https://www.shorerivers.org/sassafras

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

10/07/2026

What's on Tap? Our Next Chartroom Chat!

Join ShoreRivers for our second Chartroom Chat — a lively conversation with your Sassafras Riverkeeper (me!) about the changes in wildlife sightings in our rivers over the past few years, including dolphins, skates, sturgeon, grasses, and even oysters.

During this exclusive event for Buoy Brigade members, I'll share what’s in the river while we drink what’s on tap at Eyck Brewing Company! You will learn the possible causes of changes and the potential impacts on the balance of our river ecosystems.

As a Buoy Brigade member, you will receive free entry and one complimentary draft, with a cash bar available afterward. The Field Kitchen food truck will be on site, offering delicious fare for purchase to pair with Ten Eyck’s locally crafted brews.

When you become a Buoy Brigade member, you provide steady, reliable funding that keeps ShoreRivers protecting and restoring Maryland’s Eastern Shore waterways year-round. As a thank-you for that ongoing commitment, you’ll receive a Buoy Brigade koozie (as you can see, I've got mine!) and sticker, and access to special gatherings like these invitation-only Chartroom Chats.

You can join the Buoy Brigade here: https://www.shorerivers.org/give/monthly-gift

10/05/2026

ShoreRivers' Annual Photo Contest is Open!

Have you ever been told you have an eye for capturing the moment? Perhaps a passion for photography? Do you love your local waterways and want to promote and protect them? ShoreRivers is running our annual photo contest through October 31, so snap a picture and send it our way! Your photo could be seen across the Eastern Shore — contest photos are featured in ShoreRivers’ print and digital publications as well as at our events, which collectively reach thousands of people each year.

We are looking for images that highlight the beauty and resilience of the Eastern Shore waterways that ShoreRivers works to protect and restore through science-based advocacy, restoration, education, and engagement. We are particularly interested in images that exemplify our vision statement: Thriving rivers cherished by all Eastern Shore communities. Shore rivers are your rivers, and we want to see your representation of the beloved natural resources that we all strive to conserve. I can't wait to see what you send in!

10/02/2026

Swimmable ShoreRivers Program Achieves Tier III Status!

We wrapped up our seasonal bacteria monitoring last month and I'm thrilled to share that our program is now officially recognized with Tier III approval by the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) and the Maryland Dept. Of The Environment (MDE). This approval follows the successful completion of both accredited laboratory proficiency testing and a field audit. Because Tier III is the highest level of data quality recognized by MDE and CMC for community science water monitoring programs, our volunteer-collected bacteria data can now be used to inform state regulatory decisions, such as designating waterways as impaired and taking direct action against pollution sources.

This achievement is particularly critical because the Swimmable ShoreRivers program serves our community in a way that no other program, agency, or dataset does. This summer, nearly 70 volunteer SwimTesters have been monitoring 55 sites across the Choptank, Miles, Wye, Chester, and Sassafras rivers; Eastern Bay; and the Bayside Creeks each week. Special thanks go to our SwimTesters and our incredible site sponsors, who include local marinas, homeowners’ associations, families and municipalities, such as long-time supporters at the Town of Oxford, City of Cambridge, and Caroline County Recreation and Parks, and now Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, whose commissioners generously added our testing programs to their budgets this season.

We are proud to bring you this program each year, and hope the data we’ve shared has helped you make informed decisions about interacting with the rivers and creeks we all love. We’d appreciate if you could take this survey to tell us about your experience interacting with the program this summer — your input helps us refine and improve Swimmable ShoreRivers to ensure we’re bringing you the most useful, and reliable, information:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIPfKk8MEkG_CQ0dJihbOUcpJkyiR1RyOwkg8rnuvanPqXPA/viewform

09/30/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Report*** With the recent storms and high tides there's a fair amount of logs and debris in the lower Sassafras and mainstem of the Bay, so be sure to use caution when transiting the area. As you can see, my Sassy Second Mate Maggie helped with lookout duties and let me know anytime there was a big stick, ducks, or other fun things floating by. You may also see large mats of Wild Celery (Vallisneria americana), a great native species of underwater grass, being swept down from the Susquehanna Flats and lower Sassafras. Today was our final tidal water quality monitoring run for September, but don't worry, this monitoring program runs until the end of October so there's more data to come.

