Maryland has announced the launch of StreamHealth, a website to help Marylanders learn about the health of their streams and take action to improve them. The site provides resources for citizens, grassroots organizations, schools and scout groups to survey their streams, and receive technical guidance and funding opportunities to restore and protect them.
The project was developed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Maryland Environmental Service, Towson University, and the Maryland Departments of the Environment and Information Technology.
Among the tools are an interactive map which provides information on individual stream health as well as the presence or absence of forested streamside buffers and impervious surfaces — two of the major factors influencing stream health.
“The health of the Bay is ultimately determined by what we do on the land — in our cities and towns, on our farms and forests, in our schools and backyards,” said Governor O’Malley. “Through this website we are providing information that is real to people because they can see the status of the streams in their neighborhoods –- our lifelines to the Bay.”
Maryland’s governor also encouraged citizens to join the Stream Waders program, the volunteer arm of the Maryland Biological Stream Survey, an internationally acclaimed assessment program that provides data for the StreamHealth website as well as the Chesapeake Bay Health Report Card.
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