MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LOCAL RIVER OR STREAM

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Volunteers have until midnight on Wednesday, May 31, to sign up for Clean the Bay Day. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) annual shoreline litter cleanup will be held across Virginia on Saturday, June 3, from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Thousands of volunteers are needed on foot and in boats to help pick up litter and debris along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay and the many rivers and streams across Virginia. Last year, more than 6,000 volunteers participated in Clean the Bay Day at over 260 sites, removing approximately 138,000 pounds of litter and debris along 440 miles of shoreline.

Cleanup sites are available in Richmond, Hampton Roads, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, across Central and Northern Virginia, and at many state parks. To register at a site near you, visit cbf.org/clean, send an e-mail to ctbd@cbf.org, or call 1-800/SAVEBAY.

Major corporate sponsors for Clean the Bay Day include CSX, Northrop-Grumman Corporation, and the Port of Virginia. CBF also received grant support from REI and River Network/Anheuser Bush, as well as additional support from Inside Business.

Kings Creek Marina will host the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Clean the Bay Day Saturday, June 3rd.  Everyone is invited to register early at the Chesapeake Bay Foundations “Clean the Bay Day” volunteer registration site, http://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/?referrer=https://www.bing.com/ .

Check in will be in the Breezeway between the Complete Angler (Harbormaster’s office) and the Pearl Convention Center at the Oyster Farm Marina at Kings Creek.  Check in at 8:30am, pick up starts at 9:00am.  Dress code is sturdy shoes, jeans ‘n stuff.  Bring good gardening type gloves.  Trash bags, disposal containers, et al will be in place.  Some may want to bring kayaks or a dinghy for near shore pickup.  Waders would be appropriate, also.

Last year we had ~ 35 volunteers pickup 1800 pounds of trash.  Maybe we can do even better this year.  It would be nice to involve the City of Cape Charles and Bay Creek.  There is lots of stuff to pick up – nobody will go without something to do.

Luncheon courtesy of the Oyster Farm Marina and the Marine Trawler Owners Association.
Call  (757-639-5119) or (757-646-1088) for additional info.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Thousands of volunteers are needed to help pick up litter and debris along the shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay and its many rivers and streams at the 29th annual Clean the Bay Day. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and local partners across Virginia will hold the shoreline cleanup this year on Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. until noon.

Last year, more than 6,000 volunteers participated in Clean the Bay Day at over 260 sites, removing approximately 138,000 pounds of litter and debris along 440 miles of shoreline.

“After nearly 30 years, Clean the Bay Day has become a real Virginia tradition,” said Tanner Council, CBF’s Clean the Bay Day coordinator. “Thousands of people working together can make a huge difference in just a few short hours. Our waterways are the lifeblood of our communities, and these volunteers are vital to keeping our waterways healthy.”

Cleanup sites are available across the Commonwealth, including Hampton Roads, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, in Northern and Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and at many state parks. To register at a site near you, visit http://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day, send an e-mail to ctbd@cbf.org, or call 1-800/SAVEBAY. Early registration is advised.

Major corporate sponsors for Clean the Bay Day include CSX, The Port of Virginia, and Inside Business.

Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 28 Bidding for a Better Eastern Shore Online Auction is offering coastal inspired art, adventures, cuisine and some surprises.

Bid on eco-boat tours to secret isles. Also available is a behind the scenes tour of an Engineering Wonder aka the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel for 12. Included are gift certificates for a final chance to enjoy dining and shopping there before they close forever.

Bid for a “Behind Scenes Tour of Engineering Wonder, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel” for up to 12 including gift certificates to dine and shop there before the restaurant closes forever.

You deserve handcrafted jewelry and art by popular Chesapeake Bay artists. How about a pretty, understated Oyster Shell Necklace from Soul Shine Jewelry, or an iconic, limited edition “Snowy Egrets” Turner Sculpture Bronze?

The bidding list goes on with rod and reel from Chris Bait and Tackle, heirloom quality handcrafted Eastern Shore Doll, pet portrait, beach cottage escape, massage, and much, much more. Items are $25 and up.

Relish the thrill of an auction and help CBES Mission -protecting this awesome place we call home.

