Turning the Tide, Saving the Chesapeake Bay

(This podcast originally aired January 31, 2017) CBF President Will Baker and Baltimore Tree Trust Executive Director Dan Millender discuss the environmental, economic, and cultural benefits of trees. Photo by Loren Barnett

(This episode originally aired on June 21, 2016) CBF President Will Baker chats with Ray Langston, longtime resident and former mayor of Highland Beach, Maryland, a Bay-front community with a proud history and a bright future. To tour the museum, call Jean Langston at 410-267-6960. Please call a day or two in advance. For more information about the Frederick Douglass Museum and Highland Beach visit www.highlandbeachmd.org. Photo: The Frederick Douglass Museum in Highland Beach, Maryland. Credit: Loren Barnett/CBF Staff  

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF’s resident dolphin geek Maryland Scientist Doug Myers about the increase of dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay. EPISODE SUMMARY 01:08  Why are we seeing more dolphins in Chesapeake Bay? 04:46  What's the correlation between dolphins and sharks? 06:35  How dolphins communicate. 17:10  What to do if you come across a dead or stranded dolphin and why it's important to report. 19:40  What you can do to help protect the Bay's dolphin population. See our blog post Frequent Dolphin Sightings Reveal a Rebounding Bay. Report your dolphin sitings on the Dolphinwatch website. CALL 1-800-628-9944 TO REPORT STRANDED MARINE MAMMALS AND SEA TURTLES (alive or dead). Photo credit Ian Robbins

(This episode originally aired November 8, 2016) CBF President Will Baker and John Shields—cookbook author, TV chef, and owner of Baltimore's Gertrude's Restaurant—discuss the virtues of eating local in the Chesapeake Bay region. Find out more about CBF's own local farm at cbf.org/ClagettFarm. Local resources for your own vegetable, meat, and dairy cuisine in the Chesapeake Bay region can be found at www.buylocalchesapeake.org. Photo courtesy of Gertrude's Restaurant

CBF President Will Baker welcomes EPA's former Obama-appointed Acting Deputy Administrator Lisa Feldt as CBF's new Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration. Photo credit CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker and Maryland Fisheries Scientist Allison Colden discuss recent news about the state of blue crabs and oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. EPISODE NOTES: 00:47  Annual stock assesment report for blue crabs and signs we should be watching. 08:30  An update on oysters in Virginia and Maryland. 10:36  Oyster restoration in Virginia's Lafayetter River and Maryland's Baltimore Harbor. 14:55  Man-O-War Shoal is our last remaining 3D oyster bar in Maryland--how it is being threatened and its potential as the home for a new thriving oyster population.   From this episode: Watch Allison on Facebook Live and find out more about the annual blue crab dredge survey. Read CBF's press statement about the survey. Find out more about the iconic Chesapeake Bay blue crab. Oyster reefs return to the Lafayette River. Press release and photos on the Fort Carroll oyster reef in Baltimore. Press release on Man-O-War Shoal. Send a letter to Maryland's Department of Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton to save Man-O-War Shoal.

CBF President Will Baker talks with Chanté Coleman, Choose Clean Water Coalition Director, about the challenges of running a coalition organization and how members benefit. EPISODE NOTES: 03:55  How the Coalition is helping Chesapeake watershed organizations diversify their environmental outreach and membership. 06:15  What kind of organizations belong to the Choose Clean Water Coalition? 08:15  How the Coalition provides support for members. 09:15  What, and how, members can learn from each other. 10:50  Chanté's five-year outlook for the Coalition. 12:00  Priority: Supporting the Chesapeake Bay Program on Capitol Hill. From this episode: The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint Midpoint Assessment Find out more about the Coalition at ChooseCleanWater.org.

