Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Report Details Local Economic Benefits of Investing in Farm Conservation Practices

November 3, 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation Leave a Comment

Fully funding the farm pollution-reduction practices needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay would inject $655 million annually into the region’s economy, including $269 million per year in higher earnings for businesses and workers, according to a new report released today by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).

The increased economic activity would also support more than 6,600 jobs through 2025.

The report, Agricultural Conservation Practices: Clean Water and Climate Smart Investments, calculates that for every dollar spent helping farmers adopt practices that improve water quality in the Bay and its tributaries, the Bay region would see $1.75 in higher sales and earnings. This investment would also support an average of 6,673 full-time, part-time, and seasonal jobs a year through 2025.

The report was prepared for CBF by Key-Log Economics, an ecological economics research and consulting firm based in Charlottesville, Va.

Aerial view of a CBF-led forested buffer planting along a Maryland stream in October 2022 – AJ Metcalf – CBF

The study examined 17 conservation practices states are implementing to achieve the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint’s pollution cuts. It used 2020 data from the states’ Bay cleanup plans, Chesapeake Bay Program, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to estimate the cost of implementing each practice. The study then looked at how much implementation work states have left to complete by 2025. It ran those numbers through the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Regional Input-Output Modeling System to calculate the economic impacts.

The new research is being released as Congress works on next year’s Farm Bill and USDA decides how to allocate the $20 billion the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) added to existing Farm Bill conservation programs. The report makes a strong case for USDA and Congress to devote a significant share of funding from the IRA and the 2023 Farm Bill to helping Bay states meet their pollution-reduction requirements.

“We already know investing in agricultural conservation pays big dividends in cleaner water, more productive soil, climate-resilient farms, and healthier fish and wildlife habitat,” said CBF Director of Science and Agricultural Policy Beth McGee. “Today’s report makes it clear these investments produce economic benefits for local businesses and workers as well.

“To get the most bang for their conservation buck—and curb the largest single source of pollution in the Bay and its waterways—we urge USDA to direct a significant share of the IRA’s $20 billion conservation funding boost to farmers in the Bay watershed,” McGee added. “We also urge lawmakers to consider the many economic, environmental, climate, and community benefits investing in agricultural conservation brings as they draft the 2023 Farm Bill.”

Conservation practices that improve soil and water quality, like planting forested buffers or fencing livestock out of streams, are the most efficient and cost-effective way to achieve the pollution cuts needed from agriculture. Implementing them benefits businesses such as tree nurseries, landscapers, lumberyards, building supply companies, contractors, and environmental engineering firms.

“Using widely accepted economic tools, our study quantified the economic stimulus and job creation the Bay region would experience as a result of spending on full implementation of agricultural practices in the states’ watershed implementation plans,” said Key-Log senior economist Carolyn Alkire. “These results highlight how investing in conservation can stimulate the region’s economy while advancing Bay restoration.”

More than 90 percent of the states’ remaining pollution reductions must come from agriculture.

The report estimates that implementing the conservation practices necessary for Pennsylvania to achieve its remaining pollution cuts under the Blueprint would yield an estimated $352.5 million in economic benefits a year. That total includes $145.1 million in higher annual earnings for Pennsylvania businesses and workers. It also would support 3,457 jobs a year.

Virginia would see an annual return of $191.2 million, including $78.6 million in added yearly earnings for businesses and workers, from investment in conservation practices to meet its pollution-reduction commitments. The investment would also support 2,067 jobs annually through 2025.

In Maryland, investment in the needed conservation practices would generate around $41.2 million a year in economic benefits, including $16.5 million in higher annual earnings for businesses and workers, and would support 423 jobs each year.

The report also illustrates how conservation practices vary in how much they cost to reduce pollution and produce additional benefits for communities and the environment. For example, it takes a $7.62 investment in forested buffers, compared with investing $2,350 in animal waste management systems, to reduce a pound of nitrogen.

Forested buffers provide many other benefits, such as shade and habitat for wildlife, carbon storage, and flood mitigation. Buffers can also be a source of additional revenue for farmers who use them to produce nuts, fruit, livestock forage, and even honey.

“Targeting funding to practices like forested buffers that are cost‑effective and provide a holistic range of benefits can, and should, help ensure the greatest outcomes for the region’s water quality and community wellbeing.” McGee said.

Additional related research:

Earlier this year, CBF evaluated how conservation practices protect the environment, mitigate climate change and its effects, and improve farmers’ bottom line in the Farm Forward report.

A 2016 economic report concluded that a healthy Bay ecosystem would provide $130 billion annually in natural resource benefits such as air and water filtration, agricultural and seafood production, greater recreational opportunities, higher property values, and protection from floods and hurricanes.

