Turning the Tide, Saving the Chesapeake Bay

(This podcast originally aired January 31, 2017) CBF President Will Baker and Baltimore Tree Trust Executive Director Dan Millender discuss the environmental, economic, and cultural benefits of trees. Photo by Loren Barnett

(This episode originally aired on June 21, 2016) CBF President Will Baker chats with Ray Langston, longtime resident and former mayor of Highland Beach, Maryland, a Bay-front community with a proud history and a bright future. To tour the museum, call Jean Langston at 410-267-6960. Please call a day or two in advance. For more information about the Frederick Douglass Museum and Highland Beach visit www.highlandbeachmd.org. Photo: The Frederick Douglass Museum in Highland Beach, Maryland. Credit: Loren Barnett/CBF Staff  

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF’s resident dolphin geek Maryland Scientist Doug Myers about the increase of dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay. EPISODE SUMMARY 01:08  Why are we seeing more dolphins in Chesapeake Bay? 04:46  What's the correlation between dolphins and sharks? 06:35  How dolphins communicate. 17:10  What to do if you come across a dead or stranded dolphin and why it's important to report. 19:40  What you can do to help protect the Bay's dolphin population. See our blog post Frequent Dolphin Sightings Reveal a Rebounding Bay. Report your dolphin sitings on the Dolphinwatch website. CALL 1-800-628-9944 TO REPORT STRANDED MARINE MAMMALS AND SEA TURTLES (alive or dead). Photo credit Ian Robbins

(This episode originally aired November 8, 2016) CBF President Will Baker and John Shields—cookbook author, TV chef, and owner of Baltimore's Gertrude's Restaurant—discuss the virtues of eating local in the Chesapeake Bay region. Find out more about CBF's own local farm at cbf.org/ClagettFarm. Local resources for your own vegetable, meat, and dairy cuisine in the Chesapeake Bay region can be found at www.buylocalchesapeake.org. Photo courtesy of Gertrude's Restaurant

CBF President Will Baker welcomes EPA's former Obama-appointed Acting Deputy Administrator Lisa Feldt as CBF's new Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration. Photo credit CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker and Maryland Fisheries Scientist Allison Colden discuss recent news about the state of blue crabs and oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. EPISODE NOTES: 00:47  Annual stock assesment report for blue crabs and signs we should be watching. 08:30  An update on oysters in Virginia and Maryland. 10:36  Oyster restoration in Virginia's Lafayetter River and Maryland's Baltimore Harbor. 14:55  Man-O-War Shoal is our last remaining 3D oyster bar in Maryland--how it is being threatened and its potential as the home for a new thriving oyster population.   From this episode: Watch Allison on Facebook Live and find out more about the annual blue crab dredge survey. Read CBF's press statement about the survey. Find out more about the iconic Chesapeake Bay blue crab. Oyster reefs return to the Lafayette River. Press release and photos on the Fort Carroll oyster reef in Baltimore. Press release on Man-O-War Shoal. Send a letter to Maryland's Department of Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton to save Man-O-War Shoal.

CBF President Will Baker talks with Chanté Coleman, Choose Clean Water Coalition Director, about the challenges of running a coalition organization and how members benefit. EPISODE NOTES: 03:55  How the Coalition is helping Chesapeake watershed organizations diversify their environmental outreach and membership. 06:15  What kind of organizations belong to the Choose Clean Water Coalition? 08:15  How the Coalition provides support for members. 09:15  What, and how, members can learn from each other. 10:50  Chanté's five-year outlook for the Coalition. 12:00  Priority: Supporting the Chesapeake Bay Program on Capitol Hill. From this episode: The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint Midpoint Assessment Find out more about the Coalition at ChooseCleanWater.org.

At the halfway mark in the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, CBF President Will Baker and Dr. Beth McGee, CBF's Director of Science and Agriculture Policy, assess progress in pollution reduction across the region. EPISODE NOTES 01:28  Overview of midpoint progress 02:35  The impact of sewage treatment plants 03:25  Trends for other sectors 03:55  Progress in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia 05:15  Funding for pollution reduction efforts 09:58  CBF's efforts helping farmers in Pennsylvania and the importance of planting trees. 11:15  Scientific basis for targeting geographic locations of where funding will have the greatest impact. 13:06  Air pollution's contribution to nitrogen pollution in the Bay and regulations being rolled back. 16:44  Maryland's Back River Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade project 18:15  What gives us hope; what worries us   From this episode: Find out more about the Blueprint Midpoint Report Tell your elected officials to make sure the Federal Farm Bill contains conservation funding. Find your representative's contact information here. Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership The importance of trees to pollution reduction, our health, our economy, and our environment CBF Report: Closing Pennsylvania's Pollution-Reduction Gap Photo credit: Benjamin Tankersley

(This episode originally aired June 6, 2017) CBF President Will Baker sits down with longtime CBF staffer Bart Jaeger to talk about the relationship between underwater grasses and the Bay’s blue crab population. Watch the Back to Baysics: Underwater Grasses video. Photo courtesy of Bart Jaeger/CBF Staff

CBF President Will Baker talks with CBF Student Bay Advisory Council Member Kallan Benson about the urgency of climate change and her creative efforts to make a difference. Find out more at the Mother Earth Project. Learn more about the Zero Hour movement. Photo Credit: Megan Fink/CBF Staff