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Gerald Winegrad: Neglect fuels Chesapeake oyster collapse. It’s time to close the wild fishery
http://www.capitalgazette.com/opinion/columns/ac-ce-column–20200103-dogxbqhp25dmvdfa3n4k2id3zy-story.html Capital Gazette | Jan 03, 2020 | 9:42 AM Environmentalist Gerald Winegrad plants oyster seed at his dock on Oyster Creek in Annapolis with students. Chesapeake oysters have collapsed to less than 1 percent of their historic populations. Harvests have plummeted to 136,954 bushels in Maryland. In the late 1800s, 20 million bushels were…
Read MoreBAY STATES HAVE MISSED THEIR FEDERALLY REQUIRED NITROGEN REDUCTION BY 50%
SENATOR WINEGRAD QUESTIONS CLAIMS OF VICTORY FOR “RECORD” BAY GRASS COVERAGE SIGNALIZING BAY RECOVERY SUCCESS AMIDST NEWS OF A SHOCKING 42% DECLINE IN ADULT FEMALE CRABS AND MORE RECENT NEWS OF A RADICAL DECLINE OF 50% IN MARYLAND UPPER BAY OYSTER POPULATIONS. IN ADDITION, THE BAY STATES MISSED THEIR CRITICAL FEDERALLY REQUIRED NITROGEN REDUCTIONS BY…
Read MoreThe Only State River Commission in Maryland Just Blinked!
Now we have been given a legal opinion* from the Secretary of the State Planning agency that by statute is charged with staffing and assisting the Commission that says we cannot comment on a really ridiculously bad townhouse development project being planned next to the river…
Read MorePerdue: More oysters, not less fertilizer, are solution …
In a recent Baltimore Sun B’More Green blog, Mr. Jim Perdue was interviewed about his vision for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bal-gr-perdue-more-oysters-not-less-fertilizer-are-solution-for-bay-cleanup-20160927-story.html ——————————————————————————————————————————————– OPINION/EDITORIAL Mr. Perdue is attempting to deflect attention away from the Eastern Shore but as long as agricultural pollution remains the number 1 source of pollution to our waterways in…
Read MoreThe Hudson/Perdue Chicken Waste Case — What We’ve Already Learned
A decision is expected soon in the highly publicized federal lawsuit Waterkeepers Alliance, Inc., vs. Alan and Kristen Hudson Farm and Perdue Farms, Inc. The outcome is anyone’s guess, but already testimony from the trial has made clear that Maryland’s effort to oversee and enforce nutrient management plans needs more muscle.
Read MoreSenior Scientists And Policmakers For The Bay Join With Other Conservation Groups In Urging Better Regulation Of Tons Of Raw Animal Manure.
After eight months of negotiations and efforts to strengthen the regulations as we have advocated in our Bay Action Plan, new regulations were proposed and published in the Maryland Register on June 29. These regs are still much too weak and fall well short of the Senior Scientists and Policymakers for the Bay science-based positions. Representatives of our group had discussed our positions in detail with the Bay Cabinet at a meeting last September. We have continued to advocate these common sense positions and members of our group sent detailed letter to the Governor and published an Op-ed in the Baltimore Sun detailing the need for better management of animal manure and other nutrients.
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