TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE B5
BY DANA HEDGPETHExperts call them “critters in
crisis.”
A marbled salamander, an
American eel, a crayfish and a
few others are among the spe-
cies that wildlife and water-
quality experts in Montgomery
County said they’ve recently put
on a watch list because they’re
worried about the populations
and their long-term survi val in
the D.C. region.
Experts in Montgomery
County’s Department of Envi-
ronmental Protection and
Montgomery Parks showcased
last week some of the amphibi-
ans, fish and insects they con-
sider “at-risk” because their
habitats are stressed because of
water-quality troubles caused
by development and runoff,
plus a range of pollutants in-
cluding fertilizers and pesti-
cides.
“Extinction of species is hap-
pening at an accelerated rate,
but we often think it is happen-
ing someplace else,” said Adam
Ortiz, the director of Montgom-
ery County’s environmental
protection agency. “But because
of climate change, overdevelop-
ment and local pollution, there
are species that are threatened
right in our backyard.”
Many of the creatures on
Montgomery officials’ list of
concern already were consid-
ered unique and rare. Others
are hanging on, but experts
worry about their decline.
One of the creatures that
experts are concerned about is
the American eel, which is the
only local fish that begins its lifein seawater in the areas of
Bermuda and the Bahamas and
then swims to freshwater
streams around the Chesapeake
Bay area to spend its adult life.
Nationally, the American eel
population is shrinking, and an
unhealthy environment and
poor water quality could harm
its habitat in the D.C. region,
experts said.
There also are worries about
yellow lance mussels, which are
considered important for natu-
ral water systems because they
filter algae, experts said. Yellow
lance mussels used to be more
abundant in streams around
the Chesapeake Bay, but as the
water quality in the area has
declined, so has this bivalve’s
numbers.
Rachel Gauza, the biological
monitoring program coordina-
tor for the Montgomery Parks
agency, said sedimentation and
erosion from land development
and excess storm water cancau se declines in water quality
and habitat. That leaves fine
particles to coat stream and
river bottoms where yellow
lance mussels live and can even-
tually lead to declines in their
population.
Another species in crisis is
the acuminate crayfish, which
is unique to Montgomery and
Prince George’s counties, ex-
perts said, and found largely in
the Anacostia watershed.
To survive, Maryland’s cray-
fish typically need clean water
in areas where there are fewer
people, buildings and cars. But
they live in high-density devel-
oped areas in the D.C. region, so
having good storm-water man-
agement to keep those areas
clean is needed, experts said.
They’re also in trouble be-
cause of a larger crayfish called
the virile crayfish that’s been
dumped in the D.C. area waters
from parts of the Mississippi
watershed.
Experts said they’re also con-
cerned about the giant stonefly.
Finding it in streams is a sign of
high-quality water.
But its numbers are dropping
nationally, and experts worry
that pollutants such as sedi-
ment and oil can foul the gills of
giant stoneflies when they are
in the larval stage and living in
streams, threatening their sur-
vival, according to Ken Mack, a
senior water-quality specialist
in Montgomery County.
Another very rare creature
experts are worried about in the
D.C. region is the marbled sala-
mander, which has gray and
black skin and a poisonous tail
that helps fend off predators. In25 years of monitoring streams
in the county, experts said
they’ve only found three mar-
bled salamanders.
Marbled salamanders are of-
ten hard to see because they live
under logs or rocks. Wildlife
experts said their presence is an
indicator that wetlands are in
good health. But there is con-
cern that development could
degrade their habitat.
“If we change their environ-
ment and pave over wetlands,
that changes how the waters
move through the wetlands and
that changes the habitat and
potentially the spawning for
marbled salamanders,” accord-
ing to Mack.
Montgomery officials encour-
aged residents to help keep the
environment clean by picking
up trash and pet waste or
volunteering for cleanups in
area parks. They also said resi-
dents can use environmentally
friendly soaps when washing
vehicles at their homes, and in
lawn care can reduce their use
of pesticides and fertilizers,
which can add to contaminated
storm-water runoff.