5th Annual Maryland Rod and Reef Slam Winners Announced

October 21, 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation Leave a Comment

The Chesapeake Bay’s unique fishing tournament, the Rod and Reef Slam, wrapped up this past weekend with 35 participating anglers catching more than 130 fish, including 19 different species, over restored oyster reefs.

Unlike traditional fishing tournaments, in the Rod and Reef Slam anglers are trying to catch the most different species over oyster reefs to showcase the diversity of species that use oyster reefs for habitat.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Coastal Conservation Association Maryland (CCA), and Chesapeake Oyster Alliance (COA) are proud to announce the following overall and division winners in the catch-and-release fishing tournament that ran from Oct. 8 to 16:

Chris Morgan – Rod and Reef Slam overall winner speaks to the crowd at the tournament after-party – Credit – Chesapeake Bay Foundation – Isabella DeFrancesco

Overall: Chris Morgan, of Drayden, who caught 12 different species of fish ranging from black sea bass, lizardfish and Northern puffer to white perch, toadfish, and spot.
Powerboat: Herb Floyd, of Trappe, who caught 11 different species, and was the only angler among the winners to catch a pumpkinseed and spotted seatrout.
Kayak: Ronnie Kirin, of Crownsville, broke a 5-way tie between anglers who all caught three species in the kayak division thanks to his largest three fish—striped bass, white perch, and spot—totaling 39.5 inches in length.
Youth: Parker Barniea, of Annapolis, edged out other competitors ages 17 and under by catching three different species—bluegill, white perch, and spot.
Invasive Species: Matthew Shoultz, of Forest Hill, took home the title in this division by landing a 38-inch blue catfish, the longest fish caught in the tournament.

Parker Barniea – Youth Division Winner – Accepts prizes at tournament after-party – Credit – Chesapeake Bay Foundation – Isabella DeFrancesco

The most common fish caught during the tournament was white perch, followed by spot, then striped bass. The hardest-to-catch fish included pumpkinseed, Northern puffer, lizardfish, and bluegill; only one of each these species were caught during the tournament.

Other species caught by anglers during the Rod and Reef Slam were black sea bass, blue catfish, kingfish, pigfish, sand perch, spotted seatrout, summer flounder, and toadfish.

The winning anglers as well as second and third place in each division received prizes such as All Tackle gift certificates, Under Armour apparel, Engel coolers, fishing rods and reels, Costa sunglasses, Ike Jime tools, and other items.

“Each year this tournament continues to grow and with that comes a brighter spotlight on the importance of oyster reefs for fish habitat,” said David Sikorski, CCA’s Maryland Executive Director. “We’d like to thank all the anglers who participated and we hope they share their experiences with others so we can continue this tournament that joins together recreational anglers and conservation practices.”

The winners were first announced at the tournament after-party at CBF’s Philip Merril Environmental Center in Annapolis on Oct. 16.

“CBF is proud to partner with CCA to continue to organize and host this tournament that’s about far more than just catching fish,” said Allison Colden, CBF’s Maryland Senior Fisheries Scientist. “We encourage anglers everywhere to learn more about how efforts to restore oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay will help increase the populations of many different species of fish. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who helped make the tournament possible.”

Three Cheers to the Patricia Campbell by A.J. Metcalf

March 15, 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation Leave a Comment

Rumbling across the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay, the Patricia Campbell was carrying about 7 million juvenile oysters. Its captain, Karl Willey, was eyeing the GPS as the planting site in the Tred Avon River approached. Soon, a capable crew of deckhands and volunteers would be guiding the spat-on-shell oysters down the conveyor belt, toward the spreader, and into the murky waters below. After about an hour, the oysters were in their new home, cleaning and filtering the water around them.

For a boat that has traversed nearly every tributary in Maryland, the planting was just another day at the office in the vessel’s lengthy career. But this year is special for the Patricia Campbell; the boat is marking a milestone—its 20th year of service.

A marvel of a vessel when it was built in 2002 to accelerate CBF’s restoration efforts, today the 60-by-19-foot Patricia Campbell is as seasoned as the deadrise crab boats it often passes on its way to oyster sanctuaries. But even today it remains innovative and unique.

Karl Willey, the first and current captain of the vessel, said he knows of one other boat on the Chesapeake—Future Harvest—that has similar features. Built by a Virginia oyster company it is smaller and used for aquaculture.

“One of my favorite things about my job on the Patricia Campbell is seeing the spat-on-shell hit the water because I know they’re going to create oyster reefs and filter the water for years to come,” said Willey.

That process begins at CBF’s oyster restoration centers in Maryland or Virginia, where oyster larvae are added to oyster shells held in cages that are submerged in large holding tanks. Once the larvae stick to the shells, they become spat-on-shell. Then the cages are hoisted up by the Patricia Campbell‘s two-ton crane into a hopper on the boat.

