ShoreRivers is pleased to announce that not only will its Swimmable ShoreRivers bacteria testing program begin Thursday, May 25, but that weekly results from this annual program will be available this year in both English and Spanish.

Every summer, ShoreRivers deploys a team of community scientists to monitor bacteria levels at popular swimming and boating sites to provide important human health risk information to the public. Their samples are then processed, according to standard scientific protocols, in ShoreRivers in-house labs. The program follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard protocols for collecting and analyzing samples and makes public the results of that testing to let people know about current bacteria levels as they make their plans for recreating in our waterways. Results are posted every Friday, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, at shorerivers.org/swim and on both the organization’s and its individual Riverkeepers’ social media pages.

Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards shows off one of ShoreRivers’ new informational signs at Morgnec Landing on Morgan Creek.

A second page, shorerivers.org/swimmable-shorerivers-espanol, has been set up to share this program with the Spanish-speaking community, and 14 signs can be found at public sites around the Eastern Shore that explain the goals of the Swimmable ShoreRivers program and show users where to find weekly results in both English and Spanish. These signs were made possible thanks to funding from the Cornell Douglas Foundation, and ShoreRivers’ Riverkeepers will continue working throughout the season with local county officials to install more. Want to see one at your favorite local landing? Reach out to your Riverkeeper about adding a site, and talk to your county officials about installing one of these free and informative signs.

Weekly results are also shared on theswimguide.org, where descriptions of testing sites have also been added in both languages.

“At ShoreRivers, we believe that access to clean water is an essential right for all of our communities,” said Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards. “It was important to us to be able to offer informational access to more of our community, and we hope to continue expanding this access in the future.”

This public service provided by ShoreRivers truly is a community effort: this summer, 61 SwimTesters will monitor 46sites on the Choptank, Miles, Wye, Chester, and Sassafras rivers; Eastern Bay; and the Bayside Creeks. Special thanks go to our generous site sponsors, who include towns, marinas, homeowner’s associations, and families.

Bacteria levels in our rivers and tributaries vary based on location, land use, and weather—making systematic, scientific analysis of local water quality vital. Major rain events are almost always connected to spikes in bacteria levels, and outgoing tides have a higher probability of carrying bacteria pollution. Potential chronic sources of bacteria include failing septic systems, overflows or leaks from wastewater treatment plants, waste from animal farms, or manure fertilizer.

Choptank Riverkeeper Matt Pluta holds water quality samples.

Also returning for the 2023 season is ShoreRivers’ Pumpout Boat, which begins running during Memorial Day weekend. The Pumpout Boat is a free service offered on the Miles and Wye rivers, that docks at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels and operates from May to mid-October. With your help, this boat will help prevent more than 20,000 gallons of concentrated marine waste from entering our waters annually. To schedule a pump-out, contact Captain Jim Freeman at 410-829-4352, on VHF Channel 9, email POBCaptJim@gmail.com, or by using the form at shorerivers.org/programs/pumpout-boat.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

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More than 150 guests joined ShoreRivers at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels on Wednesday, April 26, for the kickoff event in its annual State of the Rivers series—free presentations held each spring to inform the public about the current state of our Eastern Shore waterways and what we can all do to protect and restore them.

At the St. Michaels event, ShoreRivers’ Riverkeepers shared the results of their 2022 water quality testing; updates on recent agricultural, urban, and oyster restoration efforts; goals and metrics for underwater grasses, bacteria pollution, and sediment levels; and much more, with an emphasis on the Choptank, Miles, and Wye rivers, and on Eastern Bay. Upcoming events will focus on the Chester and Sassafras rivers, and the Bayside Creeks. Director of Riverkeeper Programs Matt Pluta also recognized standout volunteers Maura Bollinger and Ron Rothman with the Andy Coombs Memorial Volunteer Award for their dedication to the organization and their generous service in support of healthy waterways on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Coombs was an incredible supporter and one of the first volunteers for the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, one of the three legacy organizations that merged in 2017 to create ShoreRivers. He was instrumental in its oyster restoration efforts. Additional volunteers will be recognized throughout the series.

Matt Pluta, Choptank Riverkeeper and Director of Riverkeeper Programs at ShoreRivers (center), presents the Andy Coombs Memorial Volunteer Award to Maura Bollinger and Ron Rothman.

