Dear Deal Island Peninsula Partners,

Hope you are enjoying the start of summer, in spite of the limitations imposed by the coronavirus. We have several announcements to share with you this month in addition to our regular updates. These include news about the new Skipjack Heritage Museum and new research partnerships to better understand marsh migration on the Peninsula. The newly formed DIPP Coordination Committee has been working behind the scenes to get the pieces in place for a couple of upcoming projects, including the Thin Layer Placement project highlighted in last month's newsletter.

Below you'll also find two requests, one from our partners at the Maryland DNR who need feedback on the State's National Estuarine Research Reserve Program (which includes Monie Bay) and Chesapeake Coastal Zone Program. The other request is from our County partners, who need more local participation in the US Census, data from which is needed to garner funding to support local needs, like ditch maintenance.  

As always, please let us know if you have any questions about newsletter highlights or news to share with our partnership.

Sincerely,
Liz Van Dolah

DIPP Coordinator

County Ditch Maintenance Updates

The County is still working on obtaining easements for the Champ Road Drainage Project. Permits have been granted for the first phase of this project, which will clean out 6,616 feet of off-road ditch on the northwest side of Champ Road.  Once letters are in hand, the County will be able to proceed with project implementation. 

Within the next two weeks, the County will be submitting a permit application to the Maryland Department of the Environment to install a three-foot tide gate and pipe at the end of the recently completed ditch cleaning on Deal Island Road. As was noted last month, the tide gate and pipe will be installed at the west end of the cleaned-out Deal Island Road ditch near the outlet to Rock Creek, and is being installed to address the increased flow of water during incoming tides. 

The County Roads Department has also cleaned the roadside ditches along Riley Roberts Road, as seen in the photos below. 

Photos: Roadside ditches along Riley Roberts Road, which were cleaned by the County on June 24.

The Skipjack Heritage Museum is Re-opening

on Labor Day!

SHI plans to use the museum to share the Peninsula's history and heritage through its collection of local memorabilia and through community education and outreach programs, including with the Deal Island School. In addition to the main exhibition room, the new building will have a small meeting room. 

SHI continues to fundraise to support the museum's completion and future work. If you would like to support SHI with donations or volunteer time, please contact: Sandy Townsend (sandstownsend@comcast.net) or Bob Shores (bwshores@comcast.net). Donations may also be mailed to: Skipjack Heritage, Inc., 23529 Deal Island Rd., Chance, MD 21821. 

DIPP's Coordination Committee Update

At the beginning of this month, members of the newly formed DIPP Coordination Committee met to discuss DIPP priorities and actionable next steps to support DIPP's mission to build social and ecological resilience on the Deal Island Peninsula through collaborative partnerships. The team discussed several needs and upcoming opportunities to support this goal. They included: 

• Continued collaborations to see the Deal Island Shoreline Project through to completion
• Continued collaborations to address ongoing ditch maintenance needs and roadway flooding concerns
• Engagement with the County's upcoming Comprehensive Plan Update
• Collaborations on the upcoming Thin-Layer Placement Project (see May Newsletter) to integrate marsh and community considerations into marsh enhancement work on the Peninsula
• Participation in an upcoming pilot launch of Maryland's MyCoast flood documentation tool, a phone app and website to help inform decision-making on nuisance flooding through crowd-sourced data (more details coming soon!).

In light of COVID-19, the Coordination Committee is also exploring opportunities to host virtual or hybrid in-person/virtual community conversations to enable our network to safely engage in collaborative activities.

The Committee also approved a DIPP letter of support for the Audubon Society's funding application to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This application is being submitted for funds to support their work to re-establish the marshes where the Thin Layer Placement Project will be implemented. 

Who is on the Coordination Committee?

The Coordination Committee includes 2-3 representatives from each of DIPP's five main stakeholder groups (listed below). They work closely with Liz Van Dolah, DIPP's coordinator, to help collaboratively lead the partnership. 