The Patricia Campbell plants oysters at the Campbell Memorial Reef outside of Baltimore Harbor on July 31, 2019.

One of the Patricia Campbell‘s unique features is its conveyor belt, which can rapidly transport oysters from the hopper to the spreader. The spreader then fans the oysters out over a reef using GPS coordinates to ensure oysters are added where needed. The boat also has an open floor plan, enabling the crew to catch any snags and oversee the planting process.

“When we dedicated it, the Patricia Campbell was the first boat built specifically for oyster restoration,” said Paul Willey, who served as the project manager when it was built and is also Karl’s brother. “Thousands of boats have been built for oyster harvesting, but that was the first one for oyster restoration.”

Former CBF Fisheries Director Bill Goldsborough thought up the design, and it was built by Midship Marine in Harvey, Louisiana. Longtime CBF Trustee Keith Campbell donated funds to build the Patricia Campbell, and it was named in honor of his wife.

In 2019, Campbell said the boat was inspired during a breakfast he had with Goldsborough and then-CBF President Will Baker. When Campbell mentioned his desire to get more oysters in the Bay, Baker asked Campbell for his support to build an oyster restoration vessel. Construction began soon after.

CBF Trustee Keith Campbell with the Patricia Campbell working behind him at the Campbell Memorial Reef in Baltimore.

Since that fateful breakfast, the “PC,” as it’s known at CBF, has added more than 336 million oysters to the Chesapeake Bay, traveled more than 22,000 miles, and completed about 300 trips. It has also served as a centerpiece for a community of more than a hundred interns and volunteers who have worked as crew members, some of whom have gone on to do restoration and conservation work elsewhere.

Throughout its operation, the Patricia Campbell has distributed most of those oysters onto Bay bottom inside oyster sanctuaries. Before significant oyster sanctuaries were established in Maryland in 2010, the vessel was used to add oysters to aquaculture leases held by CBF around Annapolis and in the Magothy River. Since then, CBF partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to plant millions of spat-on-shell on restoration reefs in Maryland’s Little Choptank River, Harris Creek, and Tred Avon River.

The Patricia Campbell is also one of few vessels that can place oyster reef balls in the water for restoration. These three-dimensional concrete forms weigh about 300 pounds, and four at a time can be carefully lowered by the Patricia Campbell‘s crane. The PC has been used in reef ball projects to build fish habitat off Bill Burton Fishing Pier in Trappe, MD; add structure to an oyster sanctuary off the coast of Chesapeake Beach, MD; and as part of a research project to see if reef balls could help stabilize an eroding shoreline in Shady Side, Maryland.

Taken together, these planting efforts aim to stop the long-term decline of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. Oysters throughout the Bay have declined to a fraction of their pre-industrial levels due to a combination of overharvesting, disease, and pollution. Yet, they’re vitally important to the health of the ecosystem. Adult oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, and their reefs provide habitat to fish, crabs, and hundreds of bottom-dwelling organisms. The bivalves are a source of food for birds, cownose rays, and other animals, as well as an important part of the regional fishing industry.

So what’s next for the Patricia Campbell? Karl Willey thinks the boat’s future is bright. In 2019, the boat received new engines and updated hydraulic systems.

The Patricia Campbell uses its crane to plant oyster reef balls off the coast of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, in July 2021.

“That boat will continue to be a cornerstone of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,” Willey said. “She’s got 1 billion oyster plantings in her. She’s ready to keep saving the oysters in the Bay from Baltimore to Chesapeake Beach.”

As for what type of boat innovation may be next for CBF, Paul Willey, who is now CBF’s director of education operations, is working on designs for an all-electric deadrise education vessel that could serve as a symbol for clean and green boating around the watershed.

Story and photos by A.J. Metcalf

CBF: New Report Raises Questions about MD Department of Environment’s Draft Wastewater Permit

October 27, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

An engineering report being released today found several issues with Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) issuance of a draft wastewater permit that would enable the proposed Lakeside at Trappe development to spray wastewater onto fields near Miles Creek and the Choptank River.

The report was written by the engineering and environmental consulting firm Antea Group. It was commissioned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and ShoreRivers to review MDE’s preliminary approval of a wastewater permit for the development, which would add about 2,500 houses and apartments as well as a shopping center to the small Eastern Shore town of Trappe. The spray irrigation plan would allow the developer to spray an average of about 540,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater onto nearly 90 acres of fields near the project.

Antea determined that disposing of the new development’s treated wastewater by spraying it onto fields could create flooding and pollution problems that MDE overlooked by using outdated formulas and faulty assumptions. The firm’s experts did not agree with MDE’s finding that no pollution would leave the spray field.