There’s still time to attend an upcoming State of the Rivers presentation, as the series continues Wednesday, May 3, at Cult Classic Brewing in Stevensville, with Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards and new Miles-Wye Riverkeeper Ben Ford; Thursday, May 4, at the Kent County Community Center in Worton, with Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards and Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher; Tuesday, May 9, at the Galena Fire Hall, with Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher; and concludes on Wednesday, May 10, at 447 Venue in Cambridge, with Choptank Riverkeeper Matt Pluta.

ShoreRivers is grateful for this year’s State of the Rivers sponsors: Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Choptank Oyster Co., Peter & Georgeanne Pinkard, Cult Classic Brewing, Orchard Point Oysters, Ten Eyck Brewing Company, the Kent County Community Center, the Galena Volunteer Fire Department, Jeff & Beth Horstman, Happy Chicken Bakery, and Ferry Bridge House.

To learn more, visit shorerivers.org/events.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

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More than 50 students attended the second annual Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit, held Saturday, March 18, at Washington College in Chestertown. Attendees included students from Talbot, Caroline, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties, and from as far away as Annapolis and Pennsylvania.

The Summit is co-hosted by ShoreRivers as part of its work to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education, and Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society. It is a free event created to inspire and empower middle and high school students in taking local environmental action.

The Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit is supported by The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, IKEA, La Motte, and The Gunston School’s Chesapeake Watershed Semester.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

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More than 50 students from across the Eastern Shore attended the second annual Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit on March 18.

High school student leaders were vital to ensuring that the Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit was presented by students, for students. From left are Van Tran, Easton High School; Addie Nicholson, Kent Island High School; Carissa Shue, ​Kent Island High School; Finnegan Merrick, ​Easton High School; Linda Gayle, Annapolis High School; and David Daniels, Jr., ​Kent County High School.

Registration is open for middle and high school students to attend the Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from 9am–3:30pm. Hosted at Washington College in Chestertown, the Summit is a free event created to inspire and empower youth in taking local environmental action.

The day’s agenda includes a networking breakfast where students can mingle with their peers and local agencies offering volunteer and internship opportunities. Students will then follow their own self-created schedule to attend workshops led by fellow students and professionals in green careers. Sessions will dive into environmental photography, fisheries, sustainable food systems, how to engage in advocacy, engineering, and more. After lunch, students will get outside and into the community on curated excursions to experience the ways that they can make a positive impact in nature. Excursions include bird banding, a how-to workshop on hosting an invasive fishing tournament, and tours of wetlands and restoration sites among others.

Attendees celebrate youth empowerment and environmental action at the 2022 Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2023.

The Summit is hosted by ShoreRivers as part of its work to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education, and Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society. Seven incredible high school student leaders from across the Eastern Shore have been vital to ensuring that the Summit is by students, for students, with art, food, action, fun, and the environment in mind.

The Summit is free and open to the public, but youth must register to attend the event with a mentor. Mentors are adults who are responsible for up to 10 students at the Summit and can be parents, teachers, or community leaders. Groups larger than 10require a co-mentor. Mentors will receive a packet with information and a permission packet that their students’ guardians must complete. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis and closes at 4pm on March 3.  To register for the Summit, or to learn more, visit uppershoresummit.weebly.com.

The Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit is supported by The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, IKEA, and La Motte.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

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On January 24, I had the opportunity to attend the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners meeting and provide comments on a petition to change current zoning ordinances to allow for the construction of a 156,000-square foot, four-story high storage facility within the Critical Area on Kent Island. My testimony was among 64 comments provided by community members and environmental organizations opposing this project, and we anxiously await the County Commissioners’ verdict at their upcoming meeting on February 14. Granting this variance request will compromise the County’s vision to “Remain a rural, agricultural, and maritime County that restores, enhances, protects, conserves, and stewards its valuable land, air, and water resources” as stated in its Comprehensive Plan.

This is, without question, the wrong location for a project of this scale and impact. The parcel in question is on the banks of the Chester River—in the sensitive Critical Area—and currently zoned for limited development. The developer purchased this land with full knowledge of the building limitations on this parcel, and now is requesting a variance in order to get around the current restrictions. Purchasing land with the intention of applying for a variance is an unfortunate trend in our Eastern Shore counties that puts unnecessary and irreparable strain on our natural resources—in this case, forest land, wetlands, and our Chester River.

