Strategy to protect St. Mary’s River to be developed

Watershed all within county

Friday, May 9, 2008

The first meeting is on Monday, May 12.

With a projected budget of $250,000, the breadth and depth of this study will be extensive, according to the association.

A strategy already exists for the Breton Bay watershed, and this meeting will start the steering committee to get to a strategy for the St. Mary’s River.

Biological data for the river has already been gathered over the years by the St. Mary’s River Project. This new work will send people out into field to document issues, problems in the streams running into the river and any direct discharges into the streams, said Sue Veith, environmental planner with the St. Mary’s County Department of Land Use and Growth Management.

Letters will be sent out this month to land owners in the watershed asking for permission to come onto the properties. Veith emphasized it is not intended for any enforcement actions from the department. ‘‘We’re not going looking out for violations or issues,” she said. ‘‘This is going to document where the problems have been identified in the biological data.”

Joseph Anderson, president of the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association, said, ‘‘It’s the only river in Maryland that begins and ends in the same jurisdiction – everyone in St. Mary’s County has a stake in the future of this river, and because we’re addressing this project based on a whole system approach, it’s important that we receive input from citizens that represent as many aspects of our county as possible.”

‘‘If the strategy is to be meaningful and its implementation successful, the strategy must be comprehensive and must be developed using a public stakeholder process,” Bob Lewis said in a letter to those with a stake in the river.