- South Baltimore Community Land Trust
- Centro de Apoyo Familiar
- Empower DC
- Morgan State University
- Virginia State University
- Appalachian Voices
- Sentinels of Eastern Shore/Sussex Health and Environmental Network
- Overbrook Environmental Education Center
- West Virginia State University
Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, the Region 3 TCTAC program offers capacity-building support to environmental and energy justice communities. The Region 3 program objectives are to:
- Provide outreach to underserved, overburdened, rural, and capacity constrained communities in Region 3 to receive technical assistance;
- Deliver technical assistance to increase the capacity of Hubs and communities of concern in Region III to assess environmental and energy justice concerns;
- Deliver training and technical assistance to increase the capacity of underserved, overburdened, rural, and capacity constrained communities in Region III to obtain funding to address environmental and energy justice issues; and
- Deliver technical assistance to increase hub and community capacity to engage policymakers, government agencies, and industry in projects, programs, and initiatives that will address local environmental and energy justice issues in Region III. We will also work in partnership with TCTACs around the country to assist as needed.
University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center
As a core partner in the Region 3 TCTAC, the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center (EFC) provides grant development assistance to TCTAC program participants. For over 30 years, EFC has focused on “advancing finance solutions to environmental challenges” by directing resources and tools to communities working on environmental initiatives. Through the TCTAC program, EFC supports program participants to develop and strengthen funding applications and opportunities.
Grant development assistance is one of the most highly requested TCTAC services. With an influx of public and private funding to support environmental justice projects in recent years, many under-resourced and underserved communities looking to access this funding want help navigating these often complicated processes.
While EFC and the broader Region 3 TCTAC does not write grants on behalf of participants, EFC can help TCTAC participants in key stages of the grant process: 1) identifying grant opportunities, 2) strengthening grant applications through a feedback and consultation process, and 3) managing post-award processes.
Finding Grants
Upon completing a successful intake form to become a Region 3 TCTAC program participant, EFC can provide access to a curated database of grant opportunities. If a TCTAC participant has already identified a grant of interest, EFC can help assess eligibility for the grant, develop application checklists, discuss project ideas, and provide other forms of consultation before starting the grant application.
This process not only ensures that participants will have access to grants relevant to environmental, energy, and community justice needs, but that participants will also gain the skills to identify and pursue relevant funding opportunities in the future.
Strengthen Grant Applications
University of Maryland’s EFC can also play a valuable role in the grant application process by reviewing application packages, project proposals, and milestones/timelines; providing support in navigating online application portals; and other crucial components of the grant application. Through this close consultation, program participants can gain key insights from grant experts that they can carry into future grant applications.
Managing Post-Award Processes
And, the support does not stop if you’ve already been awarded a grant! From interpreting procurement rules and processes to understanding grant reporting, EFC can share tips and best practices on how to manage the next steps after receiving an award. Whether the grants are federal, private, or from a non-profit, it is common for organizations to require awardees to share updates on their projects, detailed accounting for the funds, and other forms of recordkeeping.
Understanding these stipulations is essential to ensuring that funds are used and accounted for appropriately. For first-time grant recipients, this support from EFC can be especially useful in setting an organization up for future success.
If you are a part of a community working on environmental and energy justice in the Mid-Atlantic region and would like to be connected to TCTAC hub organizations in your state for support, including grant development assistance, please complete this intake form. If you would like to sign up for newsletter updates from the Region 3 TCTAC, please sign up to our mailing list.
Frontline and fenceline communities are often dealing with time, labor, and financial constraints to access available resources for their environmental justice work. Even for the most experienced grant recipients, applying for funding and managing awards can be confusing and burdensome. The Region 3 TCTAC aims to demystify these processes and support environmental and energy justice groups’ efforts to grow their capacities and serve their communities.
Wildlife in our gardens, parks, and natural spaces are also struggling to stay cool and hydrated. During these sweltering months, providing water sources for wildlife in your garden is certainly a compassionate act, but also an essential one. By taking a few simple steps, you can make an impact on the survival of local wildlife species and get certified as a Certified Wildlife Habitat® in the process.