Legal representation for the developers asserted at the hearing that this zoning change is allowed under Critical Area law, which is true. The developer has effectively worked within the system to pursue this business venture. However, the County Commissioners are also under no obligation to grant this variance. I wonder what the Critical Area of Kent Island would look like if every acre of growth allocation was approved? How much wetland habitat and woodland buffer would remain to beautify our shores, attract birds and fish, and protect our shorelines from sea level rise and erosion? A storage facility— four stories high on the banks of the river— is not the best use of our land or our Critical Area.

By the end of 2022 it became clear that nutrient reductions required under the Chesapeake Bay’sTotal Maximum Daily Load requirements would not be met by 2025—a huge disappointment for clean water advocates after a 30-year effort. To reverse this trend in Eastern Shore watersheds, it is not enough for counties to rely on the state’s minimum requirements; they must lean on their own comprehensive plans for guidance.

Last May, Queen Anne’s County adopted PlanQAC2022, an update to its Comprehensive Plan that, in its own words, “strengthens the County’s long-standing guiding principles, growth management, and supports creating sustainable communities consistent with the County’s vision.” Part of that support for sustainable communities included setting goals for infrastructure that will “protect our waterways (and) conserve our natural resources.” Now, less than a year later, the commissioners are facing a test of those very goals.

Statewide, ShoreRivers recommends new development in Critical Areas, such as this, be restricted to construction for government and emergency services only—not for private business like a storage facility. In fact, we recently made this exact recommendation as part of a letter to newly elected Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

ShoreRivers supports planned, thoughtful growth that fits with our rural landscape, small communities, and abundant water resources in our Eastern Shore counties. In this case we ask that the developer be held accountable to the limits of the current zoning of this land, and urge the commissioners to deny this request at their upcoming vote on February 14. I urge you to make your voice heard too: comments can be submitted ahead of the meeting to qaccommissionersandadministrator@qac.org. We hope you’ll join us in standing up for responsible development and healthy waterways in Queen Anne’s County.

Annie Richards
Chester Riverkeeper, ShoreRivers

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Adam Brown and Maegan White, 2022 summer interns, work to process submerged aquatic vegetation using ShoreRivers’ turbulator.

ShoreRivers is currently accepting applications for its Easton-based Elizabeth Brown Memorial Summer Internship.

The selected intern will gain experience in a variety of activities including restoration, water quality monitoring, outreach, enforcement, and education. They will also be trained in scientific water quality monitoring equipment and protocols, complete a Maryland boater safety certification, become familiar with handling a boat, and gain many other skills and professional experiences. The internship runs for a minimum of 10 weeks between May and August, and provides a $5,000 stipend.

Programmatic work for this internship, supported by the Elizabeth Brown Memorial Fund at ShoreRivers, will be conducted primarily in the Choptank, Miles, and Wye river watersheds, with some travel throughout the entire ShoreRivers region.

“As an intern at ShoreRivers, I got to do a little bit of everything. I helped with tree plantings, spoke with and worked alongside community volunteers, assisted with bacteria and water quality monitoring, hosted education programs, and even testified at a county commissioners meeting. There are very few other internships out there that would allow so many different experiences in one summer,” said 2022 intern Maegan White. “Interning at ShoreRivers has given me clarity and excitement to start my environmental career after graduation. I feel prepared and confident in the field, have hands-on experience, and found a new love for the area and community I have lived in for the past four years. Thanks to the incredible experiences I had with this internship, I now view Chesapeake as my home.”

Applicants should be a rising college junior or senior, or recent college graduate. Degrees in biology, environmental science, or related fields are encouraged. To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to Ann Frock, Office Manager, at afrock@shorerivers.org by February 17. Interviews will be conducted by Zoom in February and March and an intern will be selected and notified no later than March 15.

Applicants are encouraged to visit shorerivers.org prior to applying to learn more about the organization’s programs.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Did you know there’s an enormous, ancient, endangered fish swimming throughout the Chesapeake Bay? If not, the third- and fourth-grade students at Choptank Elementary School have a lot to tell you!

Over the winter, students gathered with school staff and community partners to install a mural celebrating this fish—the Atlantic sturgeon—as the culmination of a yearlong project led by ShoreRivers as part of its Sturgeon Discovery Program.

Artist Shelton Hawkins and staff from ShoreRivers work with students at Choptank Elementary School to bring their designs to life in a mural highlighting the Atlantic sturgeon and other marine life.

