2008 NOAA Restoration Day

On June 2, 2008, hundreds of NOAA employees and partners participated in the 5th annual NOAA Restoration Day in two different states -- one in Maryland and the other in Virginia.  This event has grown every year as NOAA employees in Maryland and Virginia work to restore habitat at two important sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

NOAA Restoration Day is one of the largest voluntary federal employee sponsored environmental stewardship events in the Bay watershed. This is a true one-NOAA event, jointly organized by the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The Maryland event took place at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the site of the first Restoration Day event in 2004. Participants included 120 volunteers from all NOAA line offices, 25 NOAA staff leads, and 10 CBEC staff leads. Staff were divided into ten teams to complete a variety of restoration science projects. These activities were taking place simultaneously in four different areas of the property. Restoration activities included planting underwater Bay grasses grown previously within 22 NOAA office tanks, native oyster seeding on an offshore reef, planting over 2,000 wetland plants, performing coastal bottom mapping via boat, and fish seining.

The Virginia event took place at York River State Park, a component of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Virginia, with approximately 50 volunteers. Participants planted over 8,000 square feet of beach grasses along the park's river shoreline, removed marine debris, observed educational demonstrations, and explored the river on interpretive kayak trips. 

NOAA leadership participated in both events and included Tim Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere; Captain Steve Kozak, National Ocean Service Chief of Staff; Sam Rauch, NOAA Fisheries Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs; and Craig McLean, NOAA Research Deputy Assistant Administrator.  

This event provides an opportunity for employees to put into action the NOAA mission they support in their office work, and to demonstrate their commitment to restoration and protection of the Bay, restoration theories, and NOAA science.

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