In Maryland, spray irrigation of treated wastewater can only be permitted if MDE finds no nutrient pollution—such as nitrogen and phosphorus—can wash off the field or percolate into groundwater. To contain these harmful nutrients, which remain in treated wastewater at known levels, state law requires that they must be fully used by the vegetation with no losses to groundwater. Once in waterways, phosphorus and nitrogen fuel algal blooms that cause dead zones devoid of aquatic life. In this case, the pollutants could further exacerbate water quality problems in Miles Creek and the Choptank River. The Choptank is already impaired by too much pollution.

“Based on this report, it appears that Maryland Department of the Environment examined this permit with the goal of approving it, rather than evaluating it on its merits,” said Doug Myers, CBF’s Maryland Senior Scientist. “We do not agree with MDE’s finding that spraying hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater onto fields each day won’t cause more water pollution in the area. If anything, we urge MDE to evaluate this permit again with better information and more appropriate methodologies to determine how disposing wastewater in this way will affect water quality.”

Among the findings in the report:

MDE evaluated how the wastewater will move through “clean sand, and sand and gravel” soil, however the soil type on the spray fields is “silty sand” which has different groundwater conductivity rates. Had MDE used the hydraulic conductivity rate for silty sand, the flooding potential estimated at the site would be much greater.
Inaccurate groundwater conductivity analyses underestimate the potential for phosphorus and nitrogen pollution to pool on the surface and wash into nearby waterways.
MDE did not provide a basis for requiring the development to store wastewater for 75 days. The requirement was put in place so the development would have somewhere to store wastewater when applications onto fields are prohibited, such as on rainy, windy, or freezing days when plants and soil wouldn’t be able to absorb water and pollutants as well. However, MDE did not use a climatological analysis to estimate how many days per year these conditions would require storage.
MDE used a standard rate to determine vegetative uptake of pollutants by orchardgrass—the proposed vegetation expected to be used on the spray fields. This standard rate didn’t account for the fact that the plants are dormant during the winter. It also did not account for the substantial changes in uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus by orchardgrass and other vegetation during the growing season and other times of year.
MDE used an outdated and rudimentary calculation method known as the Blaney-Criddle Method to determine how much water would evaporate from the spray fields. This method has been criticized by scientists for being especially inaccurate under “extreme” climatic conditions. The Antea consultants recommended instead that MDE use the Penman-Monteith method that incorporates standard climatic data into the formula to determine how much water will evaporate from the fields. If less water evaporates from the fields than expected it could result in flooding or pollutants reaching nearby waterways.

These findings and others in the report raise significant questions about whether MDE can accurately say, as they have previously, that using spray irrigation to dispose of treated wastewater at this proposed development will not add pollutants to local waterways.

“To say that no pollution will result from this proposed sewage treatment system is like saying that in Maryland water doesn’t flow downhill and plants grow year-round. However, we’re smarter than that,” explains Matt Pluta, Choptank Riverkeeper for ShoreRivers, “And we know that you can only apply so much treated sewage to a field before runoff or pollution of groundwater starts to occur. And we know that plants have a growing season where at certain times of the year they aren’t using nutrients to grow. Thanks to the Antea Group we have a better sense of where this permit missed the mark on meeting the legal standards for protecting our rivers”

CBF and ShoreRivers remain concerned that MDE is using an agricultural method of wastewater disposal for a major suburban development project. In Maryland, most large developments connect to municipal wastewater plants that treat the wastewater and then release it directly back into a waterway only if the discharge does not exceed pollution limits. If an exceedance is anticipated, state agencies require that best practices such as tree plantings, stormwater controls, or enhanced farm management be used to offset any impacts to meet Chesapeake Bay restoration requirements.

Because MDE has found in reviewing this permit that no new pollutants will reach local waterways near the development due to the use of spray irrigation, best practices will not have to be put in place to reduce pollution that could be caused by these new homes and businesses.

Prizes Announced for Rod and Reef Slam Fishing Tournament that Starts Oct. 9

October 7, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Anglers who catch the most different species of fish in the unique Rod and Reef Slam Fishing Tournament can win a grand prize worth up to $1,400 in Under Armour fishing apparel and All Tackle gift certificates while division winners receive other exciting prizes.

The tournament takes place from Oct. 9 to 17 and registration remains open. The entry cost is $25. Today, tournament organizers Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation are announcing the following prize packages for the tournament:

Overall Grand Prize

$300 All Tackle gift certificate; Under Armour Apparel Kit that includes footwear, bottoms, shirt, and fleece or outerwear with a retail value of about $1,400; and a Coastal Conservation Association MD soft-body Engel backpack cooler.

