Governor Announces New Civic
Justice Corps
Dear Colleagues –
Under the direction of Governor O’Malley, Maryland Park Service staff have been
working for several months with the Department of Juvenile Services and outside
partners to expand our Maryland Conservation Corps to include at-risk and
court-involved youth. The Governor announced the creation of this new program -–
the Civic Justice Corps -- at a terrific event on Friday, and I wanted to share
with you Candy’s Thomson’s column on the event from yesterday’s Baltimore Sun
and a link to the WJZ coverage.
The MCC expansion is just one component of the Maryland Partnership for Children
in Nature, which the Governor created by Executive Order last week to expand
environmental literacy and help our children re-connect with our natural world.
Governor O’Malley announced the Executive Order as he celebrated Earth Day with
students from across Maryland at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, and testified at a
field hearing in support of the federal No Child Left Inside Act, co-sponsored
by Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes.
This month, in addition to signing a number of environmental bills that will
help restore the Chesapeake Bay and protect our natural resources, our Governor
made some tough decisions: He chose to keep the state conversation lands we hold
in the public trust in preservation, and not allow their use for commercial wind
generation. He also met with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and experts from both
states, and agreed to reduce the harvest of female blue crabs by 34 percent to
give our imperiled population a chance to rebuild.
In each of these efforts — you, our stakeholders and our dedicated DNR staff –
have taken your commitments and your efforts to new heights. I cannot stress
enough how important your work is citizens of Maryland and our natural
resources. So, as April comes to a close and we leave behind Earth Day, Arbor
Day and the 2008 session, I wanted to take a moment to share with you the
progress we are making under Governor O”Malley’s leadership, and to thank you
for the essential part you are playing in moving our state and our agency
forward.
John
April 28, 2008