In the first week of July alone, all-time temperature records were tied or broken at over 40 weather stations across the country. More than 160 million Americans were under some sort of heat alert during the second week of July.
Why Water Matters for Wildlife
While we are hyper-aware of how unbearable excessive heat can be for us, it’s crucial to consider how dangerous this can be for wildlife as well. Not only do animals need water for drinking, but many also need it for bathing and cooling down. By providing easily accessible water sources, you can offer a lifeline to birds, butterflies, mammals, and other wildlife in your garden.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to provide water is by setting up a birdbath. Place it in a shaded area to keep the water cool and prevent rapid evaporation. Adding a few stones for perching and taking time to clean and refill the birdbath every few days will ensure fresh water and prevent the spread of diseases. This simple act can also help eliminate mosquito eggs and larvae, making it a win-win for both wildlife and your garden environment.
Easy and Effective Ways to Provide Water
Another easy solution is to place small water dishes on the ground. These can serve a variety of creatures, from birds and mammals to insects. Use shallow, wide dishes, and consider recycling old pots, pans, or plastic containers. Adding gravel or stones at the bottom provides stability for smaller creatures. Placing some of these dishes in shady spots will keep the water cooler for longer periods. Regularly cleaning and refilling these dishes is key to maintaining a fresh and safe water supply.
For those looking to attract butterflies, creating a butterfly puddling area is a great option. Simply fill a shallow dish with soil or sand, add a few rocks for perching, and pour in enough water to moisten the soil. Butterflies will flock to these spots, enjoying the minerals and moisture.
Drippers and misters can also be a fantastic addition to your garden. Hanging a drip jug over your birdbath can attract birds with the sound of dripping water. You can easily make one using a plastic milk jug with a tiny hole in the bottom and filling it with water. Water will slowly drip out, and the sound will draw birds looking for a cool bath and a refreshing drink.
Lastly, don’t forget to give your native plants an extra watering during these hot summer months. Native plants are adapted to local conditions and provide essential resources for wildlife. However, even these resilient plants can struggle with prolonged heat and drought. A little extra water can help them thrive, ensuring they continue to offer food and shelter for local wildlife.
Water: The Cornerstone of Successful Wildlife Habitats
Make this summer a little easier for our wildlife friends by providing the essential resource of water. Plus, gardens that offer food, water, shelter, and a place to raise young can become Certified Wildlife Habitats. By implementing just one of these elements, you could already be a quarter of the way to achieving certification!
By taking these simple steps, you can create a haven for wildlife in your garden, helping them survive the heat while enhancing the beauty and biodiversity of your outdoor space.
Garden for Wildlife – Join the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife and Certified Wildlife Habitat® movement!
Restoring Habitat
The National Wildlife Federation Mid-Atlantic Regional Center is working with scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory to study and develop additional methods to restore oysters to the Bay, adding tools to the oyster restoration toolbox. One tool that restoration professionals use is the oyster castle. Oyster castles are interlocking concrete blocks that provide ideal habitat for oysters to grow.
The scientists at Horn Point Laboratory have done incredible work quantifying how much nitrogen is removed from the water by an oyster castle with healthy growing oysters through microbial denitrification.
Why do we care about nitrogen? Well, nitrogen is a type of nutrient, which in excess becomes a pollutant that has caused some major problems in the Chesapeake Bay. Think algae blooms!
When there are excess nutrients in the water, algae blooms can become massive. When the algae die in large amounts, decomposition of that algae uses up a lot of oxygen and the lack of oxygen kills fish and other aquatic species.
Algae blooms can also be toxic, causing illness to people and wildlife that are exposed. Learn more about toxic algae blooms and other unnatural disasters.
And what on earth is microbial denitrification? Denitrification is the removal of fixed nitrogen (from the water) as nitrogen gas (safely released into the air); certain microbes, naturally occurring microscopic organisms, facilitate this process. Oyster castles not only provide habitat for oysters, fish, and crabs, they also provide an environment where microbes can remove excess nitrogen from the Bay.