Powerboat Division

First Place– $200 All Tackle gift certificate and Under Armour shirt and fleece or outerwear with a retail value up to $150.
Second Place – $125 All Tackle gift certificate and an Under Armour top.
Third Place– $75 All Tackle gift certificate and an Under Armour hat.

Kayak Division

First Place– $200 All Tackle gift certificate and Under Armour shirt and fleece or outerwear with a retail value up to $150.
Second Place – $125 All Tackle gift certificate and an Under Armour top.
Third Place– $75 All Tackle gift certificate and an Under Armour hat.

Youth Division

First Place– $100 All Tackle gift certificate, Chesapeake Bay Foundation or Coastal Conservation Association hat, and an Under Armour shirt and fleece or outerwear with a retail value up to $150.
Second Place– $75 All Tackle gift certificate, Chesapeake Bay Foundation or Coastal Conservation Association shirt, and an Under Armour shirt.
Third Place– $50 All Tackle gift certificate, Under Armour hat, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Coastal Conservation Association stickers.

Invasive Species Division

50-quart Engel hard side cooler with an estimated value of $300 and an Under Armour shirt and fleece or outerwear with an estimated value of $150.

All winners will also receive a 40 percent off Under Armour apparel coupon.

The contest is designed to highlight the diversity of fish that surround oyster reefs. To do that, anglers will fish in areas where oyster reefs have been restored in Maryland. Anglers will use the iAngler Tournament app to document their catches and fishing locations.

During the past two centuries, Maryland has lost nearly all its oyster reef habitat due to overfishing, pollution, and disease. The loss of reef habitat has corresponded with less fish that frequent oyster reefs, such as sheepshead, black sea bass, and tautog. However, ongoing oyster reef restoration throughout the Bay is showing signs of success and the potential to lure more of these types of fish back into Maryland waters. Oysters are also valuable in the Bay for their natural filtering abilities. An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.

All anglers who register will also be entered into the new invasive species division this year. The person who catches the longest 3-fish stringer of blue catfish, flathead catfish or Northern snakehead will be declared the winner of that division.

Anglers can pick fishing locations ranging from the large-scale restoration tributaries on the Eastern Shore such as Harris Creek, the Little Choptank River, and the Tred Avon River to smaller Western shore restoration sites, including those in the South, Severn and Magothy rivers around Annapolis. There are more than 100 reefs to fish in the tournament that can be found using the tournament’s interactive map.

Winners in previous Rod and Reef Slam tournaments have caught more than a dozen different species including white perch, spot, toadfish, drum, blue crabs, rockfish, and bluefish.

A live online awards ceremony will take place to announce the winners.

Anglers interested in participating can register on the CBF website. More information about the tournament is on the iAngler Tournament page.

August Dead Zone is Bad News for the Bay

September 19, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation raised concerns about Bay restoration efforts following the August dead zone report. The report, from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Old Dominion University, found that dissolved oxygen conditions in Maryland and Virginia were worse than average this August following two better-than average months. The report attributed the increased size of the dead zone to significantly warmer than average temperatures, lower-than-average wind speeds, and greater-than-average precipitation.

The Bay’s living resources, including fish, crabs, and oysters, require healthy levels of oxygen to survive. For example, Atlantic sturgeon, a federally endangered species, require 5 mg/l of dissolved oxygen throughout their range. An expanding dead zone may curtail recovery efforts for this ancient fish.

“Warmer waters and greater precipitation, both hallmarks of climate change, are a growing threat to the Bay and its living resources,” said CBF’s Maryland Senior Scientist Doug Myers. “Combined with declines in both the number of crabs and acreage of Bay grasses, it is clear that we must significantly ramp up efforts to reduce pollution and combat climate change.”

Time is running out for the watershed states to adopt the Bay restoration practices and policies they committed to in the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. While Maryland and Virginia have plans to achieve the 2025 goal, additional funding and implementation are critical. Pennsylvania’s plan, however, is sorely deficient and the Commonwealth needs to increase spending by more than $300 million dollars annually to implement a plan that falls short of achieving Pennsylvania’s clean water commitments.

These plans require farmers, primarily in Pennsylvania, to achieve 80 percent of the remaining pollution reduction necessary by the 2025 deadline. That means that farmers will have to significantly increase the use of conservation practices.

Conservation practices, such as planting forested buffers and rotating where livestock graze, are among the most cost-effective ways to reduce pollution from agriculture. The same practices also help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon as well as boost local economies by creating jobs and generating business in the community.

Achieving the Blueprint goals will require more than just conservation funding. All the federal partners must step up to the plate. To date, EPA has failed to meet its Clean Water Act responsibilities by refusing to hold Pennsylvania, and to a lesser extent New York, accountable for failure to develop plans that meet the Blueprint requirements.