On the Sassafras, water temperatures ranged from 66.6-67.6 F. Salinity ranged from 2.13-5.61ppt, which is higher than average but lower than it's been at this time of year for the past 3 years. Dissolved oxygen levels were generally good, ranging from 8.22-11.36 mg/L at the surface and 7.51-8.85 mg/L at the bottom. Water clarity was about 18" upriver to Georgetown and then steadily increased, reaching 39.4" at Betterton.

On the Bayside Creeks, water temperatures ranged from 68.4-70.3 F. Salinity ranged from 6.64 ppt on Still Pond Creek to 8.24 ppt on Worton Creek, and then a slight decrease to 7.97 ppt on Fairlee Creek. Dissolved oyxgen levels ranged from 9.30-12.75 mg/L at the surface and 6.95-8.30 mg/L at the bottom. Water clarity was a mixed bag, with readings of 23.6" on Still Pond Creek, 31.5" on Churn Creek, 18" on Worton Creek, and 27.6" on Fairlee Creek.

ShoreRivers

09/29/2026

Earlier this month, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) released the data from its 2025 flyover survey of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Chesapeake Bay. The great news is that the Maryland portion of the Bay saw a 13% increase in SAV from 2024 to 2025, expanding to around 41,419 acres. Of particular excitement is that the Upper Sassafras was one of seven areas in Maryland's tidal fresh/low-salinity waterways that met or exceeded its SAV restoration goals:
• Northern Chesapeake Bay segment 1 – 102% of its 754-acre goal
• North East River – 179% of its 89-acre goal
• Upper Chester River – 531% of its 1-acre goal
• Upper Sassafras River – 275% of its 95-acre goal
• Bush River – 158% of its 350-acre goal
• Upper Gunpowder River – 107% of its 572-acre goal
• Back River – 712% of its 30-acre goal

Maryland’s tidal fresh and low-salinity waters gained a combined 1,059 acres of SAV in 2025. While these increases are great news for water quality and habitat benefit, as well as an indicator that Bay-wide restoration efforts are working, there is still significant work to be done. SAV abundance in 2025 is still only 26% of Maryland's target of 114,065 acres, so continued vigilance and restoration are necessary.

SAV is a crucial foundation of the Bay ecosystem and provides tremendous water quality and ecological benefits. It is impossible to restore the Bay without also restoring its grasses. These grasses filter nutrients, trap sediment, cool and oxygenate the water, reduce shoreline erosion, provide an important food source for waterfowl, and are necessary nursery grounds for crabs, fish, and many other aquatic species. ShoreRivers operates a robust SAV monitoring and restoration program, where we annually harvest, process, and plant several species of underwater grasses and volunteers monitor hundreds of miles of shoreline, collecting important data about species diversity and health.

If you are interested in getting involved with our SAV program, we are always looking for volunteers! With continuing drought conditions in 2026, we are hopeful that we will see even better numbers when VIMS releases their 2026 data next year.

09/14/2026

What a fluke! Special thanks to John Kirk, who sent in this picture of a summer flounder he caught off of Betterton last week. Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), also known as fluke, are more typically found south of the Bay Bridge but are occasionally caught in the Upper Bay. One way to tell them apart from winter flounder is by looking at the placement of their eyes. Summer flounder are known as "left-eyed" fish, meaning that their eyes are on the left side when looking at the fish with the dorsal fin away from you, while winter flounder are "right-eyed" fish. Larval flounder have eyes on both sides of their head, and then one eye migrates to the other side so that both eyes are on the same side. This allows them to lay flat on the bottom to hunt prey. The coloration and pattern of their topside can vary based on the sediment type where they are.

Has anyone else caught a summer flounder on the Sassafras or Bayside Creeks recently, or any other cool types of fish?