Climate-Smart Conservation
We are working to identify and design ways to use oyster castles to retrofit existing infrastructure, particularly offshore breakwaters. Breakwaters are installed offshore to reduce erosion of a shoreline. These structures are oftentimes made of rubble or rock and they must be built to a certain height in order to remain effective to reduce wave energy and protect a shoreline.
As sea-level rises, offshore breakwaters are being inundated and even new installations will lose the height they need to be effective over time. This is where our work comes in. Our plan is to develop a solution to create ideal oyster habitat on offshore breakwaters while also extending the breakwater’s effectiveness into the future.
By installing oyster castles on degraded offshore breakwaters and planting oysters on the structures themselves, we are working to create a wildlife friendly solution to aging infrastructure that is able to grow as sea-level rises, while also improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
The National Wildlife Federation is committed to clean water, abundant wildlife, and climate-smart conservation. Greening the grey is just another cog in the wheel of our mission to help people and wildlife adapt to climate change.
Learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s adaptation projects:
1. Beat the Crowds to the Beach: Horseshoe Crab Tagging in the Delaware Bay
Although my eight year old son is pretty sure werewolves are real, a true local species that can be spotted under a full moon is the horseshoe crab. Older than the dinosaurs, this species has a distinctive appearance. To the average beachgoer’s eye, horseshoe crabs may look like an odd combination of prehistoric crab and an old-fashioned World War I helmet.
By the hundreds of thousands, horseshoe crabs converge on the Delaware Bay to breed by the light of the moon. Several National Wildlife Federation partners, including American Littoral Society, hold horseshoe crab tagging and tag re-sighting events on the beaches of the Delaware Bay. The data collected from tagging is used to help analyze the population of horseshoe crabs in the region and better inform conservation efforts to protect them. Your loved ones will gain a whole new respect for you when you gear up for a nighttime expedition on the beach crawling with the harmless horseshoe crabs.
2. Celebrate the Return of America’s Founding Fish
Midway across the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge you can take your picture straddling two states: New Jersey and Pennsylvania. If you come at the right time of the spring, you can spot shad making their migration from the Atlantic, through the Delaware Bay, and up the Delaware River to reproduce.
Thanks to great planning and habitat protection, shad numbers are on the rise after all-time lows just ten years ago. You can celebrate their return at New Hope and Lambertville’s Shad Fest, and enjoy food, music, art, and face painting for the kids. When you go, make sure you check out the commercial shad fishing demonstration by the Lewis family, the last anglers to have a commercial license to catch shad using nets.
3. Escape from NYC to the Upper Delaware River
Just a couple hours from New York City is the idyllic Upper Delaware. Take the 70 mile drive from NYC to the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway. Get panoramic views from such places as the Hawk’s Nest, and wind up in one of the country’s best areas for wild trout fishing. You might even spot a bald eagle soaring above you!
Trout is the lifeblood of the region, generating over $29 million in economic activity for small rural communities. Watch anglers take to their drift boats in search of a wild trout at the confluence of the East Branch and West Branch of the Delaware. While people come from all over the country, there are guides that can help anglers of any experience.
4. Bird like a boss
Are you sad the Easter egg hunt season over? Over the past thirty-five years New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding has made bird conservation fun by turning it into a giant all-ages treasure hunt over the course of 24 hours. Groups of all experience levels drive, walk, sit, listen, and comb New Jersey and identify an average of 165 different bird species. Game on. My recommendation: Join the crowds on the beaches around Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, and join NJ Audubon’s fun events.
Fascinated by birds of prey? Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania was named one of the 10 Best birdwatching destinations in the nation, according to USA Today’s annual reader’s poll. The fall boasts the best views of migrating hawks, bald eagles, and osprey. Hawk Mountain’s 2500-acre sanctuary was the world’s first refuge for birds of prey, and overlooks an eight mile trails system.
5. Wave to the Turtles and Raccoons as you float on by
The large number of outfitters on the Delaware River make it easy to hop in an innertube, canoe, or kayak, and see the great stretches of habitat on which so many species depend. But, remember, habitat is everywhere — including in Philadelphia’s backyard!
