1000 Friends Staff Prepare for Battle

The 2012 Legislative Session starts January 11, and we are ready for a fight. The enemy? The high costs and increased pollution from sprawling development. 

We must stop sprawling into our rural lands. This development costs taxpayers money, paves over farmland and open spaces, and adds even more pollution to local waters.

Read our press release here and our full legislative agenda here.

Come fight with us!  Get connected to get breaking updates and action alerts from Annapolis. 

Marylanders Support Clean Waters, Smarter Growth

A poll released today by 1000 Friends and our partners shows that nearly two-thirds of Maryland voters support increasing funding for Bay restoration efforts, and large majorities believe the State should actively manage growth and restrict septic systems.  This broad support from across the state is a strong testament to our legislative work this session!

Read the press release here and the full polling memo here.

Clean Water, Stronger Communities

Clean water matters. It is a fundamental right for every person in every community across Maryland.

Over the last two years we have begun a mammoth task: to bring clean water back to the Chesapeake Bay. This process, called the Chesapeake Bay pollution diet, calculates the amount of pollution the Bay can accept and still stay healthy, and then holds the States that contribute to the problem accountable to reducing their pollution loads to those limits.

This restoration effort is really about cleaning local waters. For while the Chesapeake Bay might be the ultimate goal, reducing pollution starts in our backyards – the rivers and streams we know and love.  And cleaning local waters requires local action; clear commitments from every county to take meaningful action for real results.

How and where we grow has a tremendous impact on the quality of our waters.  Pollution from development, particularly on high-polluting septic systems, is the only growing source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.  1000 Friends is working at the state and local level to reverse that trend and ensure that we have vibrant places to live and cleaner local waters. 

Read more about our legislative package here.