At the halfway mark in the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, CBF President Will Baker and Dr. Beth McGee, CBF's Director of Science and Agriculture Policy, assess progress in pollution reduction across the region. EPISODE NOTES 01:28  Overview of midpoint progress 02:35  The impact of sewage treatment plants 03:25  Trends for other sectors 03:55  Progress in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia 05:15  Funding for pollution reduction efforts 09:58  CBF's efforts helping farmers in Pennsylvania and the importance of planting trees. 11:15  Scientific basis for targeting geographic locations of where funding will have the greatest impact. 13:06  Air pollution's contribution to nitrogen pollution in the Bay and regulations being rolled back. 16:44  Maryland's Back River Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade project 18:15  What gives us hope; what worries us   From this episode: Find out more about the Blueprint Midpoint Report Tell your elected officials to make sure the Federal Farm Bill contains conservation funding. Find your representative's contact information here. Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership The importance of trees to pollution reduction, our health, our economy, and our environment CBF Report: Closing Pennsylvania's Pollution-Reduction Gap Photo credit: Benjamin Tankersley

(This episode originally aired June 6, 2017) CBF President Will Baker sits down with longtime CBF staffer Bart Jaeger to talk about the relationship between underwater grasses and the Bay’s blue crab population. Watch the Back to Baysics: Underwater Grasses video. Photo courtesy of Bart Jaeger/CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF Student Bay Advisory Council Member Kallan Benson about the urgency of climate change and her creative efforts to make a difference. Find out more at the Mother Earth Project. Learn more about the Zero Hour movement. Photo Credit: Megan Fink/CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker and CBF Pennsylvania Outreach Manager Lane Whigham announce the launch of the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, a group effort to improve water quality in Pennsylvania and the Bay. EPISODE NOTES: 02:00   What 10 million trees can do for water and air quality in Pennsylvania. 04:12   Who is participating. 11:40   Making history in nine days in Pennsylvania. 13:00   The economics of planting 10 million trees by 2025. Learn more at TenMillionTrees.org Photo credit: CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker and CBF Maryland Executive Director Alison Prost talk about the legislative process and the outcome of this year’s Maryland General Assembly Session. Episode Notes: 01:28 What happened to Maryland's innovation and leadership? 03:38 Good news on the budget front. 04:58 The mystery of the disappearing forest conservation study bill. 18:13 Advice to environmental voters. Find out more about Maryland's disappearing forests, see our wrap-up of the rest of the Maryland General Assembly session, and see what other issues are causing challenges for clean water in Maryland. Photo credit: Nikki Davis

CBF President Will Baker and CBF Litigation Fellow Brittany Wright discuss the dangers of offshore drilling and the current administration's plan to put the Chesapeake Bay at risk. Program Notes 02:00 The federal government's proposal for offshore oil and gas drilling. 03:00 Why CBF is concerned. 04:30 Why ocean drilling is a concern for blue crabs. 05:25 The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) process for developing five-year plan for potential lease sales. 09:35 Timeframe for remaining stages of the process. 10:20 Florida's exemption and the role of governors and Congress. 12:06 How an estuary is affected by oil pollution. 13:15 How offshore drilling impacts Naval Station Norfolk's ability to do its job. 14:36 The National Environmental Policy Act, how it relates to this issue, and how this issue relates to climate change and the safety of the oil and gas industry. Reference: Flowchart graphic of Oil and Gas Leasing and Development Process, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Petroleum in the Estuary, 1974, Curt D. Rose CBF Comments on BOEM's 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program Contact your Governor and Congressional Representatives Follow the issue on CBF's Offshore Drilling web page. Photo credit: CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker talks to college seniors Kara Adams and Makenzie Koski about their Alternative Spring Break experiences volunteering to help Save the Bay. Find out more about CBF's oyster restoration program and how you can get involved in Maryland and Virginia. Program Notes 02:28 What is Alternative Spring Break? 04:36 Helping the environment isn't just for environmental majors. 11:36 Critical thinking and strategic action. 12:38 Learning about oyster restoration. Find out more about CBF's oyster restoration program and how you can get involved in Maryland and Virginia. -Photo credit Loren Barnett/CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker, National Aquarium President John Racanelli, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science President Emeritus Dr. Don Boesch, and Hoopers Island Oyster Company Founder Johnny Shockley announce a very exciting partnership to place ten billion new oysters in Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Find out more about the partnership, how it plans to achieve its audacious goal, and what you can do to get involved. Visit the partnership website at TenBillionOysters.org.

