https://www.shorerivers.org/sassafras

Sassafras Riverkeeper, 111A North Main Street, Galena, MD (2026)

05/29/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Bacteria Update 5-29-2026*** Results from bacteria samples collected on 5/28 show that all sites on the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks passed this week except for Churn Creek. See full results below and visit theswimguide.org for more information.

✅ Fox Hole Landing: PASS (73 cfu)
✅ Budds Landing: PASS (82 cfu)
✅ Shorewood Estates: PASS (10 cfu)
✅ Well Bottom Cove: PASS (

05/22/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Bacteria Update 5-22-2026*** Our bacteria monitoring program has officially kicked off for the 2026 season! Every Thursday morning between now and Labor Day, our SwimTester volunteers collect samples at popular water access points around our watersheds, we process the samples in our lab, and then post results on Fridays so that the community can be informed about bacteria levels before heading out on the river for the weekend. Thank you to all of our SwimTester volunteers and site sponsors who make this program possible!

Results from bacteria samples collected on 5/21 show that three sites on the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks failed this week. See full results below and visit theswimguide.org for more information.

⚠️ Fox Hole Landing: FAIL (957 cfu)
⚠️ Budds Landing: FAIL (303 cfu)
⚠️ Shorewood Estates: FAIL (311 cfu)
✅ Well Bottom Cove: PASS (20 cfu)
✅ Georgetown Bridge: PASS (

05/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to Betterton last night for the State of the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks!

If you were there - or even if you weren't, I’d really value your feedback. Please take 3 minutes to fill out our survey and let me know what you thought: https://tinyurl.com/yp8f2c86

This event is always one of my favorite nights of the year because it's a reminder of how passionate our community is about the health of the Sassafras and Bayside Creeks. Water quality is improving slowly but surely, and everyone can start taking action today to help restore these waterways that mean so much to all of us. There are a lot of ongoing challenges facing our water, but we all have a role to play because these rivers belong to all of us. ShoreRivers are your rivers! I hope you'll join us, whether it's through one of our volunteer programs, donor programs, expeditions, events, or more.

As always, special thanks go to our generous sponsors: the Betterton Volunteer Fire Company, Chesapeake Bay Trust, St. Michaels Marina, Donna Callejon & Deborah Whiteside, Dissen & Juhn Company, J.A. McCown Oyster Shucking and Concierge Service, Preston Toyota of Easton, Bay Imprint, Blue Heron Catering, David A. Bramble, Inc., Choptank Oyster Company, Eastern Shore Tents & Events, Ferry Bridge House, Happy Chicken - Bakery & Catering, Tom & Cathy Hill, Leigh Family Dentistry, Orchard Point Oyster Co., Oxford Community Center Inc, Ten Eyck Brewing Company, and Total Wine & More.

04/29/2026

***Bayside Creeks Report*** Water temperatures today ranged from 59.2-59.7° F, which is cooler than our last sampling trip two weeks ago. Salinity ranged from 1.66-3.56ppt across the four creeks. Water clarity was 29.5" on Still Pond Creek, 31.5" on Churn and Worton creeks, and 35.4" on Fairlee Creek, which are all good readings for this time of year. Dissolved oxygen levels were good and evenly mixed on Still Pond and Churn creeks, ranging from 8.62-9.20 mg/L. Oxygen levels on Worton and Fairlee creeks were also good, but there is a growing difference between surface and bottoms levels; 11.89 mg/L surface 7.77 mg/L bottom in Worton Creek, 11.37 mg/L surface 8.85 mg/L bottom on Fairlee Creek.

When we see an increase in the difference between surface and bottom oxygen levels, it can be an indicator of algal activity and eutrophication, where an overabundance of phytoplankton and algae are generating lots of oxygen at the surface, but consuming a lot of oxygen at the bottom when they decompose. Chlorophyll-a, a pigment found in many aquatic plant and algae species, has increased at the surface on both creeks in the last two weeks, but remains below the threshold of concern for now, so there isn't an active harmful algal bloom. Typically we need to see concerning readings across several of these parameters to indicate a potential algal bloom, so while the dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a levels show that there is some algal activity, the great water clarity readings show that it hasn't reached a significant level of algal bloom yet, but is certianly something that we will keep an eye on.

Don't forget, if you want to learn more about the health of the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks, join me next Thursday May 7 at the Betterton Fire Hall at 5:30-7:00pm for the free annual State of the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks!

04/15/2026

***Bayside Creeks Report*** It was a warm day on the Bay today for our first Bayside Creeks tidal water quality monitoring trip of the year. Water temperatures ranged from 60.1°F-65.3°F. Salinity ranged from 0.63-1.86ppt. Dissolved oxygen levels were good on all four creeks, ranging from 9.13-10.30 mg/L. Water clarity was about 18" on Still Pond and Fairlee creeks, and about 24" on Churn and Worton creeks. There is a lot of visible pollen on the four creeks and on the Sassafras. While pollen can look like an algal bloom at first glance, it tends to have a yellow/white/brown color and float on the water's surface, where it is easily moved by waves, wind, and boat traffic, while most algal blooms are shades of green and are often just below the surface and less disturbed by weather and boat traffic. If you ever have a question about what you're seeing on the river and if it's an algal bloom or not, definitely contact me and I can check it out!

