New Bay Trust chairman: Buy more license plates

Despite President Trump's proposed sweeping cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chesapeake Bay Trust's incoming chairman expects the bay cleanup effort to hold course regardless of the administration's funding.

The trust named Annapolis attorney Benjamin Wechsler as the next chairman of the Board of Trustees Thursday. He'll serve as chairman for two years under the Trump Administration, which has proposed EPA budget cuts. The president's budget is still subject to change in Congress.

Citing the bay cleanup's progress, Wechsler said he didn't think cuts would be detrimental to the ongoing projects among the six Chesapeake Bay watershed states and Washington, D.C.

Although if the federal money is cut, Wechsler said, the trust will need to look elsewhere for money.

"It's part of my chairmanship to continue our efforts to diversify the funding sources that the trust gets money from," he said. The trust gets federal, state, county and private dollars, but over the next two years Wechsler expects "an increasing focus on the private dollars and ("Treasure the Chesapeake") license plate dollars."

He attributed the successes to counties, which are "administering a lot of money and a lot of programs are ongoing." Restoration work, projects and environmental education are "capacity limited, not so much funding limited."

The Chesapeake Bay Trust works with many local volunteer groups to start restoration projects. Even if they've secured enough money, the local group and the trust need to coordinate professionals -such as engineers- to design, permit and construct a restoration project, he said.

If the trust is able to maintain its money level with dollars from other contributors, Wechsler said, "I don't think changes at the federal level will have a particularly severe impact."

Erik Michelsen, administrator of Anne Arundel County's Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, acknowledged the Chesapeake Bay Trust's effort to diversify funding, "including working with local governments throughout the state to setup county specific grant programs."

He's known Wechsler for years.

"I have a lot of respect for his commitment to the environment and the intersection of the environment and legal issues, particularly on land use," he said.

Wechsler's interest in the bay dates to his childhood.

"I grew up spending a lot of time on the water and in the woods of the Eastern Shore, and out in the coastal bays," Wechsler said. "(The) Chesapeake Bay and water quality issues have been near and dear to me since I was a kid."

Wechsler specializes in real estate and environmental law with the Annapolis office of Linowes and Blocher LLP. He's been a member of the board since 2012 and is also the chairman of the Environmental Committee for the Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce.

Credit: By Alex Mann - [email protected]

Caption: Wechsler