The Chesapeake Rivers Association
$15,000 / 2007 / Environment
Two grants in support of the Severn Riverkeeper Program’s efforts to protect, preserve, and restore the Severn River. Through daily shoreline and river monitoring, the Riverkeeper program protects vulnerable waterways by providing effective legal representation to stop inappropriate development and promotes enforcement by local and state authorities. By providing scientific evidence and effective legal representation to stop inappropriate shoreline development, the association was influential in the Maryland Critical Areas Commission decision to increase penalties for non-compliance and infractions from $500 to $10,000. Ongoing efforts are being made to install living shoreline in place of traditional riprap for erosion control.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
$50,000 / 2007 / Environment
Toward a public education and outreach program addressing issues of global warming in Maryland. The network, in collaboration with Environment Maryland, will publish Blue Prints for Action reports for dissemination to legislators and media, and will train 300 volunteers for grassroots advocacy efforts working toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland by 20 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2050.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
$10,000 / 2007 / Environment
Toward support of planned litigation activities in Maryland to ensure greater enforcement of existing laws and regulations critical to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. The foundation will focus on incidents of damage to the Bay, such as encroachment on wetlands, erosion, stormwater run-off caused by developments, lack of setbacks creating buffer zones, power plant toxic airborne emissions, and will monitor permits and zoning variances being recorded at local planning and zoning boards.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
$10,000 / 2007 / Environment
Two grants in support of the 2007 and 2008 Environmental Legislative Summits.
Audubon Maryland-DC
$32,000 / 2007 / Environment
For continued support of educational services at the Audubon Center in Patterson Park. Joint programming with the Friends of Patterson Park is helping to change the perception of safety issues in the park and continuing to increase the overall visitation and use of the park. Working closely with neighboring schools, Audubon offers in-classroom curricula and integrates into the program Maryland Content Standards, field trips, and end-of-year service projects for elementary, middle, and high school students. After-school programming offers a 15-week series for third-grade through fifth-grade students to learn about bird biology.