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, PA
Photo: Bill Buchanan, USFWS
At John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia you can wend through the largest remaining freshwater tidal marsh in Pennsylvania, and see eye-catching wildlife from a new vantage point. Reserve your spot on an expert-led kayak birding tour of the refuge where you may see some bald eagles that have been known to nest at the refuge.
Although the policies coming out of Washington, D.C. right now may be challenging to understand or accept as conservation minded folks – from attacks on the Clean Water Act to the gutting of rules that protect migratory birds – we can take action locally.
As we plan our family outdoor adventures this summer, it’s important not to take our National Parks and local wildlife for granted. We can ensure our children and future generations can enjoy the same summer wildlife-watching and outdoor activities we did by asking our state and federal politicians to take simple steps to protect the homes of river otters, shad, and bald eagles.
Let’s all give a special round of applause to Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska and Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan for introducing this pro-wildlife legislation.
To put a wild face on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, we’ve featured one species at risk for the states that have cosponsors so far. Their future is already looking up—thanks to our growing list of #wildlifechampions.
Current Cosponsors of Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 4647)
Arkansas
French Hill (R-AR-2) tweet a thank you to Representative Hill
California
Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) tweet a thank you to Representative Carbajal
Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) tweet a thank you to Representative Eshoo
John Garamendi (D-CA-3) tweet a thank you to Rep. Garamendi
Jared Huffman (D-CA-2) tweet a thank you to Representative Huffman
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19) tweet a thank you to Representative Lofgren
Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47) tweet a thank you to Rep. Lowenthal
Jerry McNerney (D-CA-9) tweet a thank you to Rep. McNerney
Colorado
Jared Polis (D-CO-2) tweet a thank you to Representative Polis
Scott Tipton (R-CO-3) tweet a thank you to Representative Tipton
Georgia
Hank Johnson (D-GA-4) tweet a thank you to Representative Johnson
Buddy Carter (R-GA-1) tweet a thank you to Representative Carter
Illinois
Jan Schakowsky (IL-D-9) tweet a thank you to Representative Schakowsky
Massachusetts
Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) tweet a thank you to Representative Moulton
Michigan
Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12) (original) tweet a thank you to Representative Dingell
Dan Kildee (MI-D-5) tweet a thank you to Representative Kildee
Missouri
Billy Long (R-MO-7) tweet a thank you to Representative Long
Nebraska
Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1) tweet a thank you to Representative Fortenberry
New Hampshire
Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH-2) tweet a thank you to Representative Kuster
Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH-1) tweet a thank you to Representative Shea-Porter
New Jersey
Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ-2) tweet a thank you to Representative LoBiondo
Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) tweet a thank you to Representative Smith
New York
Elise Stefanik (D-NY-21) tweet a thank you to Representative Stefanik
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-7) tweet a thank you to Representative Velazquez
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) tweet a thank you to Representative Jeffries
North Carolina
Richard Hudson (R-NC-8) tweet a thank you to Representative Hudson
David Rouzer (R-NC-7) tweet a thank you to Representative Rouzer
Oklahoma
Tom Cole (R-OK-4) tweet a thank you to Representative Cole
Markwayne Mullin (R-OK-2) tweet a thank you to Representative Mullin
Oregon
Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1) tweet a thank you to Representative Bonamici
Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5) tweet a thank you to Representative Schrader
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) tweet a thank you to Representative Blumenauer
Pennsylvania
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-8) tweet a thank you to Representative Fitzpatrick
Tom Marino (R-PA-10) tweet a thank you to Representative Marino
Glenn Thompson (R-PA-5) tweet a thank you to Representative Thompson
Texas
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX-29) tweet a thank you to Representative Green
Beto O’Rourke (D-TX-16) tweet a thank you to Representative O’Rourke
Washington
Suzan DelBene (D-WA-1) tweet a thank you to Representative DelBene
Wildlife can’t speak out in the halls of Congress. Instead, we have to speak up for species in trouble, celebrate every wildlife champion, and step up to find more cosponsors for the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.
TAKE ACTION for species in trouble
Time is running out for Blandings, wood and spotted turtles. These declining species inhabit parts of the central and eastern U.S. and Canada. Wherever they live, the challenge is to protect adult turtles and assure hatchlings and young turtles make it to breeding age.
