Staff Spotlight: Tom Brower

Living shoreline at Conquest Preserve in Queen Anne’s County

Tom Brower is a project manager for the Shoreline Conservation Service, within the Chesapeake and Coastal Service, Center for Habitat Restoration and Conservation.

Tom started working at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as a Conservation Associate in February 1979.  Before that, he gained experience by working several years with a private land surveying and engineering firm, conducting various property/land tract surveys and drafting site plans, including shoreline erosion control work.

Tom grew up in Pasadena, Maryland and enjoyed swimming, boating, fishing and especially crabbing on the Magothy River. Through those experiences, Tom has always had an appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. When he was 11 years old, he obtained a crabbing license and started his own business selling crabs to neighbors and a local food market. After graduating from high school, he was able to purchase his first car with money he earned from the crabbing business.

Throughout his younger years, Tom noticed changes along the shoreline, involving bank erosion, beach recession, loss of marsh grasses, storm water run-off, sedimentation and diminishing submerged aquatic vegetation (bay grasses). He recognized that development of the area was having a negative impact on the waterway and that something needed to be done to protect the natural resources. Tom believed then, and still does now, that we need to continue protect, restore and preserve the aquatic habitat for future generations. That belief lead him here, now nearly 40 years ago!

The Shoreline Conservation Service, formally know as Shore Erosion Control, is a program within the department that was established in 1964 by act of the Maryland General Assembly for the purpose of addressing shoreline and stream bank erosion problems along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

The Service provides technical and financial assistances to Maryland waterfront property owners in resolving shoreline and stream bank erosion problems. Technical assistance is provided through site visits and evaluations, problem assessments and recommended solutions. Project planning and implementation by a property owner requires an understanding of alternative methods of protection, costs, maintenance needs, regulatory requirements, contracting and project management. The Service can also assist in these areas through the expertise developed and reference materials available.

Financial assistance for living shoreline projects is awarded to citizens (more than one property owner), homeowner associations and local governments through mechanisms like tax districts. Careful considerations are given to traditional and innovative techniques, in an effort to further the science of shoreline restoration.

What Tom is most excited about now is the new Coastal Resiliency Program that kicked of in 2017 with six coastal resiliency living shoreline projects–three of which Tom is managing: Franklin Point State Park, Long View Community and St. Catherine’s Island in Anne Arundel and St. Mary’s counties, respectively.  Tom loves to talk about the projects, so reach out to him anytime, but don’t forget to ask him about his eight grandchildren–he and wife Linda are very dedicated grandparents these days.

The Staff Spotlight is a feature of the Chesapeake and Coastal Service’s In the Zone bi-monthly newsletter. If interested, click here to sign up!