Provost Peggy Agouris sent the following message to the campus community June 1, 2021. - Ed.
Dear Colleagues,
I write to share the news that Professor of Marine Science, Emeritus Maynard M. Nichols, 93, passed away peacefully on May 12 with his wife, Jane, by his side. He was born in Patchogue, NY on January 13, 1928 to Francis Nancy Nichols and Maynard Asa Nichols. Nick, as he was fondly referred to by family and friends, had a life-long love of the environment, especially rivers and oceans. This love guided him through his educational career earning him a B.S. from Columbia University, a M.S. from Scripps Institute of Oceanography and a Ph.D. from UCLA.
State Roundup: Frederick County exec race begins to heat up as Hough, Hagen spar; Gansler running for governor again
The front of the State House. Governor s Office photo
HOUGH, HAGEN SPAR AS FREDERICK COUNTY EXEC RACE HEATS UP: The race for Frederick County executive is only in its early stages but it has already begun to heat up. On Monday, state Sen. Michael Hough (Frederick and Carroll), the only Republican in the race, ripped one of the Democratic candidates as “far-left,” Bryan Renbaum reports in Maryland Reporter.
SALMON 1-YEAR EXTENSION MUDDIES SEARCH FOR NEW SUPER: State laws dating back to the 1860s are making the hunt for Maryland’s next state school superintendent more difficult because the state school board can’t appoint the next leader to a normal four-year term, since Superintendent Karen Salmon accepted a one-year extension to her final term to continue working during the pandemic, Liz Bowie reports for the Sun.
Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Population Shows Healthy Female Abundance
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the results of the 2021 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which annually estimates the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.
The 2021 results showed that the spawning age female abundance increased from 141 million spawning age female crabs in 2020 to 158 million spawning age female crabs. This year’s survey estimate is above the long-term average of 126 million spawning age female crabs.
“Protecting spawning age females is a critical component to maintaining a healthy and sustainable blue crab population,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said. “We are pleased to report that the cooperative management efforts of our Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions have continued to conserve female crabs within a healthy range.”
The Chesapeake Bay blue crab population is down 30% this year, a drop to be tied directly to a historically low number of young crabs found in an annual survey.