Our Bay: Bay Digest

Kratovil battles invasive nutria

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Frank Kratovil is joining forces with a Louisiana congressman to fight nutria, a plant-gobbling, orange-toothed marsh rodent.

Nutria have devastated wetlands and marshes on Maryland's Eastern Shore, most notably at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge. Nutria are nonnative species from South America that originally were brought here for the fur trade.

The Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2009 is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., and would direct the Secretary of the Interior to send federal money to Maryland, Louisiana and other states for their nutria-control and eradication programs.

"We must ensure that we have the resources and tools to successfully combat the nutria scourge and protect essential wetlands and agricultural production," Kratovil, a Democrat from Queen Anne's County, said in a news release.

State offers tree incentives

ANNAPOLIS - The state government really wants you to plant some trees.

State agencies have committed to planting 1 million trees by 2011, and the state is trying to encourage Marylanders to plant 50,000 additional trees by 2010.

The state has a dedicated Web site promoting trees at www.trees.maryland.gov. Anyone who plants trees can go online to add their trees to a running statewide tally.

You can also calculate the environmental benefits of planted trees, such as how much stormwater is soaked up, how much carbon dioxide is removed from the air and how much property values might increase.

The Web site is offering $25 discount coupons for trees redeemable at certain nurseries.

The coupons are good for native trees that cost $50 or more. The money for the coupons came from an air pollution legal settlement.

Anne Arundel County's participating retailers include Evergreen Gene's in Glen Burnie, Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville and Greenstreet Gardens in Lothian. On Kent Island, the coupons are good at Lowe's Bayshore Nursery and Wildflower Nursery, both in Stevensville.

State leaf hotline activated

ANNAPOLIS - Looking for the best ways to enjoy the fall changing of the leaves? The state has activated its annual leaf-peeping hotline.

Callers to 1-800-LEAVES-1 and visitors to www.dnr.state.md.us/fallfoliage.asp will get a roundup on color-changing conditions and fall festivals. Information is updated each Friday and focuses on that weekend's highlights.

The hotline and Web site are joint ventures of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Office of Tourism.

Nominees sought for bay awards

ANNAPOLIS - The Chesapeake Bay Trust is seeking nominees for its annual awards to teachers and students.

The 2010 Teacher of the Year Award will honor an outstanding classroom teacher in Maryland with a $5,000 award, while the 2010 Honorable Arthur Dorman Scholarship will help a high school or college student who is a person of color pay tuition with a $5,000 scholarship.

The nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Trust distributes the proceeds of the "Treasure the Chesapeake" license plates and tax return checkoffs, mainly to on-the-ground environmental projects.

Nomination forms are posted at www.cbtrust.org. For more information, call 410-974-2941.

- From staff reports