The beautiful Sassafras River rises in western Delaware and forms the natural boundary between Kent and Cecil Counties in Maryland before it empties into the upper Chesapeake Bay.
The Sassafras River watershed offers its residents and visitors unmatched opportunities for recreation, country living, and quiet contemplation.
But the news is not all good. Water quality is impaired by pollutants from run-off. Algae blooms in the upper Sassafras threaten aquatic life, pets and under certain conditions, humans. Beaches are sometimes closed due to high bacteria levels. Sediment-clouded water stifles the growth of life-giving underwater grasses. Shoreline and woodland erosion threaten the natural beauty of the River.
Mission
The Sassafras River Association is dedicated to promoting good water quality, a balance among recreation, wildlife, and economic activity, and an educated community that takes action to restore and maintain the health of the watershed.
Meet the Board
John Burke, President
John is a real estate agent for Gunther McClary and has lived on the River since 1993. John holds a BA in Industrial Relations and Organization Behavior, from Temple University and has previously served on several non profit boards, including the Kent School in Chestertown. My mission is to be a good neighbor to the River and its stakeholders, making the River cleaner today than it was yesterday.
Ted Carski, Vice President
Ted holds a Ph.D. in soil & environmental chemistry and has been with DuPont Crop Protection for 23+ years. I live, boat, and fish on the Sassafras and want to contribute to restoring and maintaining the health of this wonderful watershed. I have been involved with the SRA since the first meetings, initiating Sassafras Samplers, co-chairing the Science Committee and as a River Steward. Having been a farmer, and now working in chemical crop protection, I am a strong advocate for agriculture and appreciate the positive impact best management practices have already had and will continue to have on restoring the River.
Jackie Reese, Treasurer
Jackie resides in Earleville with her husband Joseph Costello. Jackie is a Vice President at PNC Bank in the Middletown, Delaware office. Prior to joining the Middletown office Jackie was with PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for twelve years and was responsible for strategic marketing initiatives throughout the PNC footprint. Jackie has served on the Board of Directors of the Sassafras River Association since its inception and has also served as Treasurer. Jackie is a graduate of Rutgers University.
Ken Shumaker, Secretary
Ken Shumaker and his wife, Sue, are natives of Ohio who arrived on the banks of the mighty Sassafras in 2003 after working and living 5 years in Minnesota and 33 years in Pennsylvania. They live on a tree farm at the intersection of the Sassafras River and Coppin Creek where they built their home and planted 3100 hardwood trees (oak, walnut, and bald cypress) in addition to 19 acres of old forest. Ken, now retired, is an engineer and physiologist who designed clinical and financial information systems for the health care industry at the Mayo Clinic and at Shared Medical Systems. The Shumakers are River Stewards and Sassafras Samplers. Ken's hope is that as a Board Member he can influence, shape, and improve the environment for his six children, six grandchildren, and future generations.
Coley Brown, Board
Coley has an extensive background helping multi-national corporations with information technology, software development, global financial systems, and sales management. Coley has founded a small business service bureau, a technology consulting firm and a sailing charter management company. Holding a USCG Merchant Marine 100T Masters license, master’s degree in business administration from NYU, and post graduate studies at the London School of Economics, Coley has interests in sailing, sporting clay shooting and building custom cars. He has lived on the shores of the Sassafras for eight years with his wife. Coley says, “I am pleased to be joining the SRA after being a member for the past five years, and I look forward to helping to improve the health of the Sassafras even more in this new role.”
Robert Bryan, Board
Robert Bryan lives on and manages Marsh Point Farm on the Sassafras which has been in his family since 1678. Robert holds a degree in Business Administration and for 31 years worked in real estate in Chapel Hill, NC, where he also served as president and director of various non profit and professional organizations. He currently serves as President of the Historical Society of Kent County, on the board of Chesapeake Fields Institute and chair of the finance committee for Shrewsbury Parish Church. I feel a family responsibility to protect the Sassafras which I see every time I glance up from my desk. The river has changed since my youth. How can we mitigate the effects of development, agriculture and boating?
