- Home - Learn, explore, and preserve the Maryland Coastal Bays on the Maryland Eastern Shore. Protect our watersheds and learn how you can advocate for our environment.
- The Mission - The Maryland Coastal Bays Program exists to protect and conserve the waters and surrounding watershed of Maryland’s Coastal Bays.
- Staff - Are you interested in learning more about the Maryland Coastal Bay Programs staff and what exactly we do? Click here for contact information and to learn more.
- Board Members - The Maryland Coastal Bay Programs Board exists to navigate funding, activities, events, and so much more. Click here to find a list of our Board Members.
- Committees - The Maryland Coastal Bays Program exists to assist in the education and preservation of our Maryland Coastal Bays. Please learn more about our committees here.
- Citizens Advisory Committee - The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) is comprised of various stakeholders in the watershed interested in furthering the goals of the Coastal Bays Program.
- Policy Committee - The Policy Committee for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program is a network of governmental and community leaders working the achieve the goals of cleaner waterways.
- Implementation Committee - The Implementation Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Directors comprised of members who assist with the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
- Science and Technical Committee - The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) represents a balance of scientific disciplines with expertise in multiple areas of research.
- The Programs - Are you interested in learning more about the Maryland Coastal Bays Programs? Learn more about the education, restoration, outreach, and science behind protecting our bays.
- Provide Healthy Waters - Maryland Coastal Bays leads several monitoring programs, restoration projects, education, and outreach initiatives to protect waters and use of our Coastal Bays.
- Monitoring - Water quality monitoring engages our community through our water quality volunteer program, but also provides data to evaluate the health of the waters of the Coastal Bays.
- Report Cards - View the report cards for the health of each of Marylands Coastal Bays here.
- State of the Bay Report - State of the Bays is a booklet that provides an overview to learn more about the science and management issues in the Maryland Coastal Bays and their watersheds.
- Publications and Resources - Do you receive our monthly newsletter? Check out what you’ve missed and find our archives when you click the link.
- Oyster Gardening - The Oyster Gardening program provides spat and cages to local citizens who personally grow them until they are transferred to a local restoration site or oyster reef.
- Protect Fish, Wildlife, and their Habitat - Maryland Coastal Bays aims to protect the array of species living in the bays with resource management programs, partnerships, and community involvement.
- Horseshoe Crabs - The Maryland Coastal Bays Program assists MD DNR with annual horseshoe crab surveys to measure spawning abundance in the Coastal Bays.
- Tern Raft - This partnership aims to preserve endangered colonial nesting waterbirds including the Common Tern, Royal Tern, and Black Skimmer.
- Diamondback Terrapin Surveys - Organized terrapin headcount surveys began in 2012 in collaboration with Maryland DNR and other members of the diamondback terrapin workgroup.
- Terrapin Nesting Sanctuary - This collaborative project provides a protected space for terrapins to safely nest and is shaped to replicate the terrapin’s natural nesting habitat.
- Development Public Engagement and Partnerships - View examples of how Maryland Coastal Bays engages various populations of people and find educational resources on environmental literacy.
- Boardwalk Exhibit - An outdoor enclosed exhibit space at the OC Life-Saving Station Museum that features a 16-foot wrap-around mural of the bay’s habitats.
- Lewis Road Kayak Launch - Located on Ayres Creek, this restoration project is owned by the Town of Ocean City and managed by MCBP. The physical address is 8913 Lewis Road, Berlin, Maryland 21811.
- Greys Creek Nature Park - This 574-acre parcel consists of upland coastal forest and extensive sensitive non-tidal and tidal saltwater wetlands.
- Herring Creek Nature Park - Maryland Coastal Bays helped find funding for the Herring Creek Nature Park, part of the Restore the Shore Trail.
- Marine Debris - Maryland Coastal Bays Program has developed several programs to hire watermen to retrieve abandoned crab pots, including events like the Ghost Pot Rodeo and a Marine Debris Plunder.
- Assateague Outfitters - Enjoy bayside rental camp store, a kayak tour service, an oceanside beach hut convenience and novelty store, and an oceanside beach chair/umbrella rental stand, where 50% of profits go to the Maryland Coastal Bays!
