Talbot County Creekwatchers

Organization

The Talbot County Creekwatchers Program was created in 1999 by a partnership of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Talbot River Protection Association. Talbot County Creekwatchers now operate as an independent entity but continues to receive support, financial and other types, from the three founding organizations, as well as indirect financial support from Talbot County. While some scientific support continues to come from the staff scientists at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, most technical issues as well as all laboratory analyses, are handled by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies at Horn Point in Cambridge, Maryland. The sampling and testing of the 16 sites originally selected by Talbot River Protection Association for monitoring is done by our organization.

Mission

We believe that the creeks and rivers of Talbot County are this County’s most distinctive and valuable resource. They are of great natural beauty, loved by the community and a huge economic and recreational asset.

We, as citizens of Talbot County, want to assure that these waterways are protected. This data is made available so that well informed decisions are made not only to protect, but improve the quality of Talbot County’s waterways.

Up until the establishment of our organization, there was little recorded historical data on the water quality and ecological conditions of our waterways.

Objective

Our objective is to provide consistent and accurate readings of water quality for the tidal creeks and rivers of Talbot County.

Membership is made up of about 50 volunteers trained in taking accurate and carefully controlled water data and samples.

We do not take sides on political issues.  We provide facts. We can testify regarding methods, times and places of the measurements and provide interpretation of the data and results.

Where and When We Monitor

We monitor 65 locations, twice a month, between March and November in the following waterways.

• Broad Creek
• Harris Creek
• Island Creek
• Miles River
• Tred Avon River
• Choptank River (Denton to Frazier Point)
• Wye River
• LaTrappe Creek

Volunteers are always needed

If you are interested in finding out more about possibly joining Creekwatchers send an Email to creekwatchers@talbotrivers.org