“People don’t always make
the connection between our
behaviors and local streams and
rivers,” Ortiz said. But experts
remind the public that when
rain falls, all residue on the
ground washes into creeks and
streams, then into rivers and on
into the Chesapeake Bay.
“We don’t expect people to
live in the Garden of Eden but to
be more thoughtful and try to
live in a more sustainable way,”
Ortiz said.
[email protected]MARYLANDLocal species at risk, Montgomery experts warn
MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONThe marbled salamander is
already rare in the D.C. region.BY LUZ LAZOThe news that the Metrorail
system in the nation’s capital will
continue to operate at reduced
levels this week prompted the
District to offer a t ransit perk to
city residents: free bike rides.
All D.C. residents can get a f ree
30-day Capital Bikeshare mem-
bership, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser
(D) announced Monday. Bowser
said the offer should give resi-
dents another option to get
around as the region navigates
the ongoing Metro crisis.
The transit agency said last
week that it expects to continue
operating with reduced service
levels at least until Oct. 31, creat-
ing crowded conditions, and for a
second week in a row, leaving
many commuters in search of
other ways to travel. Trains will
be operating every 15 to 20
minutes on the Red Line and
every 30 to 40 minutes on other
lines.
The service reductions come
after the transit agency pulled
60 percent of its rail cars from
service because of problems with
wheel assemblies implicated in a
Blue Line derailment this month.
The reduced rail service has
caused disruption and anxiety in
the region. Metro riders and
elected officials, including Bows-
er, have expressed frustration
over what the investigation could
mean for the transit agency’s
future and a lack of information
about when service levels might
be back to normal.
“We encourage [Metro] lead-
ership to clearly articulate their
steps and timeline to fully re-
store Metrorail service,” Bowser
said in a statement Friday, calling
the service disruptions “deeply
troubling” for the city and the
region. She said the city needs a
fully functioning transit system
for workers, children and visi-
tors.
The mayor said D.C. residents
should take advantage of the free
one-month membership. To par-
ticipate, users can go to the
Capital Bikeshare or Lyft apps
and select a 3 0-day membership
for $0 on the “Ride Plans” sec-
tion.
Five hours after the free mem-
bership became available, more
than 900 people had signed up,
Bowser said at a news confer-
ence.
“People who want to use the
bikes should use the bikes, and
they will have a few extra dollars
in their pocket,” she said. “Some
people haven’t tried the bikes,
and maybe they will try the bikesbecause they are free.”
Capital Bikeshare is available
in the District, Alexandria and
Falls Church, as well as in Arling-
ton, Fairfax, Montgomery and
Prince George’s counties. The
bikes and stations are public
property, and jurisdictions subsi-
dize them, contracting with Lyft
to manage and operate the sys-
tem.
Bike use is on the rise in the
Washington region, initially
spurred by workers staying home
during the pandemic. With em-
ployees looking to alternate
methods of travel as they return
to offices, officials have been
touting Capital Bikeshare, the
region’s public bike-share sys-
tem, as an option.
Bicycles have been widely used
as an alternative during other
Metro meltdowns. In 2016 when
the rail system had a one-day
emergency shutdown, many
commuters took to bicycling.
More than twice as many bicy-
clists and pedestrians as normal
crossed the Key Bridge between
Rosslyn and Georgetown that
day.
For some residents it may be a
good option to avoid delays and
other changes, city leaders say.
The service cuts have created
some of the most crowded Metroconditions since the start of the
pandemic.
With the membership, users
can take 45-minute rides free on
the distinctive red bicycles. Addi-
tional minutes cost 5 c ents per
minute. Members can also use
the electric bikes at a d iscounted
price of 10 cents per minute,
which applies to the entire trip.
Bowser said free bike rides
aren’t a solution to having more
than half of Metro’s rail cars out
of service, but she said the city is
trying to do even “the little
things” to ease the burden and
inconvenience riders are experi-
encing. She said she expected to
talk to Metro leaders Monday to
get an update on how their rail
car inspections are proceeding.
No one was injured in the
Oct. 12 derailment, which
prompted the evacuation of 187
passengers outside the Arlington
Cemetery station. Metro pulled
all 748 7000-series cars out of
commission Oct. 17.
