Turning the Tide, Saving the Chesapeake Bay

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 Notes02:00 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 Notes02:28 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 regulations9:00  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

CBF President Will Baker talks with Senior Water Quality Scientist Dr. Beth McGee about opportunities to help farmers reduce water pollution and improve their bottom lines. Program Notes: 01:05   Why putting agricultural best management practices in place can help our water quality.04:20   About the Federal Farm Bill and funding for the Bay watershed.07:30   Addressing deficiencies in the current Farm Bill with the Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Enhancement Act of 201711:55   CBF's role in facilitating Farm Bill program funding for farmers and creating partnerships.14:30   The importance of availablity of technical assistance for farmers15:20   Governors and congressional representatives supporting the legislation. Find out more about the Federal Farm Bill and the Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Enhancement Act of 2017 at cbf.org/farmbill. Photo by Benjamin Tankersley

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF's Senior Regional Ecosystem Scientist Chris Moore about recent developments in the management of the Bay's most important fish. Find out more about the current state of the menhaden fishery. Watch the video "Why Are Menhaden the Most Important Fish In the Sea?" Photo credit © Jay Fleming

CBF President Will Baker sits down with DC Water General Manager and innovative environmentalist George Hawkins to discuss the ins and outs of distributing drinking water to and collecting wastewater from millions of capital-area residents and visitors. Find out about some of the biggest innovative green power and infrastructure projects you've probably never heard of. Program Notes: 02:14   A look at Washington, D.C.'s water and sewage footprint. 11:09   Just how clean is the water coming out of the Blue Plains water treatment plant? 13:00   DC Water's advanced waste-to-energy water treatment plant is the largest of its kind in the world. 18:00   With a goal of becoming power self-sufficient, DC Water is taking on new solar and microgrid projects. 20:20   One of the cleanest biosolid soil amendments available. 21:40   Behind DC Water's $2.6 billion public works project to solve the challenges of D.C.'s combined sewer system and how an innovative funding program called Environmental Investment Bonds is enabling an exciting new green infrastructure project. 30:50   A look at DC Water's innovation-focused culture and what it means for employees and rate payers. Learn more about Environmental Impact Bonds. Photo credit DC Water

CBF President Will Baker interviews CBF's youngest official oyster gardener, Graham Mitchell, about the oysters he is raising and the good they will do for the Chesapeake Bay. Learn more about oyster gardening with CBF in Maryland and Virginia. Photo credit Kenny Fletcher/CBF Staff