West and Rhode Riverkeeper

We work with our community to enforce environmental law, to
promote restoration, and to advocate for better environmental policy.
Contact us: 410-867-7171  ♦  4800 Atwell Rd, #6, Shady Side, MD 20764

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County to issue stormwater grants

CLICK HERE to read the full article

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Win for Deep Cove Creek!

*** A note from Chesapeake Legal Alliance Executive Director Jackie Gould***

Congrats to residents of Churchton, MD, South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development and the West/Rhode Riverkeeper in their defeat of an application for a variance to carve into one of the few pristine waterfront areas in Anne Arundel County, MD!
 
HUGE THANKS go out to John Wyss, Esquire and his law firm Wiley Rein LLP for their PRO BONO legal assistance over the years to these groups in their efforts to stave off harmful effects to their community and the Bay posed by the proposed development on the banks of Deep Cove Creek.  John’s unwavering dedication, tenacity, and wisdom are to be credited with this latest WIN and his other successes on this project. 
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Around South County: 200 trees -- and 100 stewards -- planted at Camp Letts

lettsplanting 
 Southern Middle School sixth graders, from left, Samantha Havanki, Kaylee O'Brien and Julia Markham were among more than 100 students planting 200 trees at YMCA Camp Letts, with the help of county Councilman Jerry Walker, state Sen. John Astle, Joe Ports, restoration coordinator for West/Rhode Riverkeeper, and Jana Davis, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. (Courtesy Photo, HANDOUT / October 16, 2014)
 
By Jerri Anne Hopkins, The Capital
November 12, 2014
 

 

  What was once an eroding horse pasture is now a forested buffer protecting the Rhode River from polluted stormwater runoff.

Recently, 100 students from Southern Middle School in Lothian planted more than 200 trees along the shoreline of the YMCA Camp Letts in Edgewater, transforming four acres of the camp's horse pasture.

 

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Riverkeeper Report October 2014

jeff helmOur rivers are never more beautiful than they are right now, with the leaves reaching the peak of their autumn color. But now and again, it’s good to get out beyond Curtis Point and connect with the rest of the Bay. Just a week or so ago, I sailed aboard the schooner Mystic Whaler on the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race from Baltimore to Portsmouth.

When you’re sailing by the stars in the middle of the night, in the middle of the Bay, you get time to reflect; you can gain perspective on where our efforts to protect the West and Rhode Rivers fit in to the overall Chesapeake Bay program.

We’ll have the opportunity to do just that at our annual meeting on Friday, November 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the main dining hall at Camp Letts. Nick DiPasquale, the head of the Chesapeake Bay Program, will be there to talk about the new Bay agreement, and you’ll see where we play a vital role in the big picture.

We’ll celebrate some of the impressive goals we’ve achieved over the past year – like the reforested horse pasture at Camp Letts – and some of the impactful projects we have lined up for next year – like the restoration of a section of Muddy Creek and a new 900-foot living shoreline along Bear Neck Creek, thanks to a major grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

And we’ll reveal a new partnership with the Department of Natural Resources that will provide an astonishing opportunity to access the water.

Please plan to be there – you’re welcome to bring a pot-luck dish to share, and we’ll have oysters! Send me an email or give me a call to let me know you’re coming. See you there!

Your Riverkeeper

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Thanks to our 2014 Water Quality Volunteers!

aniccamonitoringEvery year West/Rhode Riverkeeper relies on a team of dedicated volunteers to venture out on the rivers once a week (Wednesday mornings) to collect data that we use for our annual report card.  This year we had the pleasure of working with a dedicated team that braved strong winds, rain and cold, with some beautiful sunny days sprinkled in there too, to collect 24 weeks of data.  We will now work with some of the same volunteers over the winter to compile our report card to report back to you about the health of our rivers.

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West/Rhode Riverkeeper Annual Meeting November 14, 2014

jeff lets tree students
West/Rhode Riverkeeper Jeff Holland planting a tree at Camp Letts with Southern Middle School 6thgraders Chloe Wagner of Tracy’s Landing (blue shirt) and Makayla Grevin of Lothian (in glasses).

When:           Friday, November 14, 2104

Time:             6:30 – 8 p.m.

 

Where:         Main Dining Hall

                    YMCA Camp Letts

                    4009 Camp Letts Road

                    Edgewater, MD 21037

 

Info:              

                      

                      www.westrhoderiverkeeper.org

 

Admission:    Free. RSVP. Beer, wine & soft drinks. Please bring a pot luck dish to share  

 

West/Rhode Riverkeeper Celebrates Year of Restoration Efforts on Nov. 14

 

Nick DiPasquale, Director, Chesapeake Bay Program Office of Environmental Protection Agency, will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the West/Rhode Riverkeeper. The event will take place at YMCA Camp Letts in Edgewater on Friday, November 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, reservations are requested. Refreshments will be served and guests are welcome to bring a pot-luck dish to share.

