Keep Maryland Beautiful

Gunpowder Valley Conservancy to receive 2024 Keep Maryland Beautiful grant

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Environmental Trust has approved 18 grants totaling $236,276 to be awarded for environmental education, community cleanup, and beautification projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program. Grants through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program are awarded to volunteer-based and nonprofit groups, communities, schools, and land trusts in Maryland. The grants are designed to support environmental education projects, litter removal, […]

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Dawn Moore Maryland Day of Unplugging

First Lady Dawn Moore hikes with local students on Global Day of Unplugging

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

BALTIMORE, MD—To celebrate Global Day of Unplugging, First Lady Dawn Moore visited Patapsco Valley State Park in Halethorpe over the weekend to highlight the benefits that nature has to offer children’s mental health. Global Day of Unplugging is a 24-hour digital detox that takes place from March 1 to 2. This year’s theme is “unplug and live.” The First Lady […]

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Maryland Oyster Shells DNR

Chesapeake Bay 2023 Fall Oyster Survey records remarkable numbers

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Oyster Survey recorded a remarkable year for juvenile oysters in Maryland waters, finding both prolific numbers and a widespread distribution throughout many regions of the Chesapeake Bay. The survey’s spatfall intensity index, a measure of reproductive success and potential population growth for oysters, was 86.8 spat, or juvenile oysters, per bushel, nearly […]

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Chesapeake Bay Invasive Catfish Sign

Maryland pursuing actions to control invasive catfish after federal fisheries disaster declined

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

BALTIMORE, MD—Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce notified Maryland Governor Wes Moore that it had declined Maryland’s request for a federal commercial fisheries disaster declaration that was sought to help address the economic and ecological damage caused by the spread of invasive catfish and snakeheads in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Maryland made the unique request in March as a […]

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Governor Moore Named Chesapeake Executive Council Chair

Governor Moore named Chesapeake Executive Council chair

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

ANNAPOLIS, MD—This week, Governor Wes Moore was unanimously elected to serve as chair of the bipartisan Chesapeake Executive Council during a meeting hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.. The council, which serves as the primary policy and leadership body of the formal Chesapeake Bay Partnership’s effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, is comprised of the nine signatories […]

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Bay Water

Governor Moore announces new annual record for Chesapeake Bay oyster planting

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Wes Moore this week announced that more than 1.7 billion new juvenile oysters have been planted on sanctuary and public oyster fishery sites in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay this year, surpassing an ambitious 2023 planting goal and setting a new annual record. The milestone means that the state has planted almost 7 billion oysters since launching its large-scale oyster […]

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Bay Water

Maryland Department of Natural Resources awards $22.9 million for Chesapeake and Coastal Bay restoration projects

Posted on by Chris Montcalmo

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources this week announced the award of $22.9 million from the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund to 24 ecological restoration projects encompassing 95 sites throughout the state. The projects were selected to improve water quality and habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed while building local resilience to climate impacts. “This valuable funding […]

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