By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Oct. 23, 2025) The Maryland Coastal Bays Program has secured millions of dollars in state funding over the next five years to restore the Newport Bay watershed. This project will prioritize stream restoration, stormwater improvements, and community and educational engagement.

During a presentation at a Town of Berlin Mayor and Council meeting last week, MCBP Director Kevin Smith said that the funding was made possible by the Whole Watershed Act, a program that passed during the 2024 session of the Maryland General Assembly. The goal of the Whole Watershed endeavor is to tackle restoration work in five watersheds statewide.

MCBP applied on behalf of the Newport Bay watershed, citing declining water quality based on measurement data from nutrient levels, clam behavior, and other factors. That submission was approved. As part of the initiative, the coastal bays program will receive $2 million per year, for five years, to be put towards projects that will improve the health of the waterway. Additionally, MCBP must also obtain a funding match on a 1:1 basis. Representatives said that they have a few things under their belt that should provide this money.

Smith added that the coastal bays program chose to focus attention on Newport Bay in part because of its proximity to the Town of Berlin and MCBP’s positive working relationship with the municipality. The Newport Bay watershed includes Berlin, the western half of South Point, the village of Newark, and “extensive farms and forest to just south of Langmaid Road,” cites the MCBP website.

“Over the years, we have had declining health in Newport Bay,” Smith said. “There are a number of reasons for that. One is land use in the area and agriculture. The other thing is the stormwater management. Knowing that over the years, Berlin has worked to improve stormwater management and improve situations with flooding, we thought there would be an opportunity there to address those issues, which is why we chose the Newport Bay watershed.”

One such project that MCBP is planning as part of the Newport Bay effort is a Hudson Branch stream restoration. Smith said that while they are at the beginning stages of this work, he and his team are hopeful that they will finish the design phase in the next few months so they can move onto permitting.

According to the MCBP director, the site is more of a ditch now, and “not really a stream” anymore.

Smith said that the goal of the Hudson Branch stream restoration is to return the area to a more natural coastal plain stream, which would allow water to be filtered and nutrients to be processed before flowing into Newport Bay, ultimately improving the shed’s overall water quality.

A highlight of the Newport Bay project is community engagement. MCBP representatives said that their restoration work could be integrated into the environmental curriculum at Berlin’s schools, and that they are looking for aid from farmers, businesspeople, and stormwater folks.

“We’re really excited to get everyone together, working in the same direction,” said Roman Jesein, MCBP’s science coordinator.

The Berlin Town Council expressed excitement at the project and promised to be a partner during the multi-year restoration process.

“I got excited when you mentioned community involvement and education, like going into the schools,” Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols said. “You couldn’t get more involved than reaching out to a student body.”