"It tells us something about the state of the resource - that we have to take drastic steps. But it also tells us something about the leadership we're under, in both states, that they can work together to do that," said Donald F. Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "They share a common philosophy: that if they don't take action, there's no one else to blame."
Asked to recall a time when the two states cooperated, several longtime Maryland scientists noted the 1980s, when William Donald Schaefer and Gerald Baliles, both Democrats, were governors. Boesch said Glendening tried to work with Virginia on issues such as agricultural pollution but he faced resistance from two successive Republican governors, George Allen and James Gilmore III.
Kaine and O'Malley, in contrast, seem to share the same political philosophy. They have spoken on the phone several times about crabs, and their natural resources staffs are in communication at least twice a month, officials said.
