Workshop to Focus on Protecting Maryland’s Working Waterfronts

Boaters, watermen, coastal planners, aquaculturists ─ anyone interested in the preservation of Maryland’s waterfronts ─ are invited to the Working Waterfronts Exchange on June 18 in Cambridge. Experts and guests will have the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences, and discuss the results of an economic study on the topic.

At the event, DNR’s Chesapeake and Coastal Service will reveal the results of a six month business analysis of working waterfronts in Cambridge, as well as more information on the state’s new Working Waterfronts Enhancement Program.

“Working waterfronts are critical to the well-being of our economy, providing access for water-dependent activities such as fishing, boating and various marine trades,” said DNR Secretary Mark Belton.  “With concerns for our ever-changing shorelines growing, the exchange aims to explore the future of these waterfronts, and the role they play in our community’s identity and economic importance.”

Carried out by DNR and the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center, the study will be used to help develop a sustainable working waterfronts program for the city and a guidebook that can be applied to waterfront communities across the state.

The event will also include sessions on cultural and heritage tourism, state and local planning, community visioning, and Maryland’s seafood industry. Participants will discuss local working waterfront planning, protection and economic development initiatives.

This workshop is free and open to the public, but space is limited. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Governor’s Hall at Sailwinds Park, 200 Byrne Street, Cambridge, MD 21613.  A reception and tour at the Richardson Maritime Complex (Ruark Boatworks) will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The deadline to register is Friday, June 12. Participants should indicate if their business/organization would like a booth at the exchange’s expo. More information and online registration is available at dnr.maryland.gov/ccs/workingwaterfronts.asp.

For more information, contact Nicole Carlozo, DNR Chesapeake and Coastal Service natural resource planner at 410-260-8726 or nicole.carlozo@maryland.gov.

This exchange highlights the importance of the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, which strives to engage stakeholders in protecting the coastal and marine resources vital to many water-dependent businesses. The Agreement, signed in 2014 by governors and representatives from the entire watershed, commits the Bay’s headwater states to full partnership in restoration.