As days are getting longer and we look forward to the coming sailing season, the Environmental Committee has stayed active. After a wonderful lecture in February by Mr. Karl Blankenship (founding Editor and 34-year continuing editor and writer for the Chesapeake Bay Journal), we look forward to a lecture on March 27 by Mr. Jesse Iliff, Executive Director of the Severn River Association and previous South Riverkeeper.
Also in February, we began activities on an externally funded project to provide underwater videographic and sonographic documentation of the living oyster-reef structures that make up part of our marina’s wave-attenuation walls, under A and C docks.
At the February 21 presentation, more than 50 EYC members and guests enjoyed a fascinating review of 34 years of headlines and happenings in the Bay from the perspective of Karl Blankenship, who has served as Editor and a principal writer for the Chesapeake Bay Journal since 1990. Karl has been a recipient of numerous journalism rewards, as well as a coveted “Guardian of the Bay” award from the Chesapeake Research Consortium. He estimates that he has written more than 2 million words on the Bay over the course of several thousand different stories.
The seminar/webinar was told largely through “headlines” from selected stories – it was interesting, insightful, and provocative, especially regarding how historical perspective can help inform a best “path forward” for Chesapeake Bay management. (Please consider subscribing and possibly donating to the Chesapeake Bay Journal at its website.)
We look forward to our next lecture on March 27 by Mr. Jesse Iliff, Executive Director of the Severn River Association and previous South Riverkeeper. Please check the EYC calendar for a brief description of the lecture and to find a link for registration. More detailed information will also be available at our website. Also, please check the clubhouse bulletin board for a flyer that will be posted in coming weeks.
Also in this past month, we made progress on implementation of our 2024 externally funded project, which is entitled “Videographic Documentation of an 11-Year-Old Oyster-Seeded Vertical Wave Wall.” (Other details on the project were provided in the February VFB.)
On February 22, Green Team members Bill Ball and John Butler met with teams from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) to conduct initial “dives” on the oyster reef-wall by two different Remotely operated Underwater Vehicles (RUVs) – see photos. The CBF team comprised of Doug Myers (Maryland Senior Scientist) and Julie Lueke (MD Coastal Research Scientist), and the ORP team comprised of Jenneca Moffat (Monitoring Coordinator) and Elena Hutner (Coastal Resource Scientist).
Future RUV dives are upcoming, to be led by both these investigators and others from teams at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). Stay tuned for more information about a possible panel discussion on this project.