More than a year ago, CBF and its partners Anne Arundel County, The Maryland Waterman’s Association, Robert Whitescarver and Jeanne Hoffman, and the State Attorneys General for Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia filed suit in federal court. To date that litigation continues, and EPA has not taken action.

“The good news is that CBF is working with a broad range of partners to increase conservation funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, partners are working to put in place a program in Pennsylvania that would, for the first time, provide significant state funding for conservation practices,” said Alison Prost, CBF Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration. “The bad news is that without EPA leadership to hold the states accountable, and additional conservation funding, the Blueprint will be just another failed effort to save the Bay.”

Rod and Reef Slam Fishing Tournament Returns This October In Maryland

September 9, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Anglers cast lines in the Chesapeake Bay in northern Maryland.

The Rod and Reef Slam Fishing Tournament returns for its fourth year in Maryland waters this fall from Oct. 9 to Oct. 17.

In this unique fishing tournament, anglers who catch the most different species of finfish can win gift cards and prizes worth up to $300. The family-friendly tournament includes powerboat, kayak, and youth divisions. The entry cost is $25 and all entrants receive a shirt if registered before Oct. 1.

The contest is designed to highlight the diversity of fish that surround oyster reefs. To do that, anglers will fish in areas where oyster reefs have been restored in Maryland. Anglers will use the iAngler app to document their catches and fishing locations.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Coastal Conservation Association Maryland are organizing the contest.

“We’re hoping to demonstrate the value of oyster reef restoration through this tournament,” said Allison Colden, CBF’s Maryland Senior Fisheries Scientist. “Oyster reefs provide habitat to a wide range of Chesapeake Bay marine life. The reefs are important to dozens of types of fish, which hunt for food and use the space between oyster clumps for protection. The reefs are ideal for recreational anglers to target different fish species.”

A contestant in the 2017 Rod and Reef Slam Tournament holds up a toadfish caught while fishing over an oyster reef. Credit: Will Parson/ Chesapeake Bay Program

“If we want more fish in the Chesapeake Bay, we need more oyster reefs,” said David Sikorski, Executive Director of Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, which works to protect the state’s marine resources. “For years now, CBF and CCA have worked together to advocate for and undertake reef restoration. During the past decade hundreds of acres of Bay bottom have been restored. Fishing in this tournament is a way for us to enjoy that progress and gather information about the types of fish gathering at rebuilt reefs.”

In previous years, the tournament took place only at oyster reefs on the Eastern Shore. This will be the first year it’s expanded to restoration reefs throughout all of Maryland.

Winners in previous Rod and Reef Slam tournaments have caught more than a dozen different species including white perch, spot, toadfish, drum, blue crabs, rockfish, and bluefish.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no formal gathering, but a live online awards ceremony will take place to announce the winners.

Anglers interested in participating can register on the CBF website. More information about the tournament is on the iAngler page.

CBF Outdoor Education Program Restarts this Fall After Pandemic Shutdown

September 3, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Photo credit: CBF

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) educators are excited to welcome teachers and students back to outdoor education programs this fall. The outdoor class program was suspended in March 2020 when the pandemic began.

Since the early 1970s, CBF’s award-winning outdoor education program has guided over one million students from Chesapeake Bay watershed schools to forests, rivers, and on the Bay to teach them about the nation’s largest estuary.

“Our education program’s mantra has always been to ‘learn outside,’ so we’re thrilled to get back on the Bay as well as the watershed’s rivers and trails to teach, learn, and explore with students in person,” said Tom Ackerman, CBF’s Vice President of Education. “We are eager to make up for the opportunities students have missed with us during the last 18 months. However, our priority has always been the health of our participants.”

CBF is taking several steps to protect the health of students and educators as outdoor education programs resume this fall for the first time since the pandemic began.

Photo credit: CBF

This year’s outdoor programs will be different than in previous years due to pandemic precautions. All day trip activities will take place outdoors, where studies have shown the risk of transmitting Covid-19 is much lower compared to indoor activities. Students will be required to undergo a health check 24 hours before attending a day program and wear masks when social distancing isn’t possible, such as on boats. To protect their own health and the health of others, All CBF educators have been vaccinated.

For residential programs, when students stay overnight at CBF facilities such as Smith Islandor the Karen Noonan Center on the Eastern Shore, students and other participants must be vaccinated. At the residential centers, participants will also be required to wear masks when indoors, with exceptions made for eating and sleeping.

In Maryland, CBF provides day trip education programs at the Phillip Merrill Environmental Center and Arthur Sherwood facility in Annapolis as well as out of the Baltimore Harbor. Schools in the Washington, D.C., area have the option of joining the Potomac River program in the nation’s capital.