Richard Cookerly, Board
Richard is a life-long resident of Kent County who spent his boyhood on the Chester River and its tributaries pursuing fish, crabs, furbearers and waterfowl. He holds a BA in History from Washington College and a law degree from University of Baltimore School of Law. Richard was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1988 and currently practices in Chestertown in the firm of Cookerly & Barroll, LLC. Richard is the newest member of the Board, elected December 2009. I am motivated to preserve the ecosystems of the Eastern Shore because I am fascinated by the interactions of nature within the Chesapeake region’s waters, marshes and woodlands. I believe that these invaluable resources must be allowed to sustain through conscious effort by the community.
Mary Hall, Board
Mary is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgetown Yacht Basin, Inc. and the managing member of Georgetown Harbor Partners, LLC, which operates the Granary Restaurant, the Kitty Knight House Inn and Restaurant, and Harbor View Ice Cream Shop, all on the shores of the Sassafras River. With an MBA from Wilmington University, experience as an account executive and senior marketing manager for three large credit card companies, Mary also serves on the Kent County Tourism Board. Mary enjoys boating on the Sassafras River with her husband and three young children every chance she gets.
Janet Ruhl, Board
Janet has a life-long appreciation and awe of nature and she enjoys being on the water every chance she gets. Janet holds a PhD in analytical chemistry and has been involved with the Sassafras River Association from the beginning, helping to implement the volunteer sampling program, co-chairing and now chairing the Science Committee and contributing as a River Steward. I am very excited that the Sassafras River Association was founded on and continues to maintain the focus of advocacy with a strong basis in science. I look forward to implementing the identified restoration strategies while preventing further deterioration.
Jeff Russell, Board
Jeff is a Business Performance Management consultant with a top, national consulting and accounting firm, and has been a member of the Sassafras River Association since its inception. Jeff and his wife Gail boated around the northern Chesapeake Bay for many years, until finally buying a house on a tributary of the Sassafras River in 2001. They are both active volunteers, sampling water, assisting with web design and helping at special events. Jeff says, “While I have been involved with the SRA for some time, I am pleased to join the Board. As one of the original Sassafras Samplers I have rarely missed an opportunity to knock off work a bit early, and go out on the boat with volunteers to collect water samples.”
Ellyn Vail, Board
Ellyn is a retired former federal manager and a current volunteer at the Humane Society of Kent County and the Special Olympics Swimming Program. As one of the founders of the Sassafras River Association, Ellyn received the Ellen Fraites Wagner volunteer award for Outstanding Contributions to the Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and, in conjunction with John Vail, the Upper Eastern Shore Watershed Hero's Award. Ellyn says, “When John and I retired to our home on Swantown Creek in Galena, we were awestruck by the beauty of the Sassafras and found our mission for the next several years.” Although, Ellyn and John now live on Churn Creek in Worton, she remains committed to the SRA.
Susan Warriner, Board
Susan has been in love with the Sassafras since she first saw it in 1968. She and husband Watson now have a home on Freeman Creek, to which they WILL retire one day. She has her BA and Masters in Education from the University of Delaware, and spent her working life in the health club industry, managing clubs in Annapolis and Wilmington. She and Watson are river samplers and avid appreciators of the river and its many wonders. Susan’s hope is that the Sassafras watershed, through the efforts of SRA, its Board, and all stakeholders, can be protected and restored so that future generations can enjoy it as much as they do.
Wayne Gilchrest, Special Advisor
My interest in SRA is to establish a plan that can sustain an on-going community effort to restore and improve water quality in the Tidal Basin and its tributaries. We must learn from each other as to how to make our activities -- whether boating, driving, building, recreating, working, farming or fishing -- compatible with nature's design while economically viable. My goal is to clean up the Sassafras and prepare the next generation, through our example, to write a positive chapter in the on-going biography of the Chesapeake Bay. Wayne is a former U.S. Congressman currently serving on many Boards. Wayne retired from the SRA Board August 2009, having served since 2005 and is now a Special Advisor.