- Community Programs and Resources - The involvement of the Coastal Bays’ community is vital to the health of our watershed. Find resources and community workshops and events here.
- Student Programs - MCBP offers a plethora of activities specific to students throughout the year, both throughout the school year and during summer break.
- Educator Resources - Find links to upcoming workshops and training, Coastal Bays lesson plans and activities, student community service opportunities, and information on how to schedule a visit.
- Summer Camps & Activities - Get outside, learn something new, and get hands-on in the watershed. And what better place to do that than on Assateague Island? Click the link to learn more.
- Create Resilient Communities and Ecosystems - Learn more about specific restoration project sites that are striving to make ecosystems more resilient to bounce back from increasingly adverse weather events.
- Showell Property - Located off of Pitts Road in Showell, Maryland, this restoration project is owned by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program under an easement through the Lower Shore Land Trust.
- Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve - Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve is also located within the 4,000 acres of a contiguous forest of the Holly Grove Swamp Area.
- Bishopville Dam - Located on Bishopville Road, this new configuration allows fish to navigate into freshwater tributaries to spawn.
- Lizard Hill Wetland Restoration - The Lizard Hill Wetland Project is a 20-acre wetland restoration effort located at 10652 Cemetery Rd, Bishopville.
- Skimmer Island - Located in the Sinepuxent Bay just north of the Rt 50 bridge, this island is important in Maryland for nesting colonial waterbirds.
- Assateague State Park Shoreline - A living shoreline project at Assateague State Park was designed and built to prevent erosion and increase shoreline habitat.
- Tizzard Island - Tizzard Island is in southern Chincoteague Bay that serves as a buffer for the mainland against the erosive forces of increased storminess and sea-level rise associated with climate change.
- Shell Mill Landing - The Shell Mill Landing restoration site is part of the Maryland Coastal Bay’s Trail to Restore the Shore project, and is a public boat ramp managed by Worcester County.
- Graham Avenue Submerged Wetland Restoration Project - This Trail to Restore the Shore project created a submerged gravel wetland in Berlin, MD to help alleviate flooding and provide a natural filter for stormwater.
- North and South Green Bulkheads - A Trail to Restore the Shore project that created a living seawall on bulkheads in Ocean City, MD.
- Swans Gut Creek at Big Millpond - The Swans Gut (Big Mill) Fish Passage & Resiliency Project built a series of shallow riffles that allows fish to move in steps from tidewater to pool level.
- Selsey Road - Located on the Isle of Wight Bay, this restoration project created a living shoreline and marsh to protect the residential infrastructure and reduce road flooding.
- Provide Healthy Waters - Maryland Coastal Bays leads several monitoring programs, restoration projects, education, and outreach initiatives to protect waters and use of our Coastal Bays.
- The Coastal Bays - Welcome to the Maryland Coastal Bays, one of the more diverse estuaries on the eastern seaboard, there are a total of five coastal bays.
- Assawoman Bay - Learn more about the health rating and challenges that the Assawoman Bay faces by reading the report.
- Chincoteague Bay - Learn more about the health rating and challenges that the Chincoteague Bay faces by reading the report.
- Isle of Wight Bay - Learn more about the health rating and challenges that the Isle of Wight Bay faces by reading the report.
- Newport Bay - Learn more about the health rating and challenges that the Newport Bay faces by reading the report.
- Sinepuxent Bay - Learn more about the health rating and challenges that the Sinepuxent Bay faces by reading the report.
- Get Involved - Are you ready to help preserve Maryland Coastal Bays? Learn how you can make a difference today!
- Volunteer - Learn about the programs and events where volunteers are needed, such as Bay Day, Oyster Gardening, and the Adopt a Beach or Adopt a Street program.
- Calendar of Events - Are you looking to volunteer or participate in a Maryland Coastal Bay Programs event? Click our calendar to find more information on upcoming events.
- Donate - Your financial contribution will go toward protecting our watershed, its habitat, and wildlife. The Maryland Coastal Bays Foundation is a tax-exempt non-profit organization, and your donation is tax-deductible.
- Contact - Contact the Maryland Coastal Bays Program today to learn more about what we do and how you can get involved!
- Accessibility - At Maryland Coastal Bays Program, we are committed to providing our users with a website accessible to the largest audience possible.