Local: 

• Andrew Webster, Chance resident/Skipjack Heritage Inc.
• Val Ruark, Oriole resident
• Michael Paolisso, Chance resident/University of Maryland Department of Anthropology

County Government: 

• Gary Pusey, Somerset County Department Technical and Community Services Director
• Kristen Tremblay, Somerset County Department of Technical and Community Services Assistant Director

State Government: 

• Jenn Raulin (Maryland DNR/CB-NERR)
• Sasha Land (Maryland DNR/ Coastal Zone Management Program)
• Mary Phipps Dickerson (Maryland Department of the Environment - Wetlands and Waterways Program, Tidal Wetlands Natural Resource Planner)

University: 

• Jen Dindinger, Maryland Sea Grant Extensions
• Brian Needelman, University of Maryland Dept. of Environmental Science and Technology

Non-Governmental Organizations: 

• Astrid Caldas, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Joe Fehrer, The Nature Conservancy

Interested in getting more involved with DIPP coordination? Contact Liz to find out how: dealislandpeninsulapartners@gmail.com.  

CBNERR-MD Begins Long Term Monitoring Study with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

CBNERR-MD is partnering with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to carry out long-term (5+ year) monitoring that expands upon a previous graduate student's research at the Monie Bay Component of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR-MD). This monitoring project will measure the changes of the coastal forests adjacent to the Monie Bay marshes (near Drawbridge Road). This project will leverage the student's research results, which found that as marshes migrate into coastal forests, the amount of carbon stored in the trees and soil diminishes over a short period of time until the marsh establishes itself. The decline in carbon storages coincides with the emergence of "ghost forests" -- dead stands of trees near the marsh edge. These carbon losses have repercussions for wildlife and people as it degrades soil fertility, vital habitat, timber production, and real estate values. The long-term monitoring that will be carried out as part of this collaborative project will allow us to better understand these changes as they happen in real-time over a longer period of time. 

The MD-DNR Needs Your Input: 

Please provide feedback on our programs so that we can better serve you!

Every five years or so, NOAA conducts a performance evaluation of Maryland's Coastal Zone Management and Research Reserve programs in order to understand how these programs are being implemented across the state and with partners. The evaluation provides an opportunity to both share accomplishments and collect feedback in order to enhance the Maryland Department of Natural Resources's (MD-DNR) work through these programs.

This evaluation is particularly relevant to the Deal Island Peninsula, as it includes an assessment of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve's (CBNERR-MD) management, research, and educational programming offered through their work at the Reserve's Monie Bay Component. It is also used to assess the State's management of Maryland's coastal areas, which includes the Deal Island Peninsula. 

You're Invited! Attend an Upcoming Virtual Meeting to Provide Your Feedback:

The federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 mandates that these evaluations include opportunities for public comment. As such, the NOAA evaluation team will be hosting a virtual public meeting. All interested participants are invited to attend online or by phone. The purpose of the meeting is to receive public comments regarding the operations and implementation of the Maryland Coastal Zone Management and CB-NERR programs.

When: Wednesday, July 22nd, 12pm-1pm

Registration: Registration is Required. Please register here. 

**Registrations will be accepted up to one hour before the meeting. 

If you are unable to participate, please consider providing written comments. Written comments can also be submitted by those who participate in the meeting. Written comments should be emailed to Carrie Hall at Carrie.Hall@noaa.gov no later than July 31, 2020.

Somerset County Needs Your Census Input! 

As you know, this year the US Census is being conducted for the first time in 10 years -- a process for counting every individual in the United States at the location where each person lives. These numbers, as well as other basic demographic information collected through a 9-question survey, are used to determine how funding is distributed to the states, counties, and local communities across the country.

Somerset County especially needs robust Census data in order to justify funding needs, apply for grants, and support vital programs for its citizens. These programs include things like ditch maintenance. Unfortunately, the Deal Island Peninsula currently has a low self-response rate (see graphic). Please help the County to support vital programs for the Deal Island Peninsula and Somerset County at large by completing your Census survey. 

Census 101: What you need to know

• Everyone counts.
• It’s about $675 billion. The distribution of more than $675 billion in federal funds, grants, and support to States, counties and communities are based on census data. This money is spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works, and other vital programs.
• It’s about fair representation. Every 10 years, the results of the census are used to reapportion the House of Representatives, determining how many seats each State gets.
• It’s in the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution mandates that everyone in the country be counted every 10 years.
• Your privacy is protected. It is against the law for the Census Bureau to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or your household. By law, your responses cannot be used against you and can only be used to produce statistics.
• It's easy and quick! There are only 9 questions. It should take less than five (5) minutes to complete, and can be done in one of three (3) ways: 

Online: https://2020census.gov

Phone: 1-844-330-2020

Mail: by returning the pre-stamped

survey sent to you by the Census Bureau.

61st Annual Skipjack Race Scheduled for Labor Day