Cover Story: Rock Hall's "Old Salt" restored to former glory

Late last month, Rock Hall celebrated the return of the beloved “Old Salt” statue following several months of restoration work funded by a Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development grant. The statue – a wood carving that represents generations of our community's finest – presides once again over the northeast corner of Rock Hall Avenue and Main Street.

Old Salt was carved by local artist Jack Smolens whose "Workshop on the Water" was housed in the present-day marine store at Haven Harbour Marina.

In April, Old Salt was removed and brought to the shop of native Eastern Shore restoration artist, and former Haven Harbour Marina general manager, John Elburn (pictured above), whose work since childhood has been inspired by waterfowl, seafood and those who make their living on the Chesapeake Bay.

Read at chesapeakebaymagazine.com. Photo courtesy of Main Street Rock Hall.

Bay Health: Chesapeake showing recent signs of improvement

The overall health of the Chesapeake Bay is showing trends of improvement over time – but some regions are still scoring poorly, reported the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science UMCES in its annual Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card last month. Similar to 2021, the overall Chesapeake Bay received a C grade. 

“While the trajectory of improvements, particularly concerning nutrients in the Bay, is in the right direction, we need to pick up the pace of restoration so that we can hit our nutrient reduction targets in the future and ensure our resilience to climate change,” said Peter Goodwin, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

The overall Bay health score has increased by six points in the past two years, an encouraging sign in the recovery of the Bay. Of the seven indicators, there were improvements in water clarity, nitrogen, phosphorus and aquatic grasses. Although conditions in the bay overall are improving, many tributaries still have poor scores with a concerning trend of poor scores in the Eastern Shore watersheds – with our region, the Upper Eastern Shore, receiving a D.

Learn more about this year's report card.