In an update on "Keep the Cap" (Episode 74), CBF President Will Baker and Maryland Fisheries Scientist Allison Colden discuss Omega Protein's industrial-scale menhaden fishing operation in Virginia and what impact the company's opposition to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Bay cap could have on Bay fish populations, as well as the local sport and commercial fishing economies. Program Notes 03:16 - Omega Protein, the only industrial-scale menhaden fishing operation on the Chesapeake Bay, has a major stake in preventing Virginia from enforcing the ASMFC cap on the menhaden fishery in Chesapeake Bay. 06:50 - Why the overwhelming majority of ASMFC commissioners from states up and down the coast supported the Bay cap. 07:58 - The next step for menhaden in Virginia. 09:00 - Omega Protein's astounding allocation of the menhaden catch both coastwide and within Chesapeake Bay, and the potential impact the company's new foreign ownership may have on local fish populations, as well as on the local Bay sport and commercial fishing economy. Photo by CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker and Maryland Fisheries Scientist Allison Colden discuss Virginia's appeal of the cap on the industrial fishing of the Bay's most important fish and what you can do to help protect it. Program Notes 01:33 - A review of the issues and policies addressed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in November. 02:22 - You probably have Atlantic menhaden somewhere in your home right now. Understanding the reduction fishery. 05:08 - Recap of the decisions made by the ASMFC in November. 11:16 - Virginia's challenge to change the November decision and increase the amount of menhaden that can be removed from Virginia waters. 13:19 - Why it's critical for Maryland to take a stand against repealling the cap on menhaden. 15:08 - What happens next--ASMFC reviews Virginia's appeal on February 8th. For more about menhaden and how to contact members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) before the February 8, 2018 meeting, visit cbf.org/menhaden. Listen to our podcast, "A Mixed Bag for Menhaden" for more about November's ASMFC Amendment 3 decision.

CBF President Will Baker and Quantified Ventures CEO Eric Letsinger discuss a promising new way for municipalities to finance pollution-reducing green infrastructure. Find out more about Environmental Impact Bonds. Photo credit Elliott O'Donovan

CBF President Will Baker talks with Bill Chain, CBF’s Senior Agriculture Program Manager in Pennsylvania, about the role of trees in cleaner water in Pennsylvania streams and the Bay. Program Notes: 01:50  How a 20-year farmer and educator ended up as Senior Agriculture Program Manager at CBF. 04:37  What role trees, where they are, and how they're placed has in improving water quality in Pennsylvania and down stream. 10:21  What is a forested riparian buffer? 12:26  Other ways trees benefit streams besides pollution reduction. 17:30  Why it's important for farmers to keep cows out of streams (besides the obvious). 20:00  Education and CBF in Pennsylvania. Check out some of the ways CBF is helping farmers implement stream buffers and other water quality efforts in Pennsylvania on our website. Photo credit: BJ Small/CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF Attorney Alayna Chuney about some new developments in the effort to reduce the harmful pollution coming from Baltimore City's Wheelabrator trash incinerator. Program Notes 1:09  About the Wheelabrator trash incinerator. 4:00  About Dr. George Thurston's health report on health care costs resulting from the Wheelabrator facility's emissions. 7:50  The process of reviewing regulations 9:00  Water quality impacts. Download Dr. George Thurston's report "The Public Health Impacts of Air Emissions from the Wheelabrator Facility" at cbf.org/wheelabrator. Photo credit: CBF Staff