On Friday, Governor Larry Hogan reappointed Baltimore County Fifth District Councilman David Marks to the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission.

Created in 1984, the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays reviews development proposed near wetlands and the shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

Much of the commission’s work involves evaluating local government plans.

“I am honored to have been reappointed by Governor Hogan to the state commission that helps protected the Chesapeake Bay,” said Councilman Marks.

A recent study by Bill Dennison and Robert J. Orth noted that underwater grasses have increased by over 300 percent and have reappeared in some locations around the Bay where they had not been observed for decades, thank in large part to the Commission.