Conservation Groups Launch Campaign to Educate Candidates, Public

A partnership of 12 Eastern Shore and regional conservation groups today launched a campaign to educate candidates for local offices, as well as their constituents, about necessary steps toward clean water on the Shore.

The partnership will urge its combined membership of over 10,000 Eastern Shore voters, as well as the general public, to actively support five proven, cost-effective actions to help make our waters clean and healthy. More on these actions including a brochure available for easy downloading and printing is at www.cbf.org/easternshore.

“Everyone we talk to around the Eastern Shore is clamoring for cleaner creeks and rivers, for increased seafood harvests and jobs, and the necessary actions by elected officials to get the job done. We intend to harness that energy to educate candidates for local office,” said Alan Girard, CBF’s Eastern Shore Director. The five actions are:

1. Support your county’s team for clean water.
Implement the recommendations of individuals and groups who are working together on local teams to identify and promote equitable, high-impact solutions.

2. Invest local dollars to fix polluted runoff.
Set up a dedicated fund to install and maintain practices like tree plantings and roadside ditch filters. The fund should prioritize investments in proven, low-cost options to treat polluted runoff.

3. Stop pollution from fertilizer.
Seek authority to control lawn fertilizer and provide incentives for property owners to forego its use. Call for state actions that reduce excess fertilizer use on farms, such as enhancing cover crop programs, prioritizing buffers, and using the best science to manage phosphorus pollution.

4. Curb poorly managed growth.
Commit to effective local zoning and a “tiered” plan for growth and rural preservation that will stop polluting sprawl, save taxpayer dollars, and meet the requirements of state law.

5. Report progress
Report annually to the public on specific actions taken, align local efforts with regional commitments, and insist on transparent and verifiable results.

The partnership will urge the public to call, write or sit down with candidates to learn where they stand on critical environmental issues. Brochures with the actions are being distributed widely. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also will hold two candidate forums in Talbot and Queen Anne’s counties.
Partners in the campaign are:

UPPER EASTERN SHORE
Cecil Land Use Association
Chester River Association
Corsica River Conservancy
Sassafras River Association
Queen Anne’s Conservation Association

MID SHORE
Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth
Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy

LOWER EASTERN SHORE
Assateague Coastal Trust
Nanticoke Watershed Alliance
Wicomico Environmental Trust

REGIONAL
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund