Watershed

David MacIntosh Evans A graveside memorial service is planned for Summer of 2010 in Lovell. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations: Kezar Lake Watershed Assoc., P.O. Box 88, Lovell, ME 04051 or National Rifle Assoc., 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 (www.nrafoundation.org). Online condolences may be placed at www.directcremationofmaine.com

State officials agreed yesterday to pay more than $2.7 million to buy development rights on about 360 acres of farmland and forest in three stream watersheds in the Baltimore area. The Board of Public Works approved spending $1.6 million to place conservation easements on four tracts totaling 192 acres along Deer Creek in Harford County. The easements will guarantee maintenance of green buffers along parts of the creek, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. In one Deer Creek case, the landowner agreed to accept state payment not to proceed with plans to build six houses on his tract, according to Ned Sayre, who works on farmland preservation efforts for the county.

A Charles County creek regarded as one of the Chesapeake Bay's best remaining fish spawning areas has been ranked among the nation's most endangered rivers because of plans for a highway and development across the creek's watershed. Mattawoman Creek, a mostly forested Potomac River tributary that also harbors rare plants, abundant waterfowl and bald eagles, made the list published Tuesday by the environmental group American Rivers. "The river's really at a turning point," said Katherine Baer, a top official with the group, which annually puts out a list of the 10 most endangered waterways.

Investigators don't know what caused the dime-size hole on the pipeline leading from the coal-fired generator at the NewPage Corp. paper mill in Luke last Sunday, but the impact of that small opening for its 12 undiscovered hours was unmistakable: a discharge of roughly 4,000 gallons of dark, gritty coal ash, some of it spilling into the North Branch of the Potomac River. The Western Maryland spill was minor compared with the 1.1 billion-gallon release of coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston, Tenn.

Even in sparse January garb, the river is lovely - ebbing, flooding, meandering between shores of unbroken pine and hardwood, splashed by mistletoe and holly in full berry. But the real show is about to begin. As the sun lowers into the wooded swamps on the far bank, there comes a far-off hallooing, yodeling, piping, closing fast, the purest, wildest music of the winter Chesapeake. Flight after flight of tundra swans are on the move, seeking refuge here for their nightly rest. One of the world's largest waterfowl, weighing up to 20 pounds, some 20,000 of the swans migrate to the Chesapeake each autumn from as far off as Alaska's North Slope and the Yukon Territories.

Maryland will spend nearly $2 million to preserve 615 acres of environmentally sensitive land on the Eastern Shore. The Board of Public Works agreed yesterday to pay private landowners for easements to protect tracts in Wicomico, Dorchester and Cecil counties. The state will pay nearly $710,000 to preserve 292 acres about 10 miles south of Vienna, in Wicomico County. The tract, near the mouth of Quantico Creek, includes about 150 acres of woods that provide habitat for certain songbirds and other animals that live only in deep forest.

The Jones Falls Expressway is a partially elevated, high-speed swath of pavement dominated by fossil fuel-burning urban commuters - not Baltimore's earthiest element. But Sunday, thousands of outdoor enthusiasts will park their cars and traverse the exhaust-free interstate on foot. It will be closed for part of the day so area residents and visitors can walk, bike, run or just enjoy the view from the highway that cuts through the city. People can also boat and take in the Jones Falls, which runs under the JFX. Organizers say the Rally on the River, formerly known as the Jones Falls Valley Celebration, is supposed to be fun. But, more important, it also aims to serve as a lesson in volunteering, and to teach people to protect the region's water sources and their dependent life.

Talk to focus on energy conservation The Green Building Institute will offer a talk by Thomas H. Marston of Energy Services Group on "Evaluating Your Family's Energy Profile" from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the institute's Enviro-Center, 7761 Waterloo Road, Jessup. He will review the audit process developed by the Building Performance Institute and speak about typical energy defects and ways to improve air quality and make a home more cost-efficient and comfortable. Admission is free but reservations are requested.

Near the Interstate 95 on-ramp just beneath the intersection of Bush and Russell streets in Baltimore, the outfall of Pipe 263 inspires little optimism. Trash bobs in sickly green water. Plastic bags hang from drooping trees on the riverbank. Here, stormwater flows untreated from a 72-block underground watershed, a network of storm drains that channels water beneath the streets of West Baltimore into the Patapsco River and into Baltimore Harbor beyond. Ultimately, this dirty water ---- laden with organic matter, toxics, nitrogen and phosphorus ---- heads for the Chesapeake Bay. Aboveground feels pretty bleak too. Abandoned houses checkerboard the 12 neighborhoods that make up Watershed 263, defined by the hydrology of underground pipes.

For the past eight months, Luke Brackett has been part administrator, part lone ranger. Hired by Baltimore City in November to spearhead the creation of a new police force to protect the three city-owned reservoirs in Baltimore and Carroll counties, Brackett spends part of his days patrolling the watersheds and part interviewing applicants interested in joining his force. "I'm tasked with bringing the department to life," Brackett said. "We're still getting our feet wet, no pun intended."