Welcome to the latest installment of the BayBlog Question of the Week! Each week, we take a question submitted on the Chesapeake Bay Program website or a frequently asked question and answer it here for all to read.
This week’s question came from John in New Jersey. John has been experiencing problems with mute swans while kayaking in his local waterways. He has seen them before, but never had any issues with them until last year. He and other kayakers were attacked several times last year and the attacks have resumed this year. He asked: “Short of quitting my favorite weekend sport, what can I do to deter the swan from attacking me?"
For this question, we contacted Jonathan McKnight, the associate director for habitat conservation with the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
McKnight said that, unfortunately, mute swan attacks are not uncommon. Mute swans are an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and other parts of the East Coast (such as New Jersey), causing problems for humans, other wildlife and the habitats where they live. Mute swans are very territorial of their nesting areas and near their young. With wingspans that can reach 6 feet long, mute swans are capable of causing serious injury to humans.
In Maryland, any mute swan attacks or sightings can be reported to DNR, and DNR officials will go out to the site and remove the swans. If mute swans are prohibiting use of the waterways near you, McKnight suggests contacting your state’s wildlife agency.
The best advice McKnight could offer John was to wear a life preserver when out in his kayak and to make his posture taller than the swan.
“If you are smaller than the swan, it will attack mercilessly,” McKnight said.
John had also mentioned an idea of using a bird repellent to ward off the swans, which McKnight said might be successful.
Visit our page on mute swans for more information about these invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Do you have a question about the Chesapeake Bay? Ask us and we might choose your question for the next Question of the Week! You can also ask us a question via Twitter by sending a reply to @chesbayprogram! Be sure to follow us there for all the latest in Bay news and events!
June 2010 -- At its annual meeting on June 3, the Chesapeake Executive Council launched ChesapeakeStat, an online tool to increase accountability and improve coordination of Bay Program restoration activities. ChesapeakeStat presents comprehensive information about Bay Program activities, funding and progress toward goals.
The Executive Council establishes the policy agenda for the Chesapeake Bay Program and is represented by leaders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
ChesapeakeStat allows Bay Program leaders, federal and state agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations, and members of the public to use the same information to track and plan restoration efforts.
ChesapeakeStat will also be used to highlight local restoration activities. Photos can be entered on a map, and the public can submit ideas for how the website can be improved.
“We’ve initiated a new era defined by bold action and unparalleled levels of accountability,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “ChesapeakeStat will be instrumental in ensuring nothing short of real, measurable results.”
Maryland’s BayStat provided the inspiration and model for ChesapeakeStat, which will be improved and evolved over time.
“Since 2007, BayStat has proven a powerful tool in Maryland for assessing, coordinating, targeting and accelerating our Bay restoration and conservation programs," said Governor Martin O'Malley. "With Administrator Jackson’s leadership, ChesapeakeStat can provide these same critical benefits."
In addition to launching ChesapeakeStat, Executive Council members discussed restoration work done since the last Executive Council meeting in May 2009 and progress on the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Bay Program partners are currently developing the Bay TMDL, which will be a comprehensive “pollution diet” that will include rigorous accountability for all levels of government, sources of pollution and stakeholders.
States are currently developing detailed plans to meet TMDL pollution limits, with draft plans due September 1 and final plans due November 1. The final Bay TMDL will be competed by the end of December.
The 2010 Executive Council meeting was held in Baltimore at the Living Classrooms Foundation, where council members spent part of the afternoon with Baltimore students restoring a wetland.
In attendance at the Executive Council meeting were EPA Deputy Administrator Robert Perciasepe, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Chesapeake Bay Commission Chair Thomas McLain Middleton.