On these experiences, students perform water quality tests, trawl for fish, examine plankton, and learn about the history and ecology of the Bay, its tributaries, and watershed. Participation in a CBF meaningful watershed educational experience is an important part of schools’ environmental literacy programs.

Studies of outdoor education classes have found students are more engaged and develop important skills such as perseverance, self-efficacy, and leadership through their participation. Students report after learning outside they feel more confident and connected to nature.

Teachers interested in signing their class up for a fall program can visit CBF’s education website to do so. This year’s fall field experiences will take place from late September through early December. Teachers can choose from canoe, boat, or land-based experiences.

Report: Freshwater Mussels Unsung Heroes At Risk In Chesapeake Bay Watershed

July 30, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Freshwater mussels play an amazing yet little-known role in healthy rivers and streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. As their numbers dramatically decline we must now focus on restoring mussel populations, according to a report issued this week. The report comes from a workgroup of experts under the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program. It lays the groundwork for expanding mussel restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with a growing coalition of advocates and scientists across the region.

About 25 species of mussels live in the freshwater rivers and streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. They are found across the watershed, from tidal rivers to mountain streams in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania. A single mussel can filter up to 15 gallons of water per day, which can prevent pollutants such as nitrogen from flowing downstream, leading to clearer and cleaner water. Mussel beds create habitat for small aquatic creatures, which in turn become food for fish.

“Freshwater mussels really are unsung heroes in Chesapeake rivers and streams. But as their populations plummet, I’m afraid we could lose some mussel species before we fully understand their benefits,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Senior Scientist Joseph Wood, Ph. D., who is the lead author of the report.

More than half of all freshwater mussel species are now facing extinction. Mussels are threatened by pollution, dams, climate change, disease, and loss of habitat. The report estimated that mussel populations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have likely fallen by 90 percent since European colonists arrived in the 1600s. This decline has meant a dramatic loss of both mussel biodiversity and benefits in reducing pollution. Recent research shows that some mussel species are experiencing pressures from viruses we are just learning about.

“There’s a growing enthusiasm for protecting and restoring freshwater mussel populations in the Bay watershed,” said Wood. “But to bring back mussels we need commitment, leadership, and investment.”

Restoration of a better-known Chesapeake shellfish could serve as a model for freshwater mussels. After Bay oyster populations collapsed in the late 20th century, efforts to build reefs and plant them with oysters are showing substantial promise in some Bay tributaries.

“Just like oysters in the 1980s, freshwater mussels are on the brink of catastrophe,” said Wood. “Oyster restoration experience can inspire work with mussels as well. We must ensure clean water and good habitat in key waterways, as well as stock shellfish to boost the population.”

As with oysters, successful mussel conservation and restoration depends on the growing coalition of partners in the Chesapeake watershed working on the issue, including the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service.

“Many organizations are building momentum towards propagating and restoring mussels in our region, but freshwater mussels remain in dire circumstances. The future of clean, diverse waterways depends on this work,” said Rachel Mair of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who leads mussel restoration efforts at Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery in Virginia and is a co-author of the report. “Research and investment in mussels create huge benefits for rivers and streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

The fascinating life cycle of mussels begins when their larvae attach to the gills of fish for a few days or weeks. To accomplish this, some mussel species trick fish into attacking lures sprouting from between their shells. These lures, which look remarkably like bait fish, are packed with mussel larvae that fill the water when disturbed. The larger fish spread the mussel larvae to new areas.

Restoring mussel populations is challenging given the many different species and their complex life cycles. Many mussels rely on just a single species of fish to reproduce, and mussel hatcheries must raise fish to serve as hosts for breeding mussels. Fortunately, recent advances in propagation techniques are showing success at facilities such as Harrison Lake. But insufficient funding of monitoring, research, and restoration has held back efforts.

Maryland recently began several pilot restoration projects to monitor and augment mussel populations in the Bay watershed.

“We are excited to work with the private sector and non-profits along with state and federal partners on projects to improve our local populations of freshwater mussels because there is typically a limited amount of grant money available to support this type of work,” said Matt Ashton of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “Collaborating with these organizations allows us to promote the dual objective of conservation and water quality benefits that mussel restoration can provide.”

The Anacostia Watershed Society also has an active mussel restoration program that received a grant from Washington, D.C. However, these types of efforts need greater support.

In order to protect the health of rivers and streams, Bay states need to provide dedicated funding to survey, protect and restore mussel populations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A mussel restoration plan for the Chesapeake Bay watershed is an important next step.

CBF Adds 14 Million Oysters to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland in 2020

February 13, 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

CBF Oyster planting vessel Patricia Campbell on its way to seed oysters in the Tred Avon River.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) continued its long-term push to restore oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay by adding more than 14 million oysters in Maryland waters during 2020’s pandemic-affected season.

