MD Event:
Mud Pups Fundraiser
When: October 1st 2009
Where: Oregon Ridge
Time: 11am to 5pm
Bring your furry, friendly buddy (on a leash) for a day of fun and games! There will be contests, games, prizes, and food for you and your dog(s). In addition, you will have the chance to sign up for discounted dog obedience classes and view dog agility, rally, and obedience demonstrations by Top-Notch Training. Portable pet grooming, nail clipping, and pet-first-aid services will be available. Or browse over twenty different vendors and dog rescue groups that will be joining us for the day. Come and help the Maryland animal rescues!
Here's What's Going On...
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Baltimore city representative, Meeks, has proposed widening I-83 in accommodate heavier traffic coming in towards Baltimore from Southern York County, Pennsylvania. Northern Baltimore county residents are not happy. Bill set to reach the governor by the 18th.
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Will and Gina Lupus are fighting neighbors and council representatives in Cedar Cherry (Howard County) over their right to affix a windmill on their property to reduce energy consumption and save on their BGE electric bill.
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Anne Arundel County is considering reducing the amount of trash entering landfills by charging its residents by the weight of their garbage. "This will encourage people to recyle…everything," says councilwoman Sandra Chatrod.
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Gunpowder State Park announces a new acquisition of the land around the Marys Chapel area. The donor wishes to have a natural resources center built to educate the public on environmentally-friendly home ownership as well as preserving the state park system.
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PA residents banned from hanging laundry outside in residential areas. It’s not limited to Home Owners Association standards either. Maryland following suit? What are your thoughts?
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New Hope Farm of Sparks is looking for volunteers to help harvest carrots, okra, turnips, and squash. All will be donated to local food banks and Baltimore soup kitchens.
Walking Fish?
The day fish can walk will cost us a pretty penny.
While Maryland is vulnerable to a number of invasive species of plants and animals, the most unusual and potentially threatening discovery within the last three years was of the snakehead fish found within a privately owned pond that lay within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The snakehead fish, which breeds rapidly and is capable of taking out all top-level predators, was considered an immediate threat.
Authorities were worried that although there were no tributaries from the pond, if flooding occurred the fish might manage to get into the Little Patuxent River, 50 yards west. Once there, it could quite possibly alter the entire river ecosystem. The northern snakehead fish is a temperate freshwater fish native to China and is well-suited to withstand cold water, thus able to survive year round.
To prevent the snakehead fish from damaging any natural Maryland ecosystems, ADVERTISEMENT
the Maryland Fisheries Service killed the entire pond in order to destroy any snakehead fish. A herbicide, Diquat, was applied to the pond to remove plant life. Then this was followed with rotenone, a poison to kill all of the fish. Lastly, the pond water was neutralized with potassium permanganate.
The total cost for chemical and additional equipment, plus 300 days of labor, was $20,000. All of this just to kill one exotic species, which was probably purchased for soup, but carelessly disposed of after going unused. The snakehead fish serves as a warning of why we need to be concerned about how live exotic species make it into the country in pet shops, nurseries, or even supermarkets.
