In February, The Calvert Marine Museum continues its PEM Talks focusing on a more “Sustainable Chesapeake” with a look back at history, and a conversation about unwelcome invaders. The talks take place in the auditorium starting at 7:00, and are FREE.
On Thursday, February 7, Dr. Henry Miller, director of research programs at Historic St. Mary’s City, presents An Overview of Human Use of the Chesapeake through History. We are all familiar with current environmental problems, but you might be surprised to learn that the impacts of human habitation go back hundreds of years. Was there ever a time when people used the bay area in a sustainable way? Dr. Miller draws from archaeology, geology, and history to create a concise overview of the Chesapeake and its human inhabitants over the past 10,000+ years. He explores how land use and seafood harvesting have changed over the centuries, striving to answer the key questions of when and to what extent humans began having a negative impact on the bay. There is no doubt that people and the Chesapeake are closely linked; these dynamic interactions were of profound significance in the past, are active in the present, and shall continue in the future.
On Thursday, February 21, Jonathan McKnight presents Invasive Species in the Chesapeake. Since Europeans first arrived in North America, we have been introducing old-world plants and animals to provide food, goods, and a sense of ‘home’. In many cases these new animals have been beneficial to our way of life. But a small percentage of new organisms escaped from our gardens and fields and begin a life in the wild, usually to the detriment of native species and ecosystems. Today, society realizes the risk of randomly introducing new species, but globalization of trade is increasing the number of accidental introductions even as we have restricted intentional introductions. The Chesapeake Bay Agreement identifies six species that threaten the sustainability of the Chesapeake ecosystem and efforts to restore it, but a growing number of new threats are emerging – with potentially dire consequences to the ecology and economics of the Chesapeake Bay region. Jonathan McKnight, director of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Maryland Natural Heritage Program, will talk about the advent of invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay, the effect that they can have on native ecosystems, and the efforts being taken to prevent, control, or eradicate them. DNR is the State agency responsible for protecting rare, threatened, and endangered species and natural areas.
The PEM Talks series is free, designed to encourage thoughtful community discourse on Paleontology, the Environment, and Maritime History – PEM. Future talks in this series will explore the local sustainable food movement, creating living shorelines, the loss of the oyster industry and hope for restoring oysters to the Chesapeake, and locally sourced sustainable seafood. Check the website for details: http://www.calvertmarinemuseum.com/events/lectures.php.
