Trust the Chesapeake Bay Foundation? Not!
I received an email from CBF inviting me to comment on what is now the “Busch Legacy Oyster Bill”. Remember it is the bill THAT Governor Hogan tried to veto while asking for a less political and more inclusive alternative.
While the space provided was to be hopefully used to favor the bill, it did not prohibit an anti-bill comment. I looked at the opportunity to comment about the hysterical tactics and falsehoods used by the foundation to push their bill through the legislature.
So, I used the opportunity to inform the foundation of mine and the industry’s anti-bill stance. I submitted it and went on my way in the belief that once my comment was read at the foundation it would obviously not be used in the pro-bill letter the foundation would send out to all legislators.
Fool that I am. Not only did the foundation not bother to read my comments but lifted my name and placed it on the list of those supporting the bill.
My delegate’s office sent me an email concerned that my name appeared in support. Shocked and insulted I immediately informed the delegate of my actions and my dismay at the possible fraud in using my name to further the CBF cause. I asked my delegate to ask for my comments from the CBF. The foundation has not complied. This begs the question. If they did this to me then, just how many other people has CBF done this too?
If you are among the supporters who pay their dues and walk away thinking the foundation can be trusted in all actions to do the right thing, think again. Your “activism” is merely that of a slacktivist. Educate yourselves with information from as many sources you can find. Beware the comfort zone of shared opinions provided by “well” meaning foundations and associations.
Marc Castelli
Kent County
Rick Balaban, Kent County says
What an important letter. Environmental activism is not always a single way forward, and we are each responsible for making fact based, balanced, and enlightened decisions. Thank you Marc.
Gren Whitman says
Whoa, big fella!
Fortunately for the health and welfare of the Bay, there are considerably more folks who conscientiously support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation than those who find fault with it.
The CBF started fighting for the Bay long before the watermen even admitted there was a problem, and that they were part of it. If we left it up to watermen to manage the Bay’s fisheries, there wouldn’t be a single oyster to be found, nor a striped bass.
Look up and read “The Tragedy of the Commons.”
Keith Thompson says
The health and welfare of the bay and whether or not the CBF is a good steward or not is not the issue here; this is a fraud and misrepresentation complaint. If the NRA sent you a questionnaire and you responded negatively to their efforts and they decided not to read your comments and then list your name as an NRA supporter because you simply responded to their questionnaire; you’d be charging them with fraud and misrepresentation and you’d be correct to do so.