New MD. DNR Secretary - good for us or bad ?

3103 Views 27 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Market Price, 4 mo ago

Choptank River

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

chesapeakebaymagazine.com

Bay Foundation Exec. is Next Md. Secretary of Natural Resources | Chesapeake Bay Magazine

On Tuesday, Maryland Governor-elect Wes Moore appointed a new Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources ahead of the new governor's Wednesday inauguration. Maryland native Josh Kurtz will lead…

chesapeakebaymagazine.com

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rock 'n load

· #2 · 4 mo ago

From the linked article with my highlights:

"The Crownsville, Anne Arundel County resident led CBF teams in Annapolis, Upper Marlboro, and Easton, Md., working to improve water quality. He led campaigns to plant more trees, conserve forested land, help farmers make environmental improvements, make cities greener, and ensure the state maintains sustainable fisheries."

Color me not impressed.

crabby and son

· #3 · 4 mo ago

Any one appointed by this liberal Governor most likely will not impress me either. Time will tell......Gary

Reactions: 1

O sea D

· #4 · 4 mo ago

Who knows the devil knows

Brandon

· #5 · 4 mo ago

Let me start by saying, I don't know this guy from Adam.

What I do know is that I've been reviewing the Chesapeake Bay report card over the last two decades along with fisheries data and it's terrible.

I used to be a CBF fan, I'm not sure I am anymore for the simple fact, they appear to have failed miserably in their mission. And they're not alone, just about every single "conservation" organization has failed.

This conclusion all comes from their own reports on bay health, or lack there of.

Some will come in and say, well if we were not there it would be worse. Ummm, I guess a D is better than an F? Maybe?

I've also been going back and adding up how much money was spent on the Bay and how much still is on a yearly basis.

I remember the menhaden fight as good as anyone.

By the numbers, the "conservation" organizations could have literally bought Omega Protein AND paid the workers several years salary as severance.

If a new company came in, which would have been hard because of the capital requirements, there was enough money to buy them too.

The same can be said for oysters, crabs, striped bass and other species.

By all accounts the conservation of the Bay is an utter failure and only destined to get worse.

If this sort of performance happened in the for profit world they would have all been fired long ago. Yet, the conservation non-profits will create their marketing campaigns and that donation card still shows up in your mailbox to make you feel guilty and you send in that money.

Looking back twenty years later, it sure looks like an utter total failure and huge waste of money.

Am I wrong?

edited for typos

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knotworkin

· #6 · 4 mo ago

I dont know the numbers but if we paid oystermen to plant oysters instead of harvest them and protect the sanctuaries the bay could turn around in a few years. Oysters do more to improve bay water quality than any politician ever will and oysters unlike politicians work all day for free.

Reactions: 2

Capt.Nick

· #7 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

IMO The Secretary he is replacing,appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan, was 100% Pro Commercial .Recs got the crumbs.Rec ,crabs and stripers cut in half. Season extended for coms. on Yellow Perch. Com. season was extened for female crabs. I don't think he could be any worse. Most of the oysters that are planted are sure to be harvested after they become legal size. Even if the are planted in a sanctuary, they change the rules.

Reactions: 2

V-Tinny

· #8 · 4 mo ago

Brandon said:
.

What I do know is that I've been reviewing the Chesapeake Bay report card over the last two decades along with fisheries data and it's terrible.

Other then a "dip" on a 8 year average (twice), it seems as though the health is actually been improving, and it currently on an upswing.

Seems the records go back to 1986 when the bay actually got a lower score card. Over the past 36 years there have only been 6 years where the score was above 2021. Look at the chart to right in below link. Notice the pretty much steady rise since 2003. There were dips in 2003, 2010 and 2018, but it's overall an incline since 1986.

Bay Health | EcoHealth Report Cards

ecoreportcard.org

Most of the guys who are doom and gloom are comparing their success to the artificially inflated high back in early 1990's after the moratorium. There are a few guys who fished the 50's and 60's when it really was good, but not many here. I probably caught my 1st striper in the late 60's or early 1970. I can say that my success nowadays is much better then it was in the 70's in the upper bay. Maybe my spots still produce because I don't blast everything over social media. If I take someone out and they post, they don't get invited back.

I do agree with you on the "Conservation" organization. Most all are just lining pockets.

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Progger

· #9 · 4 mo ago

Brandon said:
I used to be a CBF fan, I'm not sure I am anymore for the simple fact, they appear to have failed miserably in their mission. And they're not alone, just about every single "conservation" organization has failed.

When you realize that their " mission" is fundraising, you realize that they have been incredibly successful all these years.

I had an eye opening, first hand experience with CBF almost 40 years ago.

Don't think this is will prove to be good appointment, at least for sportsman.
But didn't expect a good one.

