53. Conserving Maryland's Coastline with a Living Reef

Jesse Howe is the Assistant Director of the Coastal Conservation Association, Maryland (CCA) whose purpose is to advise and educate the public on the conservation of our marine resources. They seek to conserve, promote and enhance the present and future availability of coastal resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public. One of the main projects CCA does are living reefs, which are reef balls that they create in the Chesapeake Bay to provide important habitat for oysters and other estuarine critters and they are valued in both fresh and Bay waters. And since the 1700’s oyster populations have seen dramatic decline due to over-harvesting, disease, habitat loss and more and the Bay has really seen the effects of that as oysters are natural filters. Therefore the reef balls offer a place for oysters to come back to the Bay and help maintain healthy waters and the ecosystem.  With Jesse we talk about why Maryland's coastline is ecologically significant, the goals of the Living Reefs, how they get the community involved, citizen science, and how to support their work. Contact and connect with Jesse: [email protected] CCA Maryland: https://www.ccamd.org/  https://www.ccamd.org/product/cca-membership/ https://www.ccamd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Vision_Chesapeake_Final.pdf https://www.instagram.com/cca_md/ https://www.facebook.com/CCAMARYLAND