June DIPP Newsletter

JUNE 2017 NEWSLETTER
Check out what we've been up to this month

Dear Project Stakeholders and Interested Participants: 
 
Happy summer! Below you’ll find updates from the recent June 3rd workshop, which includes an overview of action team activities and information about a new website feature that is now available to you so that you may continue to engage in planning discussions. Mark your calendars for October 7th, which is when we will be having our next set of workshops about shoreline erosion, and ditch maintenance and flooding risks. In addition, you’ll find an update on the Deal Island shoreline project, information about a new app of interest, and a link to a just-published news story featuring DIPP. We’ve also included some cute owl pictures from CBNERR-Monie Bay for your viewing pleasure. As always, please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns!
 
Sincerely, 
The DIPP Team

Overview of June 3rd Gathering and Next Steps
 
DIPP met on June 3rd to develop action teams to select and carry out strategies to address risks, such as ditch maintenance and flooding, shoreline erosion, storm damage, and marsh migration. At the meeting, Michael Paolisso gave an update on the DIPP social network analysis findings, and Liz Van Dolah presented the results from the Risk Assessment worksheets to help guide action team discussions. 

Participants broke into two groups focused on their prioritized concerns: ditch maintenance and flooding, and shoreline erosion.
 
Ditch Maintenance and Sunny Day Flooding: 
Group discussions on ditch maintenance and sunny-day flooding led to the formation of two action teams:
1. Sunny Day Flooding Action Team: community members on this action team will document locations when flooding occurs along the following roads. 
Long Point Road 
Riley Roberts Road
Messick Road
Hodson White Road
Wharf Road
Intersection of Crab Island Road and Oriole Back Road
Crab Island Road
If a community member would like to add a location to the list and is willing to document flooding, please contact Sasha Land sasha.land@maryland.gov.
 
2. Ditch Flooding and Maintenance Action Team: This action team will have two sub-action teams focused on Dames Quarter and Oriole. Members of these two teams will do an information assessment of the conditions of the ditches and tide gates in these two areas. The DIPP coordinating team is figuring out an easy, efficient and helpful way to do that, and to document the information collected. DIPP coordinators have also reached out to County staff overseeing County roads and found that they do not have maps of the road and non-roadside ditches, but that they do have a list of the tide gates. DIPP coordinators will be in touch the action teams on how best to carry out assessments. Members of the Ditch Flooding and Maintenance Action Team would also like to hold a Community Conversation in the fall for property owners to go over best practices for ditch maintenance now and into the future. 
 
Shoreline Erosion:
The group discussing shoreline erosion concerns identified three stakeholders, Bill Princiotta (Deal Island), Ron Nelson (Deal Island), and Mike Castagnola (Deal Island) as point persons for recommendations on contractors who do bulkhead/riprap repair work. The group also requested a workshop in the fall for technical assistance on appropriate shoreline plantings and other strategies that help reduce erosion. At the request of participants, the DIPP coordinating team has developed an online community discussion forum to enable those interested in shoreline health to continue ongoing discussions and take a more active role in developing action plans. If you are interesting in joining the discussion and contributing to the conversation, click on the resource tab on the project website: dealislandpeninsulaproject.org. 
 

Deal Island Shoreline Project Status Update
 
The Maryland State Legislature has approved FY18 money to support the design of a resiliency project on the Deal Island shoreline (located next to Crowell Rd. in Soundside Estates) through the newly formed Capital Resiliency Grant Program. The Funds will be used to develop the design of shoreline features to enhance resiliency in the Deal Island Peninsula. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which is coordinating the project’s implementation, is still waiting on Federal funding from NOAA to be approved before the project can move forward. Details about the design will be forthcoming. 

The Blue Crab Byway App & Request for Local Input
 
The Blue Crab Byway is a new app and website now available from the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area Council (ESHAC). The app/website offers visitors a chance to experience the beauty and history of the lower Eastern Shore area of Maryland through self-guided tours. The app/website will be continuously updated with new information and recommendations on sites to visit as it is collected. 
 
ESHAC would like to invite you to help populate their list of recommended stops in the Deal Island Peninsula area. This could include places of historic significance, such as old churches, historic buildings, or cemeteries, the museum, sunset viewing points, places to stay, kayak/canoe launching points, skipjack tours or viewing points, farm stands, local events, etc. 

If you would like to share your suggestions, please email a short description of the location(s) to info@lowershoreheritage.org, along with an address (and GIS points if known), and a webpage and/or phone number if available.
 
Visit the website at www.bluecrabbyway.org or download the app through the AppStore.

CBNERR Owl Monitoring Photos from Monie Bay
Among other activities, CBNERR staff have been busy monitoring the growth patterns of barn owl hatchlings that currently reside in the owl boxes located in the marshes of the Monie Bay Reserve. These assessments will be used to help develop tools to track owl development in the Deal Island Peninsula area and elsewhere around the country. Check out these cute owl pictures from their trip in late May!  

In the News

"An island is disappearing, but residents don't see it" (Climate Wire, 6/15/2017): The Deal Island Peninsula Project and several of its stakeholders have been featured in this recently published article about navigating climate change on the Deal Island Peninsula and elsewhere on the Eastern Shore. The article has also been re-published in Scientific American. 
 
New Feature on the Website: Check out the new community forum on shoreline erosion issues that is now available on the website under the resource tab. To join the conversation and contribute your thoughts, you'll need to sign up. Comments and posts are available for anyone to read. If there is interest, the DIPP team can establish additional forums to have online community discussions or track progress on other other key issues (e.g., ditch maintenance, marsh encroachment). If you are interested in having this available for a specific topic, let us know!