 

Nick DiPasquale 
  (Photo Credit David Harp) 
  Nick DiPasquale, Director
  Chesapeake Bay Program Office, USEPA
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County poised to plunge into bay access with Fort Smallwood boat ramp

Peter Crispino

The Baltimore Sun, 10/24/14

No county in the United States has more shoreline than Anne Arundel, yet few jurisdictions have less public boat access.

County officials will embark on an effort to change that when they break ground Tuesday on a $5 million boat ramp at Fort Smallwood Park in Pasadena.

"The first step is always the hardest, and so this is the beginning of what I hope will be a much longer and more deliberate effort to get some more water access points established," said County Councilman Chris Trumbauer.

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Program Manager Job Announcement

West/Rhode Riverkeeper seeks a part-time Program Manager. For full job description please Click Here.
 

West/Rhode Riverkeeper, Inc., (W/RR) is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the West and Rhode Rivers, tidal sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay located about 10 miles south of Annapolis, Maryland. West/Rhode Riverkeeper is one of 18 independent organizations belonging to Waterkeepers Chesapeake and is a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance and the River Network.

Title:      Program Manager

  • ·Part time/flexible schedule. (Average 20 hrs./week, occasional evenings & weekends required)
  • ·Pay level: starts at $20/hr., plus modest IRA plan

To apply, please email cover letter and resume no later than November 2, 2014 to:

Subject: Program Manager

No calls or inquiries from recruiting agencies, please.
West/Rhode Riverkeeper, Inc., is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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West/Rhode Riverkeeper transform eroding pasture into forest buffer; plans new living shoreline project to protect Rhode River

 

lettstreeplantingoct14
Southern Middle School sixth graders (from left) Samantha Havanki, Kaylee O’Brien and Julia Markham were among more than 100 students planting 200 trees at YMCA Camp Letts last week, with the help of Anne Arundel County Councilman Jerry Walker, State Senator John Astle, Joe Ports, Restoration Coordinator for West/Rhode Riverkeeper, and Jana Davis, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

State Senator John Astle (District 30), Anne Arundel County Councilman Jerry Walker (District 7) and Jana Davis, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, participated as 100 sixth graders from Southern Middle School planted more than 200 trees at YMCA Camp Letts in Edgewater last week. The students’ wet and muddy efforts completed the transformation of four acres of eroding horse pasture into a forested buffer protecting the Rhode River from polluted stormwater runoff.

“We didn’t just plant trees today,” said Jeff Holland, the West and Rhode Riverkeeper, “we planted a hundred new stewards for our rivers and the Bay.”

 

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Riverkeeper Report: September 2014

One Creek at a Time

amyjoejeffwhalerI saw the last osprey before she took off for South America the other day, right on cue. The first one I saw this year was on March 10, at the “2RR” marker at the mouth of the Rhode River. That was also my first official boat ride on the Riverkeeper’s Whaler.  I’ve learned a lot about these waterways over these past seasons – seen them bound back from torrential downpours, watched the tide ebb with the north wind to reveal a grassless bottom, met a waterman whose livelihood depends on clean and healthy water, and whose work growing oysters is helping the cause. 

I’ve worked with our crews of citizen scientists who are out there every week, no matter what the weather, testing the water quality in 29 sites year after year. I’ve gotten wet and muddy with kids planting trees. I’ve met with community leaders concerned about bacteria shutting down their beaches. Along with other volunteers, I got poison ivy digging trash out of the woods along Tenthouse Creek in Galesville. I even know how to work the pump-out boat! 

Most of all, I’ve had the blessing to work with a great staff in our Program Manager, Amy Colhoun, Restoration Coordinator Joe Ports, and our Chesapeake Conservation Corps volunteer, Sam Hartman. Sam wrapped up his duties with us in August, and now he’s setting out to launch a career in the environmental world. We know he’ll be doing great things out there.

The year so far has been filled with elation and sadness. We lost Alice Murray just a few weeks ago, and we join the community in sharing our condolences with her family and many friends. I was happy to have met with her in August, just as the construction crews were completing the new living shoreline that will be protecting her beautiful home on Popham Creek for generations to come. 

But the good news is that we just received another grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, this one for 650 feet of living shoreline at Camp Letts. This will protect the bank at the mouth of Bear Neck Creek from further erosion. We’ll be starting that project this winter.

As the seasons change, I’m ever more grateful to be part of this organization that’s so dedicated to one goal: making the West and Rhode Rivers safe for fishing, swimming and wildlife, one creek at a time.

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