“Reclaim the Chesapeake Bay” Public Awareness Campaign

All of us who live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are linked to the Bay by many pathways. Whether we live right on the water or miles from the Chesapeake, our actions have a profound effect on the Bay.

One river, eight words

Bernie Fowler, the former Calvert County commissioner and Maryland state senator, told his father as a young man that he had no desire to go into politics or to sell whiskey for a living.  He did the former, didn’t do the latter. He also didn’t say he ever wanted to go into public relations, but you had to marvel at his ability as a pitchman Sunday when he attracted 250 people in mid-90 degree weather to St. Leonard to pay tribute to a … river. 

A conversation with Bernie Fowler

As a young man in the 1950s, Bernie Fowler stood chest-deep in the Patuxent and was able to see his feet on the river bottom while netting blue crabs.

Senator Fowler held the first Patuxent “wade-in” in 1988 to assess whether he could still see his white sneakers while wading into the river.

This became known as the “Sneaker Index.”

This is a conversation with Bernie where he tells of his love for this river and his desire to see it restored for future generations.

On the Frontline of the Septics Battle

Photo credit: Tom Pelton/WYPR 88.1 FM

Rich Josephson, Director of Planning Services for the Maryland Department of Planning, took a ride in the country with Tom Pelton of WYPR 88.1 FM’s “The Environment in Focus.”

A planner, a developer and a land-use advocate walk into a … study

The National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, College Park, issued a report this week that concluded the smart growth framework that Maryland put in place  more than a decade ago has been insufficient and offered suggestions for improvement.

“Barriers to Development Inside Priority Funding Areas: Perspectives of Planners, Developers, and Advocates” was based on interviews with 47 Maryland planners, developers and land-use advocates.