Press Release from the Inland Bays Foundation
Contact: Tony Caputo (302-537-1628/amcllc06@hotmail.com)
Date: 11/13/2015
Subject: New President
Inland Bays Foundation Elects New President – Nancy Cabrera-Santos
By unanimous vote on November 11, the IBF Board of Directors elected Nancy Cabrera-Santos as its fourth and first female President. Cabrera-Santos is a former marketing director at AT&T. She looks forward to a strong year for the Foundation in its efforts to improve water quality in the Inland Bays and watersheds by conducting, encouraging and supporting programs directed at educational awareness, public outreach, tracking restoration efforts, scientific inquiry, and holding governments and others accountable for being good shepherds of our waters.
The Foundation’s mission is to help return the waters of the Inland Bays to their original pristine condition when they were both “fishable” and “swimmable” throughout. Statewide, 94% of Delaware’s rivers and streams are so polluted that fish can’t thrive, and 85% are unhealthy for swimming. According to Delaware’s Governor Markell, this is a situation that is “embarrassing and unacceptable”, and the situation is hardly better in the Inland Bays. With areas of low dissolved oxygen levels, distinct lack of eel grass, and heavy metal pollution, we are in a precarious position with regard to our recreational activities, wildlife habitats, and health.
First stop on the new President’s agenda is a presentation to Governor Markell on December 9. Fueled with the legal support of the prestigious environmental attorney Ken Kristl, of the Widener University Law School, Cabrera-Santos and the IBF Board of Directors will focus on the unique problems in the Inland Bays and their Watersheds. Nonpoint pollution will be highlighted, including storm water management, the importance of the Sussex Country Cover Crop program and the long-overdue clean-up of the Anchorage Canal Forebay in South Bethany.
“My goal is to aim for “world class” at the Inland Bays Foundation”, states Cabrera-Santos. “The Board of Directors is stellar with committed volunteers from all walks of life including federal and state government, private industry, and the state legislature”. Capitalizing on past successes, Cabrera-Santos is convinced IBF can prevail in 2016.
IBF’s track record includes providing expert testimony in the appeal against the proposed Allen Harim Chicken plant—an issue since resolved with the company pulling out of the operation. In addition, the Inland Bays Foundation was a key collaborator in the Governor’s “Clean Water for Delaware” campaign last year. This year’s successful “Love our Inland Bays Dinner” brought together DNREC Secretary David Small, State Senator Bryan Townsend (Clean Water Task Force), and DE Speaker of the House, Pete Schwartzkopf, to discuss clean water progress.
“I’m delighted and humbled to be part of the Inland Bays Foundation. We are an all-volunteer organization that receives no state or local funding, but nonetheless we add such an important value to our environmental community. We’re on our way in 2016 with renewed energy and a firm commitment to fight for clean water in the Inland Bays and watershed. Our citizens are counting on IBF, along with other like-organizations, to improve our waterways. We need to make the effort for our children and grandchildren. I want you to know that we at IBF take our stewardship very seriously.”
For more information consult the IBF website: www.inlandbaysfoundation.org and/or visit us on Facebook. IBF is looking to add to its forces fighting to clean our bays, please join or donate. An electronic membership application is available on the web site. For only $35/year, interested citizens can help us make a real and lasting difference in Delaware.