

In June we released the first Coastal Bays Report Card, revealing an overall grade C+ grade for our bays in 2008. Each of the six sub-watersheds received individual grades, with marks ranging from a B for the Sinepuxent Bay to a D+ for the St. Martin River and the Newport Bay. The grades were determined based on the current water quality and its relation to the quality needed for aquatic life to grow and thrive. The report provided a clear, concise and timely assessment of the health of our bays to help guide future efforts.

Also in June we released the book, Shifting Sand-Environmental and Cultural Change in Maryland’s Coastal Bays, a collaborative effort with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This was a major undertaking with MCBP Executive Director David Wilson Jr. and staff scientists Dr. Roman Jesien and Carol Cain among the 80 authors from 24 different organizations and agencies who contributed to the book. This team assessed the condition of the Coastal Bays ecosystem, reviewed the history of the area, current management strategies and upcoming concerns for the watershed.

In October, Dr. Roman Jesien oversaw the completion of a wetland habitat restoration at an 89-acre conservation easement in Showell that showcases some of the techniques that can be used to restore streams and wetlands. This once damaged and neglected property now provides habitat for forest dwelling birds, and serves as a site to teach youngsters about trees, wetlands, vegetation and wildlife.

Last summer 11 area high school and college students learned how to be Coastal Stewards as part of a new program that trains youth to conduct education, outreach, and stewardship activities. Managed by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences, partnered with the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, Assateague Island National Seashore, and Assateague State Park, the Coastal Stewards program was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program is expected to expand in 2010.

Also in 2009 we completely revised and updated our website, helped launch Grow Berlin Green, raised a record amount of money from our Osprey Triathlon and continued work on conservation projects totaling 547 acres.

Part of the National Estuary Program, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program is a partnership with the towns of Ocean City and Berlin, National Park Service, Worcester County, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Environment, and Planning.

Through education and outreach programs, restoration projects and involvement with the business community, builders, residents, visitors and government leaders, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program works to improve water quality, protect habitat and enhance forests and wetlands. With the help of our partners and the community, we vow to continue this important work in 2010.