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
Ken Shumaker, President
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 (now SIEMENS). 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, seven grandchildren, and future generations. Growing up in Ohio and seeing the death and resurrection of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River (the river that burned) gives Ken optimism that citizens, industry, government, and agriculture working together can improve the water quality of the Sassafras River and the Chesapeake Bay.
Susan Warriner, Vice President
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.
Ted Carski, Treasurer
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.
Janet Ruhl, Secretary
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.
Pam Duke
Acting Executive Director
executivedirector@sassafrasriver.org 410-275-1400
“It is an honor to serve as Acting Director of the Sassafras River Association.There is nothing more important to the vitality of our Eastern Shore than the health and stability of our rivers. With its outstanding staff and track record of accomplishments, SRA is uniquely positioned to take a real leadership role in the health of the upper Chesapeake Bay. I look forward to working with the stakeholders, members, staff and other fellow water enthusiasts to promote and protect the Sassafras River."
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.
Trey Hill, Board
Trey is a fourth generation grain farmer from Rock Hall, MD. He and his family till corn, wheat, and soybeans in Kent, Cecil, and Talbot Counties. Trey holds a degree in Farm Management and Economics from Purdue University. He currently serves on the Young Farmers Advisory Board for the State of Maryland and the Kent County Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals. Trey is committed to improving agricultural sustainability and is leading the way in bridging the gap between environmentalists and agriculturalists. He believes that with the right farming practices, farmers can improve the quality of our land and waterways. Trey and his wife, Cheryl, recently purchased Colchester Farm on the Sassafras River and plan to continue using sustainable farming practices so that they and their children are able to enjoy the land and its tributaries.
Jeff Russell, Board
Jeff is a Business Performance Management professional with Nasdaq, 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.”
Pat Starkey, Board
When Pat Starkey came to Kent County 31 years ago to attend Washington College, she never intended to call it home. 25 years later, she is still here, raising a family and living on Starkey Farms on the Sassafras River in Galena. When I first moved to the farm, I spent so much time enjoying life on the river. As my boys grew, we passed many hours swimming, playing and exploring. In order to maintain this enjoyment of the Sassafras, my husband Brennan and I realize we must continue to employ best management farming practices and remain active participants in the efforts to clean up and preserve this river and surrounding watersheds both for recreation and a thriving local agricultural lifestyle. I have been involved at the board level of a large environmental research organization and decided it was time to put some energy into making an impact in my own backyard.
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.
Kevin Wright, Board
Kevin is a third generation native of the waters of the Sassafras River. After spending a few years away, Kevin has returned to Galena. He now lives on the end-waters of the Sassafras with his fiancée, Katie Kemmerer. Kevin has a bachelor’s degree in history education from the University of Delaware and currently teaches at William Penn High School. “I have spent my entire life on the river. Many of my fondest memories involve days spent on the Sassafras. I look forward to helping preserve the river so one day future generations may have the same opportunity.”
John Burke, Immediate Past 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.
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
“It is an honor to serve as Acting Director of the Sassafras River Association.There is nothing more important to the vitality of our Eastern Shore than the health and stability of our rivers. With its outstanding staff and track record of accomplishments, SRA is uniquely positioned to take a real leadership role in the health of the upper Chesapeake Bay. I look forward to working with the stakeholders, members, staff and other fellow water enthusiasts to promote and protect the Sassafras River."
Captain Emmett Duke
Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®
riverkeeper@sassafrasriver.org
410-708-3303
Emmett R. Duke of Chestertown, Maryland, has been named Riverkeeper®by the Sassafras River Association. Duke, a native of Alabama, majored in Business Administration at the University of Alabama and the University of Maryland. He has lived in Maryland for the past 44 years, residing on the Chester River for the past seventeen years. An avid boater, fisherman, and hunter, Duke has a 100-ton Coast Guard Master’s license and has operated a commercial fishing and charter fishing business on the Chesapeake Bay for the past five years.
Duke managed the Chestertown Drug Fair for over twenty years before accepting Wayne Gilchrest’s invitation to serve as campaign manager on his first Congressional race. Duke served as Gilchrest’s District Director for more than ten years, focusing on Chesapeake Bay, environmental issues, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, public housing, economic development, and Service Academy nominations. He also served as a spokesperson for Congressman Gilchrest in the 10 Maryland counties of the First Congressional District. Duke was based on the Eastern Shore because he was convinced it was important to be available and close to residents of the First Congressional District.
In his time with Gilchrest, Duke demonstrated the ability to affably bring together people with different perspectives and views and arrive at solutions. One example of this talent was his perseverance on a five-year, 9000-hour volunteer effort studying an $83 million Corps of Engineers C&D canal-deepening project for which he received a commendation from the Cecil County Commissioners and a commendation on the floor of the US House of Representatives from Congressman Gilchrest. The study concluded that the dredging was not economically justified and would be detrimental to the health of the Chesapeake Bay – stopping the project.
Duke has served on the Board of Directors of the Kent County Chamber of Commerce, and was Chairman of the Kent County Board of Zoning Appeals for 10 years. Other civic roles were on the Board of Trustees of Chester River Manor, and the Board of Directors and President of Kent Youth, Inc.
Look for Emmett on the River, and check out the RIVERKEEPER® Cove for details on current activities.
Josh Thompson
Agricultural Outreach Coordinator
jthompson@sassafrasriver.org
302-841-0176
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.
Sophie Foscue
Chesapeake Conservation Corps Volunteer
sfoscue@sassafrasriver.org 410-275-1400
Sophie joins SRA for the year through the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Chesapeake Conservation Corps program. Although a North Carolina native, Sophie grew up spending her summers on her grandparent’s farm on the Sassafras River. Her family has been living on the Sassafras and the surrounding land since the 1600's, and that history instilled in her a connection to the river and a greater appreciation for the natural world. Sophie received a BS in both Environmental Studies and International Studies from the University of North Carolina-Asheville. She is particularly interested in natural resource and wildlife preservation.
Contact
Executive Director
executivedirector@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 call the RiverKeeper at: 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 and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund
- 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
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 CSA
- 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