| Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® acknowledges that we protect land, water, sensitive species, and communities in the traditional territory of many nations including the Algonquin speaking Susquehannock, and Delaware peoples. |
| First and foremost, we wish all of you and your family members continued good health and peace. Thank you for supporting our efforts! Clean water is everyone’s right and is a shared resource that must be protected for all. We need your financial support to maintain and enhance our education, outreach, environmental monitoring, advocacy, and litigation programs. Your support in 2024 resulted in: Growing Our Staff: We welcomed Hudson Weber, a freshman studying Environmental Science at University of Montana, who worked with us in the Nature Center and in the field. We also welcomed our environmental science fellow, Chichedu Duru, a PhD candidate from Morgan State who joined us to provide scientific monitoring and lab support on Bacteria, source tracking, PFAS and microplastics. Shane Eckman, a Sophomore studying Ocean Engineering at University of Rhode Island, and a recipient of the Terry Newendorp Environmental Scholarship in 2023, assisted us in tidal monitoring and operating the skiff. Our fourth Skidmore intern, Colson Warren, joined us in June to staff the Nature Center. His valuable insights gave us capacity to work on operations, grants, and upgrades to the grounds of the Nature Center. We benefitted greatly from the work of Erin Adams, our VOLMD/Americorps member who finished her service year as our volunteer coordinator at Sparks Nature Center. Awarding Six Terry Newendorp Environmental Scholarships: In 2024, we received six applications for the Terry Newendorp Environmental Scholarship for the Gunpowder River Award. These exemplary students presented a strong environmental ethos and we found that all were each deserving of the $1,000 award! Special thanks to the Newendorp family for providing continued funding and guidance, and to Carol Metzger from Joppa Women’s Club for their generous donation of $500 towards the scholarship fund! Nick, one of our four Scholarship Awardees in 2022 returned this fall and started an environmental internship on PFAS monitoring. Expanding Summer Monitoring Efforts on Bacteria and Viruses: We protected the Gunpowder, Bush, and Middle Rivers, their watersheds, and communities by sampling E. Coli levels weekly, informing the public where it was safe to recreate along the River in Baltimore and Harford Counties. As part of Chesapeake Water Watch, we continue to sample water quality downstream in the tidal Gunpowder for Turbidity, InVivo Chlorophyll A, and Colored Dissolved Organic Matter to assist Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in ground-truthing NASA satellite algorithms. This fall, we will expand our monitoring program to include taking water quality samples at 20 sites for micro-plastics and Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS). Retaining Pro-Bono Attorneys to Help Us Solve Environmental Problems: Gunpowder Riverkeeper sent D.R. HORTON, the largest homebuilder in the U.S., and Forestar Group Inc., Forester (USA) Real Estate Group Inc., and Kinsley Construction, LLC, a letter notifying these developers of our intent to sue under the Clean Water Act to enforce ongoing and continuous alleged violations of the Act coming from their construction site in Joppa Maryland known as Ridgely’s Reserve. The state has since filed a parallel complaint (lawsuit) and we have since intervened in that action in Harford County Circuit Court. Saving Abingdon Woods and Protected Otter Point Creek: With strong community partners including Save Abingdon Woods, Harford Climate Action, and Chesapeake Legal Alliance (CLA), we protected Otter Point Creek and the last stand of intact mature forest in the Bush River watershed from the clearing and development needed to construct a 2.5 million square foot Abingdon Business Park warehouse. Since 2019, Gunpowder Riverkeeper has challenged the MDE Wetlands and Waterways Permit. This year we were able to dismiss our appeal because Harford County revoked all permits needed for the development and required reforestation of portions of the site. You can help us do more in 2025 to address these environmental threats: Provide More Legal Capacity to Solve Environmental Problems: Gunpowder Riverkeeper has been working with a host of other nonprofits to assess the potential for environmental and community impacts from the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), a 70 mile long, 500,000 volt transmission line that would impact preserved lands, conservation easements, prime agricultural lands, forests, and sensitive streams in Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick County. We will be asking the Public Service Commission to require an Environmental Assessment to disclose the potential cumulative environmental impacts to drinking water, sensitive species, cultural, and historical resources. Protect and Restore the Tidal Gunpowder and Foster Branch from Sediment Pollution: Support our Intervention in the State Complaint against Ridgeley’s Reserve that was prompted by our Notice of Intent to Sue filed Under the Clean Water Act. We will continue to track the 48.8 Million dollar Bush and Gunpowder Amtrak Bridge replacement projects as we are concerned about potential impacts of construction on legacy sediments on the environment surrounding the 110 year old bridges. Please consider a year-end donation of support! We need your help in funding an endowment to secure our next steps to keep growing and assuring sustainability of our organization so we can continue to expand our drinking water quality protection for 1.5 million Baltimore-Metro users and sensitive species. You may donate at: https://gunpowderriverkeeper.networkforgood.com/projects/130365-everyday-giving or by sending a check to Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER®, P.O. BOX 156 Monkton, MD 21111. Thank you for your support, Theaux M. Le Gardeur |
| Gunpowder Riverkeeper has 488 supporters in 17 states, and is comprised of an Executive Director/RIVERKEEPER, up to nine board members and 27 committee members. Please let us know if you’d like to be more involved at gunpowderriverkeeper@gmail.com GRK is a 501(c)(3) non-profit categorized by the IRS under Natural Resource Conservation and Protection. Your charitable contribution is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. A copy of the current financial statement of GRK is available by writing P.O. BOX 156 Monkton, MD 21111 or calling 410-967-3526. Documents submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from: The MD Sec. of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401 (410) 974-5534. |