I believe Woodrow Wilson was a fine president. Unfortunately, a bridge bearing his name for many years caused people to curse his name on a daily basis. It’s not because of anything he did as president. It was because a bridge spanning Prince George’s and Alexandria bearing his name became one of the biggest traffic nightmares in the Washington-Metropolitan area.

The bridge is currently being replaced with one span already completed. For those of you who hated crossing the old Wilson Bridge, there is some good news coming out of that ancient former structure.

I was on hand Wednesday to participate in the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative 3rd Deep Water Reef for Chesapeake Bay Habitat.

Off the shores of Solomons, a Honeywell Barge dumped 2,500 tons of the old Wilson Bridge concrete to develop an artificial reef at the Cedar Point site at the mouth of the Patuxent River in the Chesapeake Bay.

This artificial reef project is supported by prominent Bay scientists, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Maryland Legislative Sportsman’s Foundation and Caucus, the Solomons Charter Fishing Association, the Maryland Charter Boart Association and the Maryland Saltwater Fishermen’s Association among others.

This artificial reef is intended to sustain oyster beds and protect a diverse series of fish that are mainstays of the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s Atlantic coast. In essence the reef initiative creates an underwater oasis for species such as oysters and other organisms to latch onto protecting them from the muck that is hurting the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition to being delicacies, oysters filter sediment that is creating havoc in the Bay. Additionally, the oyster population has suffered because of lack of protection from the elements in the Bay. Anything we can do to protect this valuable natural resource is important.

The reefs will also provide a good place for Maryland’s sportsmen and watermen to catch fish, according to renowned scientists. This in turn will promote fishing and tourism in Southern Maryland.

By the end of this month, the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative and its partners will have placed at least 50,000 tons on concrete and steel from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project to create new fish reefs in Maryland. This is in comparison to 30,000 tons that were placed over the past 10 years.

As a member of the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, I was able to join with my colleagues to help procure a $500,000 bond initiative for this effort.

The other artificial reefs in place in Maryland are located at Point No Point and Tangier Sound. Another is slated to be placed off of Chesapeake Beach.

I had the opportunity to go out on the boat captained by my friend Captain Bruno Vasta with the Solomons Charter Fishing Association to see the concrete being deposited into the water. Captain Vasta summed this initiative up very well by saying “the project will improve habitat in the Chesapeake Bay, as well as benefit fishing, one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the region and a significant contributor to local economies.”

For more information on this project, go to: www.ccamd.org/MARI/MARI_home.htm.