Issue Position: Environment

Issue Position

The Eastern Shore is home to a national treasure, the world's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay. Despite reports of recovery, I am not convinced the Bay restoration effort is making the progress it should considering the amount of resources that are being dedicated to it.

Education is key because citizens need to understand and appreciate how they affect the Bay and how they can help in the restoration effort.

Restoring the native wild oyster population is critical. Oysters are the Bay's natural filter and at one time there were enough oysters to filter all of the Bay's water in a single day. Today it takes an entire year, maybe longer, to filter all of the Bay's waters.

The most significant factor facing the Bay's health is run-off from other states. Far more nutrients enter the Bay from other states than they do from within our state. While we continue to regulate in Maryland, it has minimal impact on the overall health of the Bay.

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