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This page includes details about the inaugral Restoration Day event held at the Chesapeake Bay Enviornmental Center (CBEC) on June 15, 2004. It contains information about the work done during the event and background about on-going restoration projects at CBEC.
Description of Event
On Tuesday, June 15, 2004, over 90 NOAA volunteers waded out into the warm, murky water of the Chesapeake Bay getting wet up to their necks while planting underwater bay grasses that they had grown in their offices. This was the first NOAA Restoration Day event, an opportunity for NOAA employees to work together to make a difference through a variety of hands-on, in-the-field restoration activities. It was a great success with over 90 NOAA volunteers representing all NOAA Line Offices to help make a difference and restore habitat in Chesapeake Bay.
Dr. Bill Hogarth, Director of NOAA Fisheries, and Peyton Robertson, Deputy Director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, began the day motivating volunteers by expressing the importance of the restoration work to the overall health of the Bay and the significance of the collaboration between all NOAA Line Offices participating.
2004 Restoration Activities at CBEC
The 2004 event was held at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC), a scenic 500-acre nature preserve surrounded by Bay waters and comprised of marshy wetland and woodland habitats. It is located about 5 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on the Eastern shore of Maryland. NOAA’s investment with the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) began with funding from the NOAA Restoration Center in 2002.
The volunteers planted 45 trays of submerged aquatic grasses (SAV) or bay grass that were grown in 15 NOAA headquarter offices. One of these tanks was even located in VADM Lautenbacher's office. In addition to SAV restoration, the volunteers installed 45 feet of coir fiber logs, planted over 1000 wetland plants, placed oyster shell and spat on an off-shore oyster reef, installed a floating canoe dock, removed debris resulting from Hurricane Isabel, and learned about Terrapin protection. All activities were aimed at improving habitat and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay, a local treasure that is severely degraded due to human impacts.
Restoration Activities:
- Bay Grass Planting - Planted 45 trays of bay grasses that were previously grown in 15 grow tanks by NOAA in the Silver Spring offices (see photos).
Native Oyster Restoration - Sprinkled 25 bags of native oyster shell and spat onto an offshore oyster reef (see photos).
- Construct Floating Dock - Replaced deteriorating, wooden dock with a removable, plastic, floating canoe launch (see photos).
- Terrapin Protection Seminar - Learned about the importance of terrapin protection and touch several baby terrapins, a few grown turtles, and eggs (see photos).
- Installation of Biologs for Shoreline Stabilization - Installed 45 feet of coir fiberlogs (biologs) with stakes and twine to help build-up the shoreline (see photos).
- Wetlands Planting - helped stabilize and protect the shoreline by planting over 1,000 emergent marsh plants (see photos).
- Wetlands Clean-up and Debris Removal from Hurricane Isabel - Removed wooden debris and trash from 3 acres of shoreline that were previously damaged by Hurricane Isabel (see photos).
The long day of hard work in the hot sun was rewarded by an informal gathering at nearby Harris Crab House Restaurant. This entire day was very well received by all volunteers and leadership and was a promising beginning for a popular annual event.
On-going Restoration Efforts at CBEC
The restoration activities that took place during the 2004 NOAA Restoration Day at CBEC supplement previous work between NOAA, MD DNR and other local partners which support a soft shoreline design that is engineered to absorb periodic storm and high-energy wave events. The same cannot be said for hardened structures (e.g. rip-rap, concrete groins, etc.) that are often built in similar tidal zones.
In September 2003, this area at CBEC successfully weathered Hurricane Isabel largely unchanged, with only minimal sediment movement and a few plants uprooted by debris. The seven-foot high tidal surge overtopped the entire restored shoreline with minimal effect, while that same energy destroyed a nearby house and trailer which emphasizes the success of this method of restoration.
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