DNR Aquatic Biologist Mike Naylor Receives Conservation Award From American Fisheries Society

LEWES, DE —  At the February 2nd meeting of the Tidewater Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Mike Naylor, aquatic biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Resource Assessment Service, was awarded the Chapter’s prestigious Conservation Award. The award is given periodically for important contributions in the field of fisheries or aquatic habitat conservation and restoration activities.

Naylor’s work to conserve and restore submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has been tireless and extremely productive. From a treasure trove of over 4,000 old aerial photographs of Maryland’s shoreline, Naylor constructed a mosaic map of the state that documented, for the first time, the extent of SAV distributions prior to their dramatic declines in the late 1960s and following the ravaging impacts of Hurricane Agnes on the watershed in 1972. This mapping exercise led to a new SAV goal for the Chesapeake Bay and became the mechanism through which bay-wide water clarity standards are set.

Together with two DNR colleagues, Naylor started the Bay Grasses in Classes Program in 1999, a successful educational tool that has taught over 36,000 students in Maryland how to raise and plant SAV. The program has been adopted by Virginia and Alabama. Naylor has chaired the SAV Workgroup in the Chesapeake Bay Program since 1999. He also developed and led an eradication program aimed at eliminating the non-native water chestnut from Maryland’s waters. This invasive plant can wreak havoc on an ecosystem, smothering native plants, reducing food supplies for fish and other aquatic animals, and choking off tidal creeks and rivers. While the eradication program continues, Naylor’s vigilance and diligence has paid off and the obnoxious invader is almost entirely gone.