Approximately 40 people attended the Watershed Planning Forum hosted by Friends of Deep Creek Lake (FoDCL) on Saturday at Garrett College.
Originally planned to explore the watershed work already under way in the watershed, FoDCL folded in a section covering the just announced watershed planning partnership between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Garrett County.
Ellen Williams, chair of FoDCL welcomed attendees, reminding them of the importance of National Lakes Appreciation Month and proclamations passed by both the Governor Martin O’Malley, as well as Garrett County commissioners. William said that U.S. Senator Ben Cardin has also acted to endorse Lakes Appreciation Month in the Congress.
John Major, a student at Northern High School, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Cove Run restoration project, which he reported has already produced substantial results. Teacher Rebecca Kenyon-Sisler led the students in this project. The theme of the presentation was that “it takes a whole ‘village’ of resources and organizations to restore a stream.” While Cove Run lies outside the Deep Creek Lake watershed, this project is seen as a model for stream restoration within the watershed.
James “Smokey” Stanton, representing the Soil Conservation District Board, covered the history of creation of soil conservation districts across the country in response to the dust bowl crisis in the 1930s. He said that today the Garrett County District is working with property owners to voluntarily adopt best-management practices. Examples of manure-retention mechanisms and rain-water reduction were highlighted in his PowerPoint presentation.
Stanton reported that 3% of the total properties in the DCL watershed are classified in the tax roles as “agriculture.” He said that promotion of voluntary adoption of best-management practices in the DCL watershed will be an important component of any watershed plan.
“And, thanks to the work already done by the board, we have an excellent start and solid models to inspire and guide adoption of best-management practices,” he said.
Charles Hoffeditz, representing the Forest Conservancy Board, provided a parallel presentation on forestry and forest product businesses. Forestry boards were created in Maryland to promote stewardship, conservation, management, and wise use of Maryland’s forest resources. As with soil conservation, property owner participation is voluntary. Working with the board, forestry experts are available to provide owners with a range of recommendations and incentives to enhance forest management.
In the “state-of-the-lake” meeting held last Wednesday, also at the college, Catherine Shanks of the DNR stated that one of the best assets of the DCL watershed is that 50% of the land in the watershed is forested. The forestry board recently wrote to the Garrett County commissioners noting that there appears to be conflicting actions by the state and the county. As with agricultural interests, it was noted that there are opportunities for promotion of voluntary adoption of best-management practices and forest conservation in the watershed plan.
It was reported that there are 18 Marcellus shale mineral leases located in the DCL watershed. Eric Robison, president of Citizen Shale, provided an update on the work of the governor’s Marcellus shale advisory group. He said that current efforts are focused on compiling best-management practices, which would be required for any gas company drilling in the state. These BMPs are focused on a range of environmental protections, from streams to water wells.
In addition, Robison talked about other work, including current economic impact analysis and its relevance to the DCL watershed.
“We need to understand the economic impacts on our resort-based economy center around on Deep Creek Lake,” he said.
Barbara Beelar, director of FoDCL, provided the audience with an update on current research reports which were given at the “state-of-the-lake” presentation.
She said that in mid-June ,DNR conducted a survey to determine the distribution and density of Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive plant species. DNR found this species in many areas of the lake last year, covering 6% of the shallow-water area (from shoreline out to 20 feet).
Bruce Michael, head of resource services for the DNR, stated that the 2013 survey was impacted by the unusually cold water temperatures in June, and little EWM was found. This was reported as “good news,” but Beelar said that it is instead “no information” because of cold weather conditions.
Michael also provided an update at the “state-of-the-lake” presentation on Phase II of the sediment study, as a major initiative is under way within the DNR. He said that “excellent progress” has been made, but because of contracting problems, there will be a delay in the release of findings and recommendations until at least January 2014.
DNR secretary John Gill reported at the same meeting that “the two worst coves by far” are Pawn Run and Penn Cove, and there are others that the DNR is now focusing on.
The other coves are Deep Creek, Chadderton School, Back Bay, Hazelhurst, Green Glade, Poland Run, North Glade, Harvey’s Peninsula, and Arrowhead. Based on analysis by the FoDCL, Beelar reported that there are as many as 500 properties in the impacted coves with a combined property valuation of approximately $250 million.
Beelar said that the delay of release of the sediment findings by DNR will have substantial repercussions for property owners directly impacted by sediment accumulation. Because of the delay, she said, there will be no consideration of state funding in the 2014 General Assembly session. The next session she noted will be a transition one, with a new governor, new heads of state agencies, and new members of the state legislature. She said that some action to provide state funding might take place in the 2016 General Assembly, but that the “lobbyist rule of thumb” is that it takes at least one year before a bill, especially a money bill, is likely to pass.
“It is likely we are looking at the 2017 General Assembly before we can expect any financial action from the state to help fund dredging of this state owned lake,” she said.
The forum concluded with a presentation lead by Brian Greenberg, FoDCL board member, who summarized the DNR presentation on the watershed planning process, using slides provided by DNR. He urged everyone to consider becoming involved in the lake watershed steering committee that will be appointed soon. In order to be considered for a position on the committee, one must send a letter and resumé to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator at mpagendhardt@garrettcounty.org no later than close of business this Friday, Aug. 2.
The county Commissioners will meet to pass the memorandum of understanding between the county and the state on August 13 and will name the members of the steering committee. Citizens with comments or recommendations on the MOU should submit them to Commissioner Bob Gatto at bgatto@garrettcounty.org. A copy of the MOU can be found on the Garrett County government web site.
Among items considered during an audience discussion was the question as to whether or not the proposed eight seats on the steering committee is sufficient in number to ensure a representative and sufficiently inclusive viewpoints of all those associated with the DCL watershed.
Another topic covered was whether or not the public outreach of one newspaper (The Republican) article and a meeting attended by 40 was sufficient to communicate to the 8,000 to 9,000 property owners in the watershed about the planning process, opportunity for involvement on the steering committee, and the level of importance of this work for the whole county.
One recommendation made that garnered unanimous support was that there should be a youth member on the steering committee, which would bring the county school system into the process and give a voice for the county’s youth in the shaping their future because of the huge economic impact of Deep Creek Lake and its watershed.
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