Meet the Staff
Pam Duke
Executive Director
executivedirector@sassafrasriver.org 410-275-1400
Jamie Brunkow
Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®
riverkeeper@sassafrasriver.org
410-708-3303
Jamie joins SRA with significant experience working within the Chesapeake Bay on water quality issues. He holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Virginia Tech, and has studied conservation biology in South Africa, and New Zealand – notably as a riparian restoration volunteer. Serving as the Stewardship Coordinator at Friends of the Rappahannock, near his hometown of Stafford Virginia, Jamie developed credentials working with governments, waterkeepers, and stakeholders for the health of the Rappahannock River and the Bay. As the Sassafras RIVERKEEPER, Jamie is the voice of the Sassafras, and works within the mission of SRA to advocate for the River, to educate stakeholders, and to address environmental threats. Look for Jamie on the River, and check out the RIVERKEEPER® Cove for details on current activities.
Josh Thompson
Agricultural Outreach Coordinator
jthompson@sassafrasriver.org
410-708-7667
Growing up on a fourth generation family farm in Kent County, DE, Josh has long been part of the Delmarva agricultural community. An avid hunter, Josh spent his youth roaming the fields for waterfowl and deer, developing a sense of stewardship for the land, the water that runs through it, and the wildlife that inhabits it. Josh received his BS in Animal Science from the University of Delaware College of Agriculture. Josh brings significant experience to his role at SRA, having served as Watershed and Restoration Coordinator for the Harpeth River Watershed Association in Tennessee and Agricultural Liaison for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays. Josh is also licensed as a Nutrient Management Consultant in the state of Delaware.
Erin McVey
Watershed Coordinator
emcvey@sassafrasriver.org 410-275-1400
Erin joined SRA with a background in natural resource management and environmental policy, specifically addressing water quality issues. Erin holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management and an M.A. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy with a concentration in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Delaware. Growing up in the Delaware Estuary and frequenting the Delaware beaches, Erin gained an appreciation for the relationship between the land, water, and wildlife and the impact humans can have on the environment. As part of her graduate studies, Erin was a research assistant at the Water Resources Agency at the University of Delaware where she studied the water quality of the tributaries of the Delaware River, the economics of natural resources in the DE Estuary, and public education and outreach. She looks forward to working with and applying her knowledge to the Sassafras River and Chesapeake Bay.
Contact
Executive Director
mcroghan@sassafrasriver.org
Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®
riverkeeper@sassafrasriver.org
Agricultural Outreach Coordinator
jthompson@sassafrasriver.org
To report pollution issues: riverkeeper@sassafrasriver.org
Telephone
Office: 410-275-1400
To report pollution issues: 410-708-3303
U.S. Mail
Sassafras River Association
P.O. Box 333
Georgetown, MD 21930
Visit Us
7479 Augustine Herman Highway
Georgetown, MD 21930
Social Media
Donors
Funders — We would be unable to carry out our work without the significant support of our institutional funders:
- Bay Funders' Network Capacity Building Initiative
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- Chesapeake Bay Trust
- The Conservation Fund
- Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation
- Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail
- Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- Patagonia
- Shared Earth Foundation
- Rauch Foundation
- Town Creek Foundation
River Stewards (Annual giving of $1000 or more)
Jim and Frances Bayard
Robert Bryan*
Andy Campbell
Ted Carski and Janet Ruhl*
Ben and Judy Kohl
Serge and Marion Pepper
Ken and Sue Shumaker
Charlotte Staelin*
John and Ellyn Vail
Watson and Sue Warriner
Tom and Melissa Weisenfels
* denotes current Board member
Partners
Partners — our partners are essential to the success of our programs:
- Appoquinimink River Association
- Cecil County Government
- Cecil County Soil Conservation District
- Chester River Association
- Colchester Farm CSI
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
- Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
- Kent County Government
- Kent County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Maryland Department of Agriculture
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- Maryland Department of Planning
- Maryland Department of the Environment
- Maryland Watershed Network
- McCrone Inc.
- Mount Harmon Plantation
- Partners for Open Space
- River Network
- Town of Betterton
- Town of Cecilton
- Town of Galena
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Finance
- University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory
- Upper Eastern Shore Tributary Strategy Team
- Washington College
- Waterkeeper Alliance