More than 10 million of the oysters were added to the Tred Avon River on the Eastern Shore, where CBF is working under a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to restore oyster reefs at the tributary scale along with other state and federal partners. This effort contributes to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement goal of restoring oyster reefs in 10 tributaries by 2025.

Despite the pandemic limiting CBF staff’s ability to connect with volunteers, CBF’s cadre of oyster gardeners contributed 500,000 adult oysters to the 2020 tally. These oysters were added to Maryland’s portion of the Bay from as far south as the Virginia border to the Baltimore area in the north. The work helps engage citizens with limited access to the Bay and exposes them to this iconic reef-building species they may only be familiar with from eating.

Volunteers also helped CBF collect more than 1,200 bushels of oyster shells, which will be recycled, re-set with oyster larvae and put back into the Bay to grow. In the Bay, oysters naturally produce larvae that attaches to existing oyster shells and grows into larger oysters, which helps build reefs.

CBF Oyster Restoration Manager Karl Willey in front of oysters that were later added to the Tred Avon River – Summer 2020

The oyster restoration figures were down from CBF’s annual average of adding about 25 million oysters to the Bay. This was mostly due to limitations on restoration activities to ensure safety during the pandemic. CBF limited the number of staff working closely on boats as well as how many volunteers could gather for oyster gardening events.

“As soon as we became aware of the pandemic in early March of last year, we took immediate action to change our oyster restoration operations to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers,” said Doug Myers, CBF’s Senior Maryland Scientist. “What we didn’t do is halt the program. Instead, we worked within safety guidelines and continued planting millions of water-filtering oysters in the Bay. We’re so thankful to our dozens of volunteers who were able to assist our efforts during these trying times by helping to pick up and clean recycled shells.”

Chesapeake Oyster Alliance and Large-Scale Restoration Efforts

CBF’s effort coincided with work by other groups that are also adding more oysters to the Bay. The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, a coalition of oyster-related businesses, academic institutions and environmental organizations, has now added more than 2 billion oysters to the Bay as it continues its march toward its goal to add 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025.

CBF Oyster Restoration Specialist Patrick Beall stands next to one of four trucks used to transport oysters raised by volunteers for planting in Herring Bay in fall 2020. Credit – AJ Metcalf

In 2020, the Alliance and CBF joined forces to help oyster aquaculture operators sell farm-raised oysters directly to consumers. Oyster aquaculture businesses were hit particularly hard by reduced restaurant demand for oysters during the pandemic.

“We were able to help four oyster farmers sell more than 18,000 oysters during oyster pop-up sales hosted throughout Maryland during the summer and fall,” said Tanner Council, Chesapeake Oyster Alliance Manager. “Oyster farming has been one of the great seafood economic success stories during the past decade, with the industry growing by about 24 percent per year in Maryland from 2012 to 2018. We wanted to help any way we could to ensure businesses survive the reduced demand for oysters caused by restaurant closures during the pandemic.”

This past year, CBF also celebrated the completion of oyster restoration work in the Little Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where 358 acres of Bay bottom have now been seeded with 2 billion spat-on-shell oysters. CBF added about 66 million oysters to the Little Choptank during the restoration work, which began in 2015.

The large-scale restoration work is targeted to meet the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement’s goal of restoring oyster populations in at least 10 Bay tributaries by 2025. So far, those efforts have been completed in Maryland’s Harris Creek and Virginia’s Lafayette River and the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, as well as the Little Choptank.

Oyster Innovation

CBF has been innovating to respond to oysters’ ongoing challenges. In 2020, staff continued monitoring a 700-foot oyster reef ball living shoreline installed in the South River in 2019 in partnership with the Arundel Rivers Federation. The concrete reef balls placed near an eroding shoreline were seeded with spat, or juvenile oysters. Some of those oysters have since grown much larger. CBF is reviewing the project to see if reef balls seeded with oysters could be used in living shorelines elsewhere along the Bay to provide habitat, filter water, and reduce shoreline erosion. By growing vertically, this nearshore reef could continue to provide shore protection better than bulkheads and other shoreline armoring because the growth can keep pace with sea level rise.

CBF has also been working with engineering firm Northrop Grumman to develop ways to more easily monitor oyster reefs below the often murky water of the Bay. In 2021, CBF and Northrop Grumman plan to deploy new SONAR and acoustic listening devices to help better understand how oysters are faring in the Bay and identify new target reefs for restoration.

Oysters are a keystone species in the Chesapeake Bay. An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, their reefs provide habitat for fish, crabs, and other marine life, and oysters are an important part of the region’s seafood economy. For these reasons, CBF has prioritized the protection and restoration of the Bay’s oyster reefs.

More information about CBF’s oyster-related work can be found in the 2020 Maryland Oyster Annual Report.

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