The good news? State wildlife agencies and partners have a plan to set these turtles on a path to recovery by 2023. Funding from the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act can make it happen. But only if the wildlife-saving legislation passes.
Take action for turtles by urging passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
Turning the Tide in Favor of Turtles
Just as the turtles navigate with a mental map, state wildlife biologists map the journey of restoration. They mark turtles to identify and prioritize habitats to conserve and connect. They protect nests from flooding and hatchlings from predators. They alert motorists and make roads safer. Working together, partners address other serious threats, too, like illegal collecting for the pet trade. With consistent and necessary funding, we can turn the tide in favor of turtles.
Protecting turtle wetlands, streams and ponds helps other creatures, from fish and ducks to beavers and great blue herons. Conserving their nesting uplands benefits birds like the Baltimore oriole and rose-breasted grosbeak. That’s why these turtles serve as “umbrella species.” Saving turtles benefits hundreds of animals and plants that live in their suite of habitats.
Let’s help all turtles move safely and freely, and live to a ripe old age.
* The oldest documented freshwater turtle was an 83 year-old Blanding’s turtle, recorded by researcher Justin Congdon, still going strong in a Michigan forest preserve. The secret to living a long life? It helps to be a cold-blooded reptile. Low metabolism saves energy and hard shells protect them from predators.
Golden-winged warbler numbers have plunged downward by 66 percent since the 1960s, with a 98 percent decline in the Appalachian Mountain region. Once common throughout forests of the Midwest and East, they now breed only in two isolated populations in the Great Lakes region and the Appalachians.
These choosy songbirds rely on thickets and young trees for nesting and then move to bigger forests to raise their chicks. Only about 400,000 breeding pairs remain, one of the smallest populations of songbirds not on the endangered species list.
Today, we have a golden opportunity to save this chickadee-sized bird with its yellow cap and flashing gold wings. The Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group has a conservation plan to stop the decline and to increase populations by 50 percent by 2050. But the clock is ticking. The warblers suffer more losses every year. With your help, we can carry out the plan in time to help these brave songbirds battling for their future.
Tell Congress not to miss a golden opportunity! The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will give our state wildlife agencies the ability to save wildlife in peril like the golden-winged warbler.
Why is life so hard for golden-winged warblers? The birds require young trees and shrubs for nesting and older, bigger trees to hide chicks from predators. Natural wildfires and flooding once created a mosaic of younger trees and shrubs among older forests. Early agricultural practices also cleared lands in ways that encouraged the habitat the birds need. However, as forests have grown back, agriculture and forestry practices changed, and development eliminated shelter, nesting habitat has dwindled.
With support, landowners and agencies can maintain the bigger trees for chick-raising, and restore the critical younger forests and shrubs for nesting warblers. These same younger woodlands and thickets also shelter many other kinds of wildlife needing help, like ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and cottontail rabbits.
What can you do to help?
Migrating golden-winged warblers need to take breaks from their long journey in trees and shrubs. They benefit most from native plants that support nutritious insects for fueling their trip. Your backyard can be a wildlife garden. Find out here.
Next time you buy coffee, ask for shade-grown. Golden-winged warblers are among 42 of North America’s migratory songbirds that overwinter in the trees of shade-grown coffee plantations. As Central America’s forests are cut down for palm oil, cattle grazing, and sun-grown coffee, your coffee choice matters more than ever.
Finally, take a few minutes now on behalf of the golden-winged warbler. Tell your friends. Spread the news. And don’t forget to send a message to Washington, D.C.
In the world of conservation, however, this progression from good to bad is reversed. When restoring degraded landscapes, the first day is often the most precarious. It is the passing of time and the growth of the living elements that improve and heal the landscape.
Over a year ago, on an unseasonably hot September day, the National Wildlife Federation and our project partners planted a living shoreline along the Chester River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Living shorelines use natural elements, such as marsh grasses and shellfish, to protect shorelines from erosion. After digging the last hole and dropping in the last cordgrass plug, we drove off and waited for the next growing season to arrive. It ended up being November until I could make it back out to the site and when I stepped out onto the beach I barely recognized the shoreline that we planted the year before.