Online link available when auction goes live at 8AM, May 19 on www.cbes.org and Facebook Event Page –“Bidding for a Better ES.”
Bidding for a Better Eastern Shore supports Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore’s Mission to promote sustainably development that protects the Shore’s cultural and natural resources and enhances the quality of life of all our citizens.

May 9, 2017 — U.S. commercial and recreational fishing generated $208 billion in sales, contributed $97 billion to the gross domestic product and supported 1.6 million full- and part-time jobs in 2015 — above the five-year average — according to NOAA’s Fisheries Economics of the United States report released May 9th.

The Annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries shows that the number of domestic fish stocks listed as overfished or subject to overfishing remain near all-time lows, with two new stocks rebuilt in 2016.

In 2016, U.S. fisheries continued to rebuild, with the number of stocks on the overfishing and overfished lists remaining near all-time lows. Four stocks came off the overfishing list, while six stocks were added to the overfishing list. There were no changes to the list of overfished stocks in 2016. Two additional stocks — barndoor skate in Georges Bank/Southern New England and albacore in the North Atlantic — were rebuilt in 2016, bringing the total stocks rebuilt since 2000 to 41. [Read more…]

In January, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published updated sea level scenarios for the United States. They included a new extreme scenario that would mean roughly 8 feet of global average sea level rise by 2100, but 10-12 feet along almost all U.S. shores outside of Alaska. Scientists consider the scenario unlikely, but increasingly plausible, especially with continued high emissions of greenhouse gases.
[Read more…]

The Trust for Public Land Image

Achievable Steps to Reverse Global Warming with the Power of Nature – If burning fossil fuels stopped tomorrow, the planet would still face catastrophic climate change. Measures to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and other measures to cool the planet are critical. This conference will lay out a broad vision to achieve this through accelerating the restoration of ecosystems, building healthy soils and harnessing water cycles. Specific actions will be highlighted that also provide co-benefits and cost-savings for farmers and food consumers, as well as improving water quality in urban, suburban and rural settings.

Conference Details:

Who: Biodiversity for a Livable Climate

What: Scenario 300: Making Climate Cool! Conference

Where: Offices of Steptoe & Johnson LLP
1330 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036-1795

When: Sunday, April 30, 2017, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (day after the People’s Climate March)

About Biodiversity for a Livable Climate:

A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes the power of the natural world to stabilize the climate and to restore biodiversity to ecosystems worldwide through education, policy and outreach. Collaborating with organizations around the globe, we advocate for the restoration of soil, and of grassland, forest, wetland, coastal and ocean ecosystems–along with the associated carbon, water and nutrient cycles – to draw down excess atmospheric greenhouse gases, cool the biosphere, and reverse global warming, for the benefit of all people and all life on earth.

What environmental matters should the Eastern Shore be watching? Find out from journalists on the front lines of Chesapeake Bay Watershed issues at CBES Annual Engage & Enjoy on April 27th.
Following a 6PM, surf & turf buffet at the Island House Restaurant, Wachapregue, at 7PM join a panel discussion on “Environmental Journalism in the Era of ‘Fake News.’”
CBES panel of veteran journalists will share decades of experience reporting on environmental issues that hit home.

They include Bay Journal Editor, Karl Blankenship – Bay Journal Reporter, Rona Kobell and NPR & Virginia Public Radio Producer/Writer Pamela D’Angelo. There will also be an audience Q & A

The deadline for dinner tickets is April 24. Tickets can be purchased on www.cbes.org or contact CBES at 757-678-7157.

The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee 2017 study shows female crab numbers have been growing substantially. There were 194 million female crabs at the start of the 2016 crabbing season, compared with 101 million last year. In 2014, female crab numbers were down to 68 million.

Juvenile crab numbers have also been growing, with 269 million counted last year and 271 million this year.

“The blue crab population is at a healthy level,” biologist Glenn Davis told the Baltimore Sun. “Having both juvenile and adult components at or above the long-term average has only happened once since 1994.”

Overall, the total number of Chesapeake Bay crabs at the beginning of this year’s season was 553 million, well above last year’s count of 411 million.