Crystal Owens, the third-grade science and social studies teacher at Choptank Elementary, was the brains behind this project, combining the needs of the school beautification committee with a desire to amplify student voice.

“My hope is that our students and community are more aware of the amazing wildlife we have living right next to us,” Owens said. “Through our partnership with Shore Rivers, students are learning to educate their community and promote healthy living environments for animals and people alike.”

Nationally-renowned local artist Shelton Hawkins led the design and installation of the mural, compiling students’ own works of art into a large, flowing piece that now decorates the school hallways and gives everyone who walks by a lesson on what the Atlantic sturgeon looks like.

“I think it’s really cool that we took the students’ actual drawings and put them together inside our own little fish river … [I] loved the way it turned out,” Hawkins, who has primarily installed murals on basketball courts. “Seeing the kids’ [smiling] faces was the best part.”

The ShoreRivers Sturgeon Discovery program is a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience that is a part of every third-grade class in Dorchester and Talbot counties. The program was designed to support students in investigating local environmental issues like water quality, pollution and runoff, and endangered species, all through the lens of the Atlantic sturgeon. Healthy, fishable, swimmable waterways will not be possible without the next generation of clean water enthusiasts, so ShoreRivers strives to encourage in students an appreciation for our environment and a dedication to making a difference.

“Even third graders can do their part to foster healthy habitats and show support for our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Owens of the stewardship her students demonstrate.

This project was made possible with funding from the Dorchester Center for the Arts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Bay Watershed Education and Training program. Special thanks go to Principal Laretha Payton, Crystal Owens, Shelton Hawkins, Devon Beck, Sam Peterson, and the faculty of Choptank Elementary School for their dedication to student learning, voice, and stewardship.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

ShoreRivers is pleased to announce three new members of its Governing Board: Bruce Abel, Maura Bollinger, and Ron Rothman. As a grassroots nonprofit organization, the hard work and support of board members is imperative to the organization’s efforts for healthier rivers on the Eastern Shore. ShoreRivers extends deep gratitude for the wise counsel, encouragement, and vision of these exceptional community members.

Bruce Abel

Bruce Abel began his term on the ShoreRivers’ Board this summer, and is a dedicated advocate for the organization, having previously served on the Miles-Wye Advisory Board. He retired as the Sr. Vice President and COO of C.R. Daniels, Inc., and has worked with the American Lyme Disease Association and Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Both he and his wife are active ShoreRivers volunteers, with a particular interest in oyster restoration and the Wye River.

Maura Bollinger

Maura Bollinger is not new to ShoreRivers, having already served as an active volunteer and member of the organization’s Miles-Wye Watershed Advisory Board. Now retired, her professional career began as a telecommunications lawyer before a move overseas shifted her focus to policy work around media competition and free speech.  Around 10 years ago, she and her husband moved to the Eastern Shore and began volunteering for ShoreRivers in myriad ways, from participating in Marylanders Grow Oysters to surveying submerged aquatic vegetation and everything in between.

Ron Rothman

Ron Rothman, who serves on ShoreRivers’ Choptank Advisory Board, is also an active volunteer in his retirement from a career in nonprofits and development. He spent time working for organizations in fields ranging from healthcare, to research institutes, to the arts, and he’s currently active on a number of non-profit boards, both locally and in Pennsylvania. Ron and his wife have spent 40 years enjoying the rivers and creeks of the Eastern Shore.

These three voices will bring a wealth of expertise to ShoreRivers, strengthening the organization’s robust science-based advocacy, restoration, and education efforts. See the full list of Board of Directors and Watershed Advisory Board members at ShoreRivers.org/leadership.

ShoreRivers also celebrates Bob Ingersoll, whose board term ends this year after decades of service. A river enthusiast and dedicated volunteer, Bob is always happy to share his knowledge of the river as well as his skills as a handyman. From mending oyster cages, to hanging cabinets in offices, to driving the boat for water quality testing, he exemplifies a can-do attitude and positive energy.

In addition to the Governing Board, ShoreRivers appreciates open dialogue with dedicated community member volunteers through its four Watershed Advisory Boards. Volunteers for each Watershed Advisory Board support the organization’s mission as local, grassroots ambassadors. New advisory board members who care deeply about their river and their community and are ready to volunteer their time to work for cleaner waterways are always welcome. Please contact your local Riverkeeper if that sounds like you.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org