Marylander's Grow Oysters spat delivery for the 2024-2025 growing season

A casual observer might think that April, Earth Month, is the busiest time of year for an environmental group like SRA. April certainly is busy, but October actually takes the cake. Here on the Severn in October, it seems like a doubling of all the things we do, all at once, and usually with less help. The summer interns have gone, but water quality monitoring continues. Several grant programs close in December and it’s crunch time to coordinate restoration projects with communities, businesses, and individuals. Oyster spat-on-shell arrive by the truckload and must be distributed to over 300 piers throughout the river. Annual conferences scheduled for October bring new scientific and technological ideas, important new contacts, and novel ideas, but also snatch precious days out of the work week. The boat shows bring hordes of people from around the world to our River to check out beautiful boats and cutting edge maritime tech. End-of-year fundraising kicks into high gear. It’s always a lot, and this year, it’s even more. 

On October 1 a new and potentially transformative funding opportunity arose- the Whole Watershed Act. This new state program will direct millions of dollars of restoration money into 5 rivers in the State. SRA lobbied for the bill that created this funding stream last winter. Over the summer we assembled a powerful coalition of local groups to rally behind the Severn as one of those 5 rivers. Starting at the beginning of the month and continuing until the deadline in December, we will be all-systems-go to ensure the best possible case is made, by the best possible people, in the best possible organizations, to bring this funding back to the best possible river on the Bay, our beloved Severn.

Yes, it’s a busy time for your team at SRA (did I mention our strategic roadmap expires this year and needs to be updated??) But it’s an exciting time, and I find that things tend to balance out. This time where we see the changing leaves, the sailors eking out those last few cruises of the season, the watermen bringing in the fattest crabs of the year– that’s when we remember why we push so hard to do what we do, because the Severn is special, and it deserves the love. Thank you for being a part of this movement toward a thriving Severn River, and enjoy the busiest and most beautiful time of the year!

Jesse Iliff

Executive Director

Jesse@severnriver.org

The big news in the Severn River is that our water quality monitoring teams are tracking a sharp rise in salinity. Our teams of volunteers, led by SRA Program Officer Tom Guay, are tracking salinity levels in excess of 10 parts per thousand (ppt)...

Restoration Manager Ben Fertig added a few more letters after his name: CBLP. He is now certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (Level 1). Congratulations Ben! This professional milestone enables Ben to ensure that stormwater best management practices are designed, installed, and maintained correctly based on regional standards. There is also an emphasis on conservation landscaping with native plants to benefit the environment.

Last week the Oyster Recovery Partnership delivered the second of two rounds of oysters for SRA’s Marylanders Grow Oysters oyster restoration program, the largest of its kind in the state, with over 300 households participating throughout the Severn River.

Thank you again to ORP and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, our Creek Captain volunteers, all our growers, and to Ted Delaplaine, Donna Corddry, Dan Bornstein, Amanda Atwell, and Billy Moulden for your help offloading and hauling oyster bags!

Water Quality Monitoring

Help SRA conduct our weekly data gathering on the Severn River to monitor the water quality. Volunteers go out on a boat to measure oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature, and clarity.



Weekly tours April-October Training is "on-the-job"

You can show your Severn River pride with a polo, vest, or tumbler from our new swag store.

Looking for a hat or grocery bag? Email Sarah@severnriver.org

Our important work is only possible due to the generous support of people like you. If you are a current donor - THANK YOU! We welcome your support any time of the year. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining the movement today. Any size donation makes you a member.

HELP RESTORE AND PROTECT THE SEVERN RIVER