St. Mary's River Watershed Association

06/17/2026

FREE admission to a great event! Come by and see us at the Freedom Day Juneteenth event this upcoming Saturday, June 17th between 12-6pm at the St. Mary's County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown. There will be games, face painting, and horseback riding! Experience the Ni Dembaya African Drum & Dance Ensemble and Ms. Story's Living History. Support freedom!

06/15/2026

Reminder! RSVP for our Annual Members' Meeting taking place on June 27th at 10am. This is an especially important meeting and we would like our members (and potential members) to weigh in on possible changes to our organization. Please RSVP by June 22nd by emailing Rachel at [email protected] or by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6HjyNh_8aHg5W3ckL4yA-_1gmaxENUebV3DhqkYywJ4CfBg/viewform

Interested in becoming a member right now? Visit https://smrwa.org/donate

06/11/2026

Help Oyster Sanctuaries! - The Chesapeake Bay’s protected oyster reefs are vulnerable and need your voice. Sign the petition on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s website (link below). The U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently passed a NOAA funding bill that includes two harmful provisions, Sections 586 and 587, that threaten to derail decades of progress and investments in the St. Mary’s River and other sanctuaries.

Here is what’s at stake if these provisions pass the full House:
• Sec. 586 would allow commercial fishing and harvesting on protected sanctuary reefs, destroying the vital, complex habitats oysters build.
• Sec. 587 would cut restoration funds for the very oyster sanctuaries that are most in need of investment and support.

Oysters are the unsung heroes of the Bay. They naturally filter our water, protect our coastlines from intense storms, and create homes for hundreds of marine species. Opening oyster sanctuaries to harvest and stripping away their funding is a fast track to wrecking the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Ask your legislators to keep their promise to protect these oysters from harvest.

Sign the Petition: Click the link below to sign the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s petition urging your House Representative to reject these harmful provisions and defend our oyster sanctuaries.
🔗 https://cbf.quorum.us/campaign/noaafunding/

06/10/2026

Marylanders Grow Oysters cage collection is complete! Thank you to the 63 dock owners who took care of baby oysters during their most vulnerable months in the fall, winter, and spring. Thanks to their care, these oysters have a much higher rate of survival than oysters that are planted when they are only several weeks old.

AND thank you to volunteers from the Patuxent Presbyterian Church and SMRWA who helped us plant 60,000 of these oysters on Saturday at a restoration site in the St. Mary's River Oyster Sanctuary, west of Horseshoe Point.

If you're interested in joining this statewide program, visit https://www.oysterrecovery.org/get-involved/marylanders-grow-oysters to learn more about the requirements! If want to support environmental restoration work, including our MGO program, please visit: www.smrwa.org/donate

06/01/2026

Stay informed for summer beach days. If you’re worried about the impacts of the Potomac River sewage spill or looking for information on the safety of your public beaches, the St. Mary's County Health Department monitors local water quality data and posts advisories when levels of enterococcus bacteria exceed state safety standards. Check their Beach Monitoring page for the latest conditions and weekly updates: https://smchd.org/.../water-monitoring.../beach-monitoring/

News Release: Health Department Announces Start of 2026 Beach Water Monitoring Season - smchd.org/2026/05/health-department-announces-start-of-2026-beach-water-monitoring-season

05/29/2026

THANK YOU to the amazing Girl Scouts of Troop 10109 who sold cookies to support our cause! 🍪 We appreciate your kindness and hard work, and for taking the time to learn about marine life and the importance of protecting the Chesapeake Bay. We are incredibly grateful for your support and proud to have such thoughtful young leaders making a difference. Thank you for spreading sweetness in more ways than one! 💕 Visit www.smrwa.org for ways to support our programs!

05/28/2026

Open to current and prospective members, the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association (SMRWA)’s Annual Members’ Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 27, at 10 am at the Ruddy Duck Seafood and Alehouse on St. George Island. Take this opportunity to renew or begin your membership at https://smrwa.org/donate/ - we rely on your support!

As we celebrate our oyster restoration successes in the St. Mary’s River, a new opportunity has emerged to formally expand our efforts to Breton Bay. Please join us to help guide our next steps and ensure we do what’s best for our community. We will also have nominations and elections for the Board of Directors. Light refreshments will be served. Please let us know you’re coming by June 22nd! Click the link to RSVP --> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1T0LuYKQkuGpKsi-jDNUvDZzpMeXRGVXo_d7sSyoMmbU/edit?ts=69fb50da

05/26/2026

Provide your input! St. Mary's County is looking for your guidance on the Recreation and Land Plan, a guide for decisions on future parks, recreation programs, and natural areas in St. Mary's County. Check out the link below to submit comments about specific locations throughout the county. Contribute to the ideas wall, or like someone else's idea! Please consider recommending more public access points to our river, the preservation of our natural resources, and increased outdoor recreation. https://engageberrydunn.mysocialpinpoint.com/st-marys-county-lpprp-update

05/20/2026

May is Native Plant Month! Today is Global World Bee Day! Double up and plant a native pollinator garden this spring with flowers like Frost Aster and Golden Ragwort to help our bee friends. Native plants are adapted to our area, which reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides and fertilizers, which means less run-off into our waterways.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has declared May as Native Plant Month! UME offers guidance to homeowners and landscapers to promote the use of native plants and restore Maryland's habitats. Learn more about our program and how we can help you at https://extension.umd.edu/programs/environment-natural-resources/program-areas/maryland-native-plants-program/.

05/12/2026

We had the best day on Saturday with our partners at St. Mary's County Arts Council and Bay Fiber Studios! Local artists painted and dyed a series of banners that reflect the St. Mary's River Watershed Association's work. These banners will be hung at the Lexington Manor Passive Park this summer. We also watched as the oysters filtered their tank water throughout the day.

Thank you to the Maryland State Arts Council for funding this collaborative project and to St. Mary's County Parks and Recreation for their hospitality!