Bay Journal

MD, VA legislatures tackle oyster issues with mixed reactions

Oysters got attention from lawmakers this year in both Maryland and Virginia, but the issue sparked bitter debates in Annapolis.

Maryland lawmakers overcame Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto to forbid future commercial harvests from five oyster sanctuaries undergoing restoration. They also passed another bill that at least temporarily bars opening any of the state’s 46 other sanctuaries to harvest. Watermen are urging Hogan to veto it as well.

In Richmond, there was less at stake and more harmony — which may stem from the fact that the Old Dominion’s wild oyster harvests have been increasing, while Maryland’s have been slipping.

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Timothy B. Wheeler
May 06, 2019
Fisheries

MD bans plastic foam containers, VA passes plan for coal ash - Timothy B. Wheeler | 05/06/19

ASMFC says rockfish harvests need to be cut 17 percent - Karl Blankenship | 05/06/19

New state plans reveal tough path to 2025 cleanup goals - Karl Blankenship | 05/03/19

Highlights of the Chesapeake Bay watershed implementation plans - Karl Blankenship | 05/03/19

Community works more than a little magic to preserve Baltimore woodlot - Timothy B. Wheeler | 05/03/19

Virginia closes striped bass trophy season as ASMFC weighs action - Karl Blankenship | 04/24/19

Eastern hellbender named Pennsylvania state amphibian - Ad Crable | 04/23/19

Otsego bass: the fish that didn’t go away, thanks to some help - Donna Morelli | 04/23/19

From the Blogs

Learn how your state plans to meet Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals
Want to know how your state intends to help with the next — and ostensibly final — stage of the long-running Chesapeake Bay... - Timothy B. Wheeler | 05/02/19

Bald eagles are nesting in Baltimore’s restored Masonville Cove
Who loves Baltimore these days? Bald eagles, that’s who. A white-headed adult pair has set up housekeeping at Masonville... - Timothy B. Wheeler | 03/27/19

Find your climate-altered future on a new interactive map
Ever had trouble picturing how climate change could alter the quality of life in your community? Now there’s a map for that. Using a... - Timothy B. Wheeler | 02/12/19

New Bay cleanup plans on schedule despite federal shutdown
Despite a 35-day government shutdown that sidelined federal agency involvement, Chesapeake Bay restoration leaders say they are committed... - Karl Blankenship | 02/07/19

Features

It’s time to ruffle feathers again – seek actions to protect birds

It was April 28, 1988, and I was aboard Amtrak, heading to Washington, DC, to see the Pennsylvania congressman whose re-election campaign I would soon be running. As the train slowly pulled out of the BWI station, I looked...
Michael Burke | Bay Naturalist 04/19/19

The wonderful, weird world of water-dwelling worms - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 04/12/19
Grounded! - Kathleen Gaskell | Bay Buddies 03/29/19
Tricolored herons: Here today, but where tomorrow? - Michael Burke | On the Wing 03/22/19
Look around for signs of the season springing up around the watershed - Kathy Reshetiloff | Bay Naturalist 03/08/19
Reef sweet reef - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 02/08/19
Black scoter’s secretive ways part of this sea duck’s mystique - Michael Burke | On the Wing 01/17/19
A cabin waits for you along the Appalachian Trail - Wendy Mitman Clarke | Bay Journeys Article 01/10/19
Night Moves - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 12/28/18
Beddy-Bye Beasties! - Kathleen Gaskell | Bay Buddies 12/21/18

Opinion

Bay Program’s 2017-18 Bay Barometer shows Chesapeake’s resilience

Pick up any article about the health of the Chesapeake these days and you are sure to see the term “resilient.” It’s become the trendy way of saying that despite pollution continuing to run off into the Bay...
Rachel Felver | Forum 04/09/19

Yorktown coffee roaster brews up support for the Bay in its community - Lucy Heller | Message from the Alliance 04/05/19
Go big or ‘no home’: We need green amendments in state constitutions - Tamara Toles O’Laughlin | Forum 04/03/19
How can we save oysters if we harvest them faster than they reproduce? - Alison Prost | Forum 03/27/19
Your local Project Stream Cleanup needs you this spring! - Lucy Heller | Message from the Alliance 03/20/19
Lure of mainland tugs at roots – and hearts – of Smith Islanders - Tom Horton | Chesapeake Born 03/13/19
Healthy trees, forests are great cure for what ails the Chesapeake Bay - Paul Solomon | Forum 03/08/19
Trickle up effect: Reducing Bay’s nitrogen will lower greenhouse gas level - Tom Horton | Chesapeake Born 02/05/19
Don’t let the bounty of the Chesapeake become only a memory - Bill Bartlett | Forum 02/01/19
Bay crossing study needs to consider importance of Shore farms - John Piotti | Forum 01/16/19

Travel

Old Wye Grist Mill still grinding after all these years

It was 1682, the year that Delaware and Philadelphia were founded, and the year that French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle canoed into the lower Mississippi River basin, claimed the land for his king (Louis XIV), named...
T.F. Sayles | Bay Journeys Article 04/18/19

White Horse Mountain worth the millions paid to protect it - Whitney Pipkin | Bay Journeys Article 04/03/19
Tiptoe through the trilliums at Thompson WMA - Leslie Middleton | Bay Journeys Article 03/15/19
Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse illuminates life in a screwpile - T.F. Sayles | Bay Journeys Article 03/07/19
Snow geese extravaganza hits home - Jeremy Cox | Bay Journeys Article 01/31/19
Otsego Lake only a glimmer of great Susquehanna to come - Donna Morelli | Bay Journeys Article 12/06/18
‘Dig a little deeper’ at the Norfolk Botanical Garden - Jeremy Cox | Bay Journeys Article 11/15/18
Western Maryland railroad turns on charm at every bend - T.F. Sayles | Bay Journeys Article 11/09/18
Devil’s Marbleyard tempts hikers with rocky challenge - Jeremy Cox | Bay Journeys Article 10/05/18
C&D museum sure to float the boat of any canal lover - Wendy Mitman Clarke | Bay Journeys Article 09/20/18

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