09/11/2026

***Sassafras River Report*** I celebrated my birthday this week in the best possible way; on the Sassafras on a beautiful day collecting water quality samples with a great crew (who brought homemade pie)! I was joined by our Chester Riverkeeper Annie, our Senior Community Engagement Coordinator (and soon-to-be Acting Chester Riverkeeper for a year) Maegan, our Education Programs Coordinator Morgan, and our Director of Communications Bethany. Most of the osprey on the Sassafras have departed for their winters in South America, so the eagles are reasserting their dominance over the skies. Underwater grasses continue to thrive throughout the river, and as temperatures cool down these beds will start to subside for the winter. There are some visible floating mats of wild celery in the lower river and out in the Bay that you may see while out on the water that are normal for this time of year.

Water temperatures ranged from 79.3-80.9 F. Salinity ranged from 1.65 ppt at Georgetown to 2.17 ppt Back Creek, and then decreased to 2.03 ppt at Ordinary Point, 1.94 ppt at Lloyd's Creek, and 2.03 ppt at Betterton. Dissolved oxygen levels were good throughout the river, ranging from 7.70-9.39 mg/L. Water clarity ranged from 18" at Georgetown to 35.4" at Betterton.

As a reminder, our Swimmable ShoreRivers bacteria monitoring program concluded last week for the season, so we will not be sharing weekly bacteria results until the program resumes in May 2027. Full season reports for the 2026 bacteria monitoring season will be available soon. Please help us continue to improve this program by filling out this survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIPfKk8MEkG_CQ0dJihbOUcpJkyiR1RyOwkg8rnuvanPqXPA/viewform

ShoreRivers

09/04/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Bacteria Update 9-4-2026*** Bacteria results from samples collected on 9/3 show that all sites have passed this week on the Bayside Creeks and Sassafras River, except for Budds Landing, Fox Hole Landing, Indian Acres, and Cheshaven.

This is the last week of our bacteria monitoring program for the year, which will resume next Memorial Day. I would love to hear any feedback that you have about this program. Do you find it helpful? Have a site that you wish we tested at? Wish the program ran longer/started earlier? Any additional information we should be including in these posts?

Special thanks to our SwimTester volunteers and community sponsors who collect these samples each week and make this program possible and so successful. I hope everyone has a great long weekend, and I'll see you on the river! See full results below and visit theswimguide.org for more information.

⚠️ Fox Hole Landing: FAIL (171 cfu)
⚠️ Budds Landing: FAIL (211 cfu)
✅ Shorewood Estates: PASS (20cfu)
✅ Well Bottom Cove: PASS (10 cfu)
✅ Georgetown Bridge: PASS (31 cfu)
⚠️ Indian Acres: FAIL (216 cfu)
✅ Kentmore Park: PASS (

08/28/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Bacteria Update 8-28-2026*** Results from bacteria samples collected on 8-27 show that all sites on the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks passed this week except for Fox Hole Landing and Worton Creek. See full results below and visit theswimguide.org for more information.

⚠️ Fox Hole Landing: FAIL (145 cfu)
✅ Budds Landing: PASS (

08/21/2026

***Sassafras & Bayside Creeks Bacteria Update 8-21-2026*** Results from bacteria samples collected on 8-20 show that all sites on the Sassafras & Bayside Creeks passed this week except for Fox Hole Landing, Indian Acres, and Churn Creek. Please note that many areas received significant rainfall yesterday afternoon after these samples were collected, so bacteria levels may be elevated above these results. See full results below and visit theswimguide.org for more information.

⚠️ Fox Hole Landing: FAIL (134 cfu)
✅ Budds Landing: PASS (84 cfu)
✅ Shorewood Estates: PASS (10 cfu)
✅ Well Bottom Cove: PASS (10 cfu)
✅ Georgetown Bridge: PASS (41 cfu)
⚠️ Indian Acres: FAIL (323 cfu)
✅ Kentmore Park: PASS (

Sassafras Riverkeeper

10/07/2026

10/05/2026

10/02/2026

09/30/2026

09/29/2026

09/14/2026

09/11/2026

09/04/2026

08/28/2026

08/21/2026

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