From the office of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski:
U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released over $1 million to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to help restore the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population. The funding, secured by Senator Mikulski in the FY2012 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) funding bill, will allow for targeted oyster restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and will help monitor oyster health.
“The Chesapeake Bay is part of who we are as Marylanders – it is part of our heritage and part of our culture – and it’s our greatest natural resource. This funding is a federal investment in the lives and livelihoods that depend on the Bay,” said Senator Mikulski, Chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science which funds NOAA. “I will continue to fight to keep the Bay and Eastern Shore communities priorities in the federal checkbook.”
“The health of Maryland’s oyster population is critical to the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s environment,” saidSenator Cardin, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and author of legislation to reduce pollution and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. “We know that oyster restoration efforts work and this new funding will allow for additional restoration of oyster beds to help bring back this important species to our watershed.”
DNR was awarded $1,080,000 to implement a multi-year oyster population restoration process, which includes reseeding, monitoring, and evaluation of different restoration methods. To make this happen, DNR works directly with the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science to produce the oyster seed, or “spat on shell,” and then with the Oyster Recovery Partnership and local watermen for on-the-water operations to rebuild reefs. When complete, the project will place up to 300 million seeds in targeted Chesapeake Bay tributaries to aid with oyster population recovery.
Since the health of the Bay is vital to the economy of Maryland, Virginia and other areas of the East Coast, I am willing to view this as a long term economic investment.
This “investment” by the federal government should have been done by the State of Maryland (and surrounding) or industry. Once again, Congress acts likes elites, handing out other people’s money and acting as if it came from them.
This is a political ploy and only adds to the deficit (100%) as ANY additional spending is borrowed. If this was so vital to the region, why didn’t the region pay for this? Why should a taxpayer in South Dakota subsidize the economy of Maryland when they may be struggling also. As citizens we must resist this bribery and insist on control of federal government spending.
I view this as our “already served too long” Senators bringing home the bacon just before election time, nothing more than using our taxpayers dollars to get themselves re-elected, AGAIN.
I woke up in a cold sweat this morning during a nightmare…I dreamed of a headline flashing before my eyes that read: Mikulski, Cardin scheme to cut billions in spending, reduce taxes on business owners, other job creators. Man, I’m still sh-sh-sh-shaking.
Waste of money. Put a moratorium on them in specific areas and they will come back on their own. Problem is they are being over harvested. Wont cost a dime to do that.
Maybe not for you but what about the small businesses? You job killer.
Im a waterman. It wont hurt me at all. I did not say close the whole friggin bay, just parts of it. Then when the oysters return, move the protected area to another location, and so on and so on.
I was being sarcastic, but I admit it wasn’t obvious. I was imitating a political gimmick.
There are some environmental reasons for the oyster declines (and crabs), but in general you are right– too much demand is the problem.
shucks!
Must be election year, Mikulski and Cardin have slithered out from under their rocks for name recognition.