The marsh grasses, which were just fist-sized plugs a year before, had exploded, filling in the upper shoreline, and had driven their roots deep into the sand, holding the shoreline in place. The cobblestones, an innovative aspect of the shoreline, that we had used due to their ability to move and adapt to changing tides and rising seas, we’re working exactly as we had planned. They blanketed the shore, protecting it from the wind-driven waves. More than protecting the shoreline this project has restored native marsh grasses which provide important habitat for migratory birds and crustaceans, like the Maryland Blue Crab.
NWF’s restoration of Conquest Beach has transformed an eroding public park into a healthy and beautiful shoreline. This project has shown that living shorelines can provide aesthetic, ecological and public access benefits in addition to reducing erosion. In contrast, the armoring of shoreline with stone concrete and metal destroy shoreline habitat and threaten biodiversity along our coasts.
Find out more about the work going on in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center!
America’s Largest Estuary
Covering more than 64,000 square miles, the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and one of the most productive in the world. In any given year, seventy to ninety percent of all striped bass (known locally as rockfish) in the Atlantic Ocean were spawned in the Chesapeake Bay. With all of those fish, it should be no surprise that the Chesapeake Bay supports the largest breeding population of osprey (also called a fish hawk, since that’s all they eat) in the world. In addition, another raptor that feeds mostly on fish, the bald eagle, calls the Chesapeake home – more than 2,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles reside around the Bay. The blue crab, whose Latin name Callinectes sapidus means “beautiful swimmer,” and the eastern oyster are perhaps two of the most iconic species found in the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, polluted stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes, deforestation, wetland destruction from agricultural, urban, and suburban development, and sea level rise caused by climate change is threatening the Bay’s future and the fish and wildlife that depend on it.
United Voice for Clean Water
In 2009 the National Wildlife Federation helped launch the Choose Clean Water Coalition to advocate for restoring the thousands of streams and rivers flowing to the Chesapeake Bay. The coalition brings together more than 230 organizations from Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to speak up for clean water.
Together we are supporting the implementation of state clean water blueprints and Chesapeake Bay pollution limits. Nutrient and sediment pollution from farms is by far the largest source of contamination in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. There are 87,000 farms in the six-state Chesapeake region and those that are well run protect their water resources and add much to our landscape, environment, and economy. We want to ensure that these responsible farms and farmers remain economically viable, and this new bill will help to do just that.
Conservation Enhancements
The Van Hollen/Scott Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Enhancements Act of 2017 makes some important changes to the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) which is intended to provide farmers with additional funding for conservation practices that will lead to cleaner streams and rivers as well as a healthier Chesapeake Bay. There are many farmers in the Chesapeake region doing great things for their farms and their local waterways, and this bill is intended to provide them with additional resources to do more.
The National Wildlife Federation and the Choose Clean Water Coalition look forward to continuing to work to improve conservation programs such as RCPP in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Learn more about our work to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.
Birds like the majestic bald eagle and osprey rely on them as a food source. Striped bass and bluefish are predators of menhaden. Without menhaden acting as magnet for these sportfish, you likely won’t have a very successful day out on the water. In fact the increased whale sightings up and down the seaboard are also thanks to menhaden.
ASMFC is now holding public hearings across the Mid-Atlantic leading up to a mid-November decision on how and when they should implement ERPs. The ASMFC provided a range of options on the issue (called “Issue 2.6” in the management plan) and asked the public for feedback.
We attended Delaware’s public meeting in Dover in September and were thrilled to see so many individuals from every corner of the state stand up and support Option E. Recreational fishermen, conservationists, community leaders, and advocates for children in nature all agreed at our Delaware hearing – managing menhaden through Option E of Issue 2.6 of the Menhaden Management Plan NOW is the best option for our environment, our economy and future generations.
If you were unable to attend a public hearing in your state, there’s still time to act. You can submit your public comments to comments@asmfc.org with “Menhaden Draft Amendment 3” in the subject line and let the ASMFC know you support Option E in Issue 2.6. Comments are being accepted until 5:00p.m. on October 24, 2017 – Please act now!
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