Reactions: 1

crabby and son

· #10 · 4 mo ago

CBF doesn't want the bay to have a high rating because that will put them out of a job. Keeping it at a D level is job security.........Gary

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crabby and son

· #11 · 4 mo ago

Capt.Nick said:
IMO The Secretary he is replacing,appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan, was 100% Pro Commercial .Recs got the crumbs I don't think he could be any worse. Most of the oysters that are planted are sure to be harvested after they become legal size. Even if the are planted in a sanctuary, they change the rules.

Haddaway came from a long line of commercial watermen family...........Gary

Reactions: 2

Patapsco Mike

· #12 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

Brandon said:
I used to be a CBF fan, I'm not sure I am anymore for the simple fact, they appear to have failed miserably in their mission. And they're not alone, just about every single "conservation" organization has failed.

By the numbers, the "conservation" organizations could have literally bought Omega Protein AND paid the workers several years salary as severance.

Am I wrong?

lol yeah, you are extremely wrong. I did two minutes of looking to see that OMEGA protein is a $500,000,000 company with over 1,000 employees. CBF is a non-profit who's total assets are like 20% of that in a good year. So yeah, your math is not working.

Trying to pin anything related to the bay on a single environmental advocacy group makes no sense. CBF doesn't set emissions standards or TMDL limits or nutrient caps. They don't make land use decisions or inspect wastewater treatment plants. All they can do is try to rile up the public so that the public pushes their legislators- the ones who decide all of the above- to make better decisions. No group has done a better job of that than CBF. It would be hard to find a better example of how effective they are then the fact that so many on here are complaining about their report card.

Reactions: 2

crabby and son

· #13 · 4 mo ago

FOLLOW THE MONEY........Gary

Reactions: 1

Choptank River

Discussion Starter · #14 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

Capt.Nick said:
IMO The Secretary he is replacing,appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan, was 100% Pro Commercial .Recs got the crumbs.Rec ,crabs and stripers cut in half. Season extended for coms. on Yellow Perch. Com. season was extened for female crabs. I don't think he could be any worse. Most of the oysters that are planted are sure to be harvested after they become legal size. Even if the are planted in a sanctuary, they change the rules.

Good observation, you're on to something, think Commercials have more to worry about from this appointment with lost of Haddaway family commercial interests. The vary least maybe the playing field will be more centered? The next few weeks if DNR head of Fisheries (political appointment) is replaced might signal theirs a new Sheriff in Town?

Reactions: 1

Market Price

· #15 · 4 mo ago

Brandon said:
Am I wrong?
edited for typos

Yes. (Not edited for typos)...

Reactions: 1

Market Price

· #16 · 4 mo ago

crabby and son said:
FOLLOW THE MONEY........Gary

Back to NJ?....

Choptank River

Discussion Starter · #17 · 4 mo ago

Brandon,

Refresh my memory; were you appointed to Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission years ago ? If so, while you don't serve there now how many years did you serve ?

Reactions: 2

Tombass123

· #18 · 4 mo ago

First and foremost, non-profits don't have the teeth for enforcement of natural resource regulation or policy. That is the role of government.
What makes that more frustrating has been the lack of Federal enforcement of the overall watershed, as evidence by the near total failure of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement, minus oysters, which some of you may be surprised to hear were the only category to meet or exceed their minimum restoration targets for 2025 (only through a huge effort among a coalition stakeholders at many levels).

Sure, some NGO's seem to focus on their PR than others, but some do tremendously effective advocacy work (Shore Rivers & the Marshyhope), take on the the extremely heavy lifting (Oyster Recovery Partnership), and/or educate and engage with the public through hands on volunteer events (St. Mary's River Watershed Alliance, all for example), but the County, State, and Federal Governments are the ones at the end of the day who need to crack their knuckles and make the decisions to fix the Bay (with our demands).

Add to this the the overall population and development of the region outpaced all predictions that were made in ~1983 when the Chesapeake Bay Program was getting off the ground, so it's no wonder the Bay hasn't dramatically improved in the last 40 years.

I have my doubts about the new guy's background and the Dog and Pony show he was part of, but it's certainly a huge swing in the opposite direction from the previous secretary.
Hopefully for the better.

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longtail

· #19 · 4 mo ago

Choptank River said:
Brandon,

Refresh my memory; were you appointed to Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission years ago ? If so, while you don't serve there now how many years did you serve ?

Choptank.
Didn’t you serve on a board of some type at one time?

crabby and son

· #20 · 4 mo ago

Choptank River said:
Brandon,

Refresh my memory; were you appointed to Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission years ago ? If so, while you don't serve there now how many years did you serve ?

Brandon moved to California several years ago........Gary

Reactions: 1

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