ANNAPOLIS, Md.- (March 8, 2007) In an effort to stimulate voluntary funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration and education programs, Comptroller Peter Franchot joined Governor Martin O'Malley and a host of Maryland educators to promote the Chesapeake Bay and Endangered Species Fund, a voluntary mechanism created to support Chesapeake Bay restoration and education programs and to protect Maryland's endangered species. This fund, which is split evenly between the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, allows Marylanders to donate through their state income tax return an amount of their choice to help save the Bay and conserve Maryland's native wildlife and endangered species. In 2006, more than $1.2 million was donated through the tax check-off, which helped to fund hundreds of Bay restoration projects and education programs throughout the state.

"At tax time, Marylanders have a unique opportunity to donate to help the Bay and Maryland wildlife an amount of their choosing through the Chesapeake Bay and Endangered Species Fund," said Comptroller Franchot. "By simply saying 'Yes, I would like to donate to the fund through line 37,' you are doing your part in one of the simplest ways possible to help save the Chesapeake Bay."

"Raising public awareness about the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to our economy, ecology and heritage is a critical step in our efforts to restore the Bay. That is why donating to the Bay Fund is so important since the contributions support so many education and outreach initiatives across the state," explained Governor O'Malley. "While last year's $1.2 million in donations was impressive, I know we can do more. That's why for 2007, I encourage each and every Marylander to help us raise $1.5 million through Maryland's voluntary Bay Fund tax check-off program."

Once such program the tax check-off helps fund is an educational initiative in Montgomery County called the GreenKids program. GreenKids, a partnership between the Montgomery County Public School System and the Audubon Naturalist Society, provides students and teachers with resources, funding, and field trips that foster environmental stewardship at local public schools. During today's event, fourth and fifth graders demonstrated the environmental impacts to the Bay caused by polluted runoff, and they explained how tree plantings and other natural restoration techniques can mitigate these negative effects. The students used their "Enviroscape" model to illustrate this process for Governor O'Malley, Comptroller Franchot, Montgomery County School Superintendent Jerry Weast, and the Montgomery County School Board of Education.

Launched in 1990, the Chesapeake Bay and Endangered Species Fund is one of the most successful voluntary tax check-off programs of its kind in the nation. In 2006, more than 46,000 Maryland state income tax statements were returned with contributions to the fund, which averaged $26 per donation.

Since the Chesapeake Bay Trust's inception in 1985, the organization has awarded more than $20 million in grants that have restored countless acres of wetlands, planted thousands of trees, educated hundreds of thousands of Maryland students, and improved water quality through the state's rivers and streams. Of the Trust's total grant funding, more than $8.5 million has originated from voluntary contributions dedicated to the Bay Fund tax check-off. As well, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has used the contributions to restore and protect many of the most critical and vulnerable wildlife species in Maryland.

"In 2007, the Trust will award almost $4 million in grants-the largest amount in our 21-year history-for projects and programs that will have a measurable impact on improving the Chesapeake Bay," said David O'Neill, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. "We simply would not be capable of funding so many valuable and important projects and reaching so many Marylanders without the contributions donated through the voluntary tax check-off program."

To make your donation, simply complete line 37 on your Maryland state income tax form or ask your accountant. Donations of any dollar amount can be made to the fund, regardless of whether you file your own taxes or use a preparer, and all are tax deductible. For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Trust, visit www.cbtrust.org, or for details on the Department of Natural Resource's Wildlife and Heritage Division, visit www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife.

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Contact:

Molly Alton Mullins 410-974-2941, Ext. 107 Joe Shapiro, 410-260-7300