The politicos are flocking to an Obama administration "listening session" in Annapolis this afternoon (6/25) on how to improve land and water conservation and strengthen Americans' connections with nature. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin and Gov. Martin O'Malley plan to be on hand for the four-hour gabfest - or at least to kick it off.
The pair are expected to join Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and other federal environmental officials to discuss ways government and private entities can enhance conservation and outdoors activities. The session is the second in a nationwide series planned as part of "America's Great Outdoors" initiative, an Obama administration push begun last year.
This one, though, is expected to focus on the Chesapeake Bay region, where the Obama administration's recently unveiled bay strategy includes a pledge to conserve 2 million more acres of land in the six-state watershed and add 300 more points of public access to the bay and its tributaries, a 40 percent increase.
The session will be at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase Street, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It's open to the public, so feel free to go listen and share your thoughts.
(Brown pelicans at Smith Island, 2004 Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)