Maryland Water Monitoring Council Newsletter: Volunteer Monitoring

Across Maryland, volunteer water monitors work with communities, local governments, and the State to provide valuable information on water quality and perform a variety of watershed protection and restoration activities. The Lower Western Shore is one of the ten basins in the Tributary Strategies Program, which was established in 1995 to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The Lower Western Shore basin covers 270 square miles and includes parts of Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties. It includes the watersheds of the Magothy, Severn, South, West, and Rhode Rivers as well as the West Chesapeake Bay watershed. These watersheds are monitored and protected by a number of volunteer organizations: Magothy River Association (MRA), Severn River Association (SRA), South River Federation (SRF), Shady Side Peninsula Association (SSPA), West River Improvement Association (WRIA), the Herring Bay Clean Watershed Initiative, the American Chestnut Land Trust, the Lower Western Shore Tributary Strategy Team and several organizations under the Friends of Annapolis Creeks umbrella.

The Magothy River Association monitors water chemistry and physical parameters from docks with the goals of identifying likely SAV restoration sites, pollution sources, and habitat quality for oysters. Since the start of the program, the MRA has transplanted about 140,000 oysters into the Magothy. The organization also monitors oyster restoration sites using volunteer divers trained by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as well as conducting SAV restoration projects. More information on the MRA and data are available on their web site at: http://www.magothyriver.org/

The Severn River Association (SRA) , established in 1911, claims to be the oldest organization in the country dedicated to the protection of a river. SRA's watershed protection activities include the creation of natural buffers that use plants, sand and rocks to prevent erosion. In addition, they have created a rain garden at the Chesapeake Ecology Center in Annapolis. More information on their program can be found at: http://www.severnriver.org/

The South River Federation (SRF), established in the early 1990's under the name Federation of South River Associations, conducts SAV restoration and monitoring as well as other watershed protection activities. They hold frequent workshops on building rain barrels, oyster gardening, marsh restoration, and rain garden construction. Information on their programs can be found at: www.southriverfederation.org

Project Oysters-West River (POWER) is a joint project of the Shady Side Peninsula Association (SSPA) and the West River Improvement Association (WRIA). Funded by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and a private funder, the project has established West River's first oyster sanctuary--the Elmer Carroll Benning Oyster Sanctuary. In 2003 the group began building their first reef with substrate and spat on shell as well as some mature oysters. Plans are underway to establish a second reef/sanctuary in West River. POWER monitors water chemistry in the West River to establish baseline information. Data and more information on the program can be found on their web site: www.west-river.org

The Herring Bay Clean Water Initiative established an Oyster Recovery project in Herring Bay that has created a 1.2 acre oyster bar, which has been designated as an oyster sanctuary. Information on the Herring Bay Clean Water Initiative can be found on the Lower Western Shore Tributary Team web site: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/tribstrat/low_west/lws_hero.html

Weems Creek Conservancy was established in 1982 to protect and restore Weems Creek Watershed. Activities of the organization include oyster gardening, creek clean-up events, rain barrel workshops, a tree grow-out station, and educational nature walks Information on the organization can be found at: http://www.weemscreek.org/

Activities of the Friends of College Creek and Friends of Spa Creek have included creek clean-up events and visual assessments, rain garden construction, control of invasive plants, tree plantings and educational events. Information on these organizations can be found on the Lower Western Shore Tributary Team web page: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/tribstrat/low_west/annap_creeks.html

The American Chestnut Land Trust began a water quality monitoring program on Parker Creek in 1998. The goals of the program are to establish baseline data and to provide early detection of problems. Volunteers sample twice a month by foot or from kayaks. Information can be found at: http://www.acltweb.org/

Members of MRA, SRA, SRF and WRIA have participated in Maryland DNR's Stream Waders volunteer stream sampling program . In this program, volunteers sample benthic macroinvertebrates, which are used to determine stream health. Information on this program can be found at: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/streams/mbss/mbss_volun.html

The Lower Western Shore Tributary Strategy Team has a long list of accomplishments including the removal of bulkheads, reduction of boat discharge, tree plantings and bayscape projects. For more information on the Lower Western Shore Team, contact Mike Bilek ( mbilek@dnr.state.md.us (410) 260-8988) or check the web site: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/tribstrat/low_west/low_west_shore.html