04/08/2026

***Sassafras River Report*** Our tidal water quality monitoring season for 2026 has officially begun! Maggie and I enjoyed a beautiful bluebird day on the river today, with lots of acrobatic aerial displays from eagles and osprey downriver, and tons of tree swallows upriver between Swantown Creek and Jacobs Creek. We ran into a team of scientists from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who were electrofishing on Turner's Creek in order to count and tag snakeheads and other invasive species. This data will be extremely useful for gaining a better understanding of the migration patterns and behaviors of these harmful species, which will aid in better targeting and population reduction. As a reminder, our tidal water quality monitoring program runs from now until the end of October. Our bacteria monitoring program will kick off the week of Memorial Day weekend next month.

Water temperatures ranged from 52.9°F off of Betterton to 62.1°F by Wilson Point. Salinity levels are once again inverted, with the highest salinity being upriver (1.69 ppt), and the lowest salinity being at the mouth (0.09 ppt), likely due to spring rains north of us. Dissolved oxygen levels are very good throughout the river due to the cooler water temperatures, ranging from 9.57-11.44 mg/L. Water clarity was about 20" at every site except for Betterton where it decreased to about 16". Chlorophyll levels were very low at Betterton, so this decrease is likely due to suspended fine particulates from yesterday's high winds, and wave energy.

Stay tuned for our first Bayside Creeks sampling run of the season next week!

If you want to learn more about the water quality of the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks, how ShoreRivers is working to improve it, and how you can get involved, be sure to join me at the State of the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks on Thursday May 7, from 5:30-7:00pm at the Betterton Volunteer Fire Hall.

Molly's Place Sporting Goods

03/30/2026

Looking to get your hands dirty and make a difference in the health of the Sassafras and Bayside Creeks? ShoreRivers and volunteers are hosting a series of community trash cleanups as part of Project Clean Stream, a Bay-wide trash cleanup that is organized by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Project Clean Stream is an opportunity for citizens across the entire watershed to work together to clean our shared water resources. Join a trash pick up near you! To volunteer, please contact Maegan White at [email protected], or sign up on our website at shorerivers.org/events. Trash bags and gloves will be provided.

03/27/2026

You're invited! The State of the Sassafras River & Bayside Creeks will be at the Betterton Volunteer Fire Hall on Thursday, May 7, from 5:30-7pm. These free community events are a great way to learn about the health of our local waterways, the work we're doing to protect and restore them, and how YOU can get involved. Plus there's free beer, oysters, and SCIENCE; does it get any better than that? Bring a friend, neighbor, fishing buddy, pickleball teammate, raftup posse, knitting club member, mahjong maven, dog park pal, or anyone else you know who loves our rivers. I'll see you there! If you have any questions you'd like me to answer or topics you'd like me to discuss, let me know in the comments.

A huge thank you to our host venues, to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for their grant support, and to our early sponsors Donna Callejon & Deborah Whiteside, Happy Chicken - Bakery & Catering, Ten Eyck Brewing Company, Choptank Oyster Company, and Total Wine & More!

ShoreRivers

https://www.shorerivers.org/event/sotrsassafras2026

01/29/2026

At this point the Sassafras is almost completely covered in ice, as are most of the Bayside Creeks. The U.S. National Ice Center estimates that about 90% of the Upper Bay and tributaries are currently covered, and about 12% of the entire Bay. Thousands of ducks, geese, and swans are congregating anywhere there is open water. While these waterways may be covered, the ice is still very thin/soft, and water temperatures are hovering around 33°F, so please do not try to put any weight on it. The beauty is best appreciated from land or from the air (or by enjoying my post from the warmth of your house!).

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm out there. If you have any cool photos of the ice or wintry weather on the Sassafras and Bayside Creeks, please share them for a chance to be featured.

Bonus points to anyone who can correctly identify where on the river and creeks I took these photos this afternoon!

ShoreRivers

01/08/2026

Are you or someone you know looking for an exciting, hands-on internship experience in the environmental field this summer? We're currently accepting applications for our University of Delaware Summer Riverkeeper Intern position in the Chester and Sassafras watersheds. This intern will work with the Chester Riverkeeper and I, as well as the rest of the ShoreRivers team, to provide programmatic support for our Riverkeeper programs and participate in a variety of activities including restoration, water quality monitoring, outreach, education, and enforcement. By the end of the program the interns will have completed a Maryland boater safety certificate, become familiar with handling a boat, gained experience and training in scientific water quality monitoring equipment and protocols, assisted with harvesting and processing underwater grasses, and developed a variety of other skills and experiences protecting Eastern Shore waterways.

This position is for University of Delaware students/recent graduates only, through a partnership with the Delaware Environmental Institute and funded by the Carski-Ruhl Giving Fund. Applications are due by February 14th, and a decision will be made by March 20th. There is another Summer Riverkeeper Intern position for Washington College students through a partnership with the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College that will be accepting applications soon. Both of these positions are based out of our Chestertown office.

If you are not a student at either of these colleges, we also offer an Elizabeth Brown Memorial Internship and a Communications Summer Internship. Both of these positions are based out of our Easton office.

To learn more about these four positions and apply, please visit shorerivers.org/jobs

Sassafras Riverkeeper

05/29/2026

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04/29/2026

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