Baltimore’s Second Harbor Project:

An opportunity to re-connect people, places, and wildlife to the Chesapeake Bay

Morgan GroveUSDA Forest Service

Jeff PoppWildlife Habitat Council

Guy HagerParks & People Foundation

The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit, non-lobbying 501(c)(3) group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat.

http://www.marathonoil.com/

Parks & People Foundation a non-profit dedicated to supporting a wide range of

recreational and educational opportunities; creating and sustaining

beautiful and lively parks; and promoting a healthy natural environment for Baltimore.

Project Goals 1. Develop a cooperative, corporate-community approach to urban

watershed restoration;2. Reduce storm water quantity and improve storm water quality

flowing from industrial sites;3. Establish corporate facility habitat restoration demonstrations

projects including sustainable management;4. Increase urban tree canopy (UTC) on industrials properties,

contributing to the City’s overall goal of achieving 40% UTC by 2030;

5. Improve scenic aesthetics and wildlife habitat along the Gwynns Falls Trail; and

6. Participate in the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, creating a transferrable demonstration.

Second Harbor Study Area

Watershed 263 Meeting Watershed 263 Meeting

Second Harbor Project Status• Working to coordinate issues with Baltimore City • Establishing demonstration sites include:– 2 Existing WHC partners/members:

• BGE (Constellation/Exelon) Spring Gardens (complete)• Vulcan (new site)

– 4 Additional partners:• Baltimore Community ToolBank• Masonville Cove Nature Center (complete)• Maryland Chemical Company• Sherwin-Williams Paint Company

• Exploring opportunities for credits under the new stormwater fee

BGE Spring Gardens

• Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s Spring Gardens Facility, certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council since 2008

• Already established an osprey nesting platform and have planted trees at the south end of the campus

• Within the Upper Middle Branch Designated Habitat Protection Area.

• Longest uninterrupted riparian buffer zone in the city of Baltimore on the middle

• Wildlife team is creating a 8,252 square foot pollinator garden composed of native trees, shrubs and perennials within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area 100 foot buffer.

BGE Spring Gardens• Pollinator Garden - City agreed to change

plant pallet based on WHC recommendations

• Concept drawing above; will reduce water runoff reaching Baltimore’s old (and failing!) water systems.

• Any water leaving the garden will be filtered and can be used for rinsing tools.

Masonville Cove Nature Center

Parks & People provided 178 trees towards the restoration plan

Masonville Cove Mitigation FacilityMaryland Port Administration

• Open to public with nature center, fishing piers, restored wetlands, and native restoration plantings

• Connects urban youth to nature - serves 5,500 city students and 226 teachers to date.

• First of eight Urban Wildlife Refuges named by USFWS• Brownfield- once contaminated with arsenic • MPA dredge containment facility adjacent

Photo courtesy of USFWS

Maryland Chemical Company

• Woman-owned chemical supply and delivery company relocated from Warner Street

• Already working with Parks & People and local youth groups to implement pollinator gardens and vegetable gardens on the campus

• Next phase will be implementing rain gardens and bio-swales on site and to explore functioning of old, existing drainage swales to better protect water quality of the Chesapeake Bay

Maryland Chemical Company

Sherwin-Williams Paint Plant in Westport

Sherwin-Williams previous impervious conditions

Sherwin Williams

Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams

City Adopt-A-Lot by Sherwin-Williams in Mt. Winans

Sherwin-WilliamsAdopt-a-lot: Maryland in Miniature

Businesses Work to Re-Green & Return Cleaner Water into Baltimore’s Harbor

Next Steps

• Establish an informal corporate network to encourage mutual support and share knowledge and project success stories

• Continue to work on demonstration projects and complete them in 2014

• Share project among the Baltimore Community and with other Urban Waters cities

Morgan Grovemgrove@fs.fed.us

(802) 238-4328******************

Jeffrey Poppjpopp@wildlifehc.org

240-247-0923*****************

Guy Hager guy.hager@parksandpeople.org

410-488-5663 x 101

Public Information

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/11/14/baltimore-rings-harbor-with-hard-surfaces/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-gr-harbor-cleanup-20131113,0,1830492.story