Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) is pleased to announce that Jeffrey H. Horstman has joined the organization as deputy director and Miles-Wye Riverkeeper.
Horstman comes to MRC following a 30-year career in corporate finance. He spent much of his boyhood on the shores of the Wye River, where his family owned large tracts of land that they later donated for conservation purposes. This land became the Aspen and Wye Institutes and the University of Maryland Agricultural Resource Center. In 1982, Horstman graduated from Washington College with a BA in Political Science. While attending college, he worked for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources helping to integrate Wye Island into a state holding.
After graduating, he and his wife, Beth, built a successful pension management company which he later sold to Susquehanna Bank, where he stayed on as chief operating officer of its Retirement Planning Division. During his professional career, Horstman continued with his conservation interests, serving on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s President’s Advisory Council and as a board member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, as well as other boards. He joined MRC’s board in 2010, and was elected chairman in 2011. Horstman provided key guidance and support in building MRC during its formative years.
MRC Executive Director Tim Junkin says, “We are thrilled to have Jeff onboard as our new Miles-Wye Riverkeeper and deputy director. I know he will be an asset to our work and our mission.”
In just a few years, MRC has continued to grow and succeed with accomplishments on many fronts. “While serving on the board of this organization, I became impressed that it is doing something worthy and important to make a real difference in our Midshore watersheds,” Horstman says. “MRC has certainly become a strong and uncompromising voice for our local rivers. The organization’s reach has expanded as we have become an innovative leader throughout the Chesapeake watershed. I have a deep love for our rivers and a strong sense of place. I am inspired to act on my desire to help fulfill MRC’s mission.”
As he begins his new position, Horstman outlines several priorities. MRC completed the first ever Wye River assessment, and has identified important remediation projects, with reducing polluted run-off as an ongoing priority. Horstman explains that MRC is starting a multi-year effort to have the Miles and Wye Rivers designated as No-Flush or NDZ (No Discharge Zones). MRC plans to expand its Oyster Gardening Program and petition the state for new and larger sanctuaries. MRC also wants to expand its current water-quality monitoring program to include testing for bacteria that is harmful to human health. “As pollution becomes concentrated in areas where people are swimming, public health becomes increasingly important,” Horstman explains. “We want to obtain funding for a Miles River assessment and continue with projects that we already have funding for, such as tree planting, shoreline and agricultural restoration, and education. We have a lot of work to do.”
Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration, protection, and celebration of the waterways that comprise the Choptank River, Eastern Bay, Miles River, and Wye River watersheds. For more information, visit midshoreriverkeeper.org, email [email protected], or phone 443.385.0511.
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