Tiller – Beach tips for Salty Dogs

Tiller, Sailors for the Sea’s Salty Dog would like to share some tips for environmentally friendly dog behavior while at the beach this summer.

Respect Leash Laws – Tiller is an advocate of this one because it helps ensure that dog-friendly beaches can stay that way.
Give Birds a Break – particularly important in spring and summer for mating and nesting season.
Steer Clear of Wildlife – this can cause trouble for your dog and vice versa, so it is just better to be peaceful and distant with all sea life that finds it’s way to shore. Tiller notes eating a beached jellyfish can really hurt your tummy.
Keep Off the (Dune) Grass – coastal dunes provide storm-damage protection to inland areas and are extremely vulnerable to trampling by both feet and paws. Tiller also avoids this place to avoid ticks.
Scoop the Poop – not just courtesy, dog waste can cause some nasty infections in humans, and adds to bacteria count that forces beaches to close down. Tiller says, let the humans do their job!

Tiller, enjoying his freedom on a beach with no leash laws.

Now that you know the dos and don’ts of dogs at the seashore find a dog friendly beach. Do you have a salty dog who wants to help support ocean conservation, and be featured on our blog? Learn how your canine friends can join the ranks with Tiller.

Thanks to our friends from the Massachusetts office of Coastal Zone Management for this important information, and check out the full post for more information.

Watershed: it is where you live

A post from our CEO, Dan Pingaro

Whether you know it or not, we all live within a watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common waterway. Waterways scale up from local creeks, to rivers, to lakes, estuaries, wetlands and even out to the ocean.  So you might live near small a creek which would be sub-watershed of the larger system into which your local creek drains, such as a river, lake or estuary.

Recently, I traveled through a number of eastern states. It is always amazing to me that six states have portions of land base that drain into the Chesapeake Bay, forming the Chesapeake Bay watershed. That means the Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses many different governmental, nonprofit, corporate and even federal entities.  This makes it complicated for resource managers to effectively provide support and protection to the critical Chesapeake Bay watershed and bay that encompasses approximately 64,000 square miles.

Big or small watersheds are impacted by pollution, resource extraction among other issues while simultaneously providing refugee for wildlife, drinking water for people and  place to live for everyone. The Chesapeake Bay watershed and bay waters are vital locally, regionally and nationally.  The watershed provides drinking water to people in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. The bay waters also provide economic stimulus through the tourism industry, recreational boating and fishing, as well as commercial fishing.

Watersheds are everywhere. Whether it is as large as the Chesapeake Bay’s or not, watersheds are crucial to our daily lives and to the environment, plants and animals that also call the watershed home.  Given all of the numerous entities within a watershed and the scope of the environmental system that is supported, perhaps we should consider that our state and local boundaries be redefined by watershed boundaries rather than by lines drawn on a map for political purposes?

To learn more about how you may protect you local watershed please click on any of the following links: USEPA Ten Things you can do to help your watershed and a few more tips from the Office of Water homepage  and the Watershed Homepage.