(Aug. 13, 2015) Assateague Coastal Trust is partnering with local environmental groups to promote and support clean water with a “Float for the Coast” rally, beginning at Fish Tales on 22nd Street, bayside, Friday, Aug. 14.
The event celebrates water quality protections put into place to keep Maryland’s Coastal Bays clean in addition to educating and raising awareness on current threats to fragile, coastal waters in the area.
“On a local level, this is an important time for our coast with the threat of offshore drilling looming in the mid-Atlantic,” said Steve Farr, developmental director for Assateague Coastal Trust. “Float for the Coast is an opportunity for locals to join others up and down the East Coast in saying they don’t want oil rigs off Ocean City and Assateague’s coast, as well as show support for other waterways facing a number of other threats across the state.”
There has been an outpouring of opposition from Florida to Maine concerning a pending federal proposal that would allow offshore oil drilling and gas exploration in the mid- and south-Atlantic regions, he added.
Festivities will kick off at the Bahia Marina on 22nd Street starting at 10:30 a.m. followed by a rally on the Isle of Wight Bay beginning at noon.
The public is encouraged to join in the Float for free by bringing along a watercraft to the launch site in support of clean water and in opposition of the proposal.
Assateague Coastal Trust will have a limited number of loaner kayaks available for people who want to participate.
Kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, canoes and other watercrafts will convene on the water adjacent to the Roland E. Powell Convention Center on 40th Street at noon where the Maryland Association of Counties will be holding its annual summer meeting.
“This Float for the Coast provides participants the opportunity to show their support for waterways across Maryland, including our Coastal Bays and Atlantic coast,” Farr said.
The hour-long rally will feature several speakers including David Helvarg and Margo Pellegrino with Blue Frontier Campaign, a marine conservation activist organization with a network of lobbyists nationwide.
Executive Director Helvarg is an award-winning journalist who is editor of the Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, produced more than 40 broadcast documentaries for PBS and the Discovery Channel and is a renowned climate activist, said Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips.
Pellegrino is a well-known clean water activist who recently finished a 2,000-mile paddling expedition to Chicago, she added.
“This event will be coinciding with the Maryland Association of Counties annual summer conference in Ocean City,” Farr said. “Our rally will hopefully inspire some of the local leaders inside to join us in protecting Maryland’s waterways and show just how much we citizens care about the health of Maryland’s environment.”
When the rally concludes around 1 p.m., participants will head back to the Bahia Marina at Fish Tales on 22nd Street for happy hour courtesy of Sweetwater Brewing.
“I’m sure is going to be the largest gathering of clean water advocates this watershed has ever seen,” Phillips said.
For more information about Float for the Coast, call 410-629-1538, or email staff@actforbays.org.
The event celebrates water quality protections put into place to keep Maryland’s Coastal Bays clean in addition to educating and raising awareness on current threats to fragile, coastal waters in the area.
“On a local level, this is an important time for our coast with the threat of offshore drilling looming in the mid-Atlantic,” said Steve Farr, developmental director for Assateague Coastal Trust. “Float for the Coast is an opportunity for locals to join others up and down the East Coast in saying they don’t want oil rigs off Ocean City and Assateague’s coast, as well as show support for other waterways facing a number of other threats across the state.”
There has been an outpouring of opposition from Florida to Maine concerning a pending federal proposal that would allow offshore oil drilling and gas exploration in the mid- and south-Atlantic regions, he added.
Festivities will kick off at the Bahia Marina on 22nd Street starting at 10:30 a.m. followed by a rally on the Isle of Wight Bay beginning at noon.
The public is encouraged to join in the Float for free by bringing along a watercraft to the launch site in support of clean water and in opposition of the proposal.
Assateague Coastal Trust will have a limited number of loaner kayaks available for people who want to participate.
Kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, canoes and other watercrafts will convene on the water adjacent to the Roland E. Powell Convention Center on 40th Street at noon where the Maryland Association of Counties will be holding its annual summer meeting.
“This Float for the Coast provides participants the opportunity to show their support for waterways across Maryland, including our Coastal Bays and Atlantic coast,” Farr said.
The hour-long rally will feature several speakers including David Helvarg and Margo Pellegrino with Blue Frontier Campaign, a marine conservation activist organization with a network of lobbyists nationwide.
Executive Director Helvarg is an award-winning journalist who is editor of the Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, produced more than 40 broadcast documentaries for PBS and the Discovery Channel and is a renowned climate activist, said Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips.
Pellegrino is a well-known clean water activist who recently finished a 2,000-mile paddling expedition to Chicago, she added.
“This event will be coinciding with the Maryland Association of Counties annual summer conference in Ocean City,” Farr said. “Our rally will hopefully inspire some of the local leaders inside to join us in protecting Maryland’s waterways and show just how much we citizens care about the health of Maryland’s environment.”
When the rally concludes around 1 p.m., participants will head back to the Bahia Marina at Fish Tales on 22nd Street for happy hour courtesy of Sweetwater Brewing.
“I’m sure is going to be the largest gathering of clean water advocates this watershed has ever seen,” Phillips said.
For more information about Float for the Coast, call 410-629-1538, or email staff@actforbays.org.