The National Transportation
Safety Board, which is leading
the investigation of the derail-
ment, said last week that wheels
on a car that came off the tracks
had shifted outward on their
axle. The board is continuing to
investigate.
[email protected]THE DISTRICT
City o≠ers residents free Capital Bikeshare rides
SARAH L. VOISIN/THE WASHINGTON POSTAll D.C. residents can get a free 30 -day Capital Bikeshare membership, a move prompted by an ongoing Metrorail crisis.
BY RACHEL CHASONRep. Anthony G. Brown
(D-Md.) is launching a bid to
become Maryland’s n ext attorney
general, the three-term congress-
man and former lieutenant gov-
ernor said Monday, becoming the
first major candidate to an-
nounce his candidacy for the of-
fice.
Brown’s announcement came
after incumbent Attorney Gener-
al Brian Frosh (D) said last week
that he would not seek reelection
and decided to retire from his
long career in public service.
Frosh, 75, gained national atten-
tion for his successful lawsuits
against the Trump administra-
tion on a variety of issues, includ-
ing preserving the Affordable
Care Act, challenging President
Donald Trump’s travel ban and
opposing his rollback of environ-
mental regulations.
Brown, a veteran who repre-
sents Prince George’s County and
parts of Anne Arundel County,
said that over the course of his
nearly three-decade career as a
lawyer, he has “consistently de-
fended the most vulnerable,” not-
ing his leadership in repealing
Maryland’s death penalty when
he served as lieutenant governor
alongside Gov. Martin O’Malley
(D) and decriminalizing marijua-
na. He said he has long been
interested in the attorney gener-
al’s office, noting that when he
returned from Iraq, he ran for
attorney general for about two
months before joining O’Malley’s
ticket.
“Brian Frosh has done a great
job, and I want to make sure the
next attorney general in Mary-
land is equally committed to equi-
ty and justice for all Maryland-
ers,” Brown said in an interview.
“This is not about leaving or
running away from Congress, it is
about moving in the direction of a
position that gives me the oppor-
tunity to do even more for the
people of Maryland.”
Brown said he was excited that
the Maryland General Assembly
gave the attorney general’s office
the power to investigate deaths in
police custody as part of the land-
mark police accountability legis-
lation passed this year and thinks
it should be expanded to also
include the ability for the office to
prosecute officers, when it is war-
ranted. Brown said his w ork in
military justice a nd on national
police accountability legislation
after George Floyd’s killing in
police custody h ave helped pre-
pare him for the role of attorney
general.
Brown, who began his politicalcareer representing Prince
George’s i n the H ouse of Del-
egates, was defeated in his 20 14
gubernatorial bid by Larry Hogan
(R) — an outcome widely seen as
an upset in a state where Demo-
crats outnumber Republicans by
more than 2 to 1.
Two years later, he won the
congressional seat vacated by
Donna F. Edwards, who ran un-
successfully for U.S. Senate.
Brown said he is confident that
his congressional seat, which rep-
resents a deeply blue district, will
be held by a Democrat. Among
the those being floated as possi-
ble contenders in the race to
succeed him are Edwards, former
Prince George’s state’s attorney
Glenn Ivey, state Del. Jazz Lewis
(Prince George’s), Prince George’s
County Council member Derrick
Leon Davis (District 6) and state
Sen. Melony Griffith (Prince
George’s).
Brown said it was too early to
say whom he would support but
said he is confident that voters
will have a “great choice” among
the candidates that run.
In Brown’s endorsements an-
nounced Monday — including
from Prince George’s County
State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy,
civil rights lawyer William “Billy”
Murphy and retired judge Alex-
ander Williams Jr. — his support-
ers praised his moral compass
and commitment to equity.
“He understands how to use
the power and influence of public
office to get things done for peo-
ple,” Murphy said in a statement.
He continued: “Whether fighting
to eliminate Maryland’s death
penalty, or defending every Amer-
ican’s right to vote; whether sup-
porting our children in foster
care, protecting victims of abuse,
or holding police accountable for
misconduct, Anthony doesn’t and
won’t back down.”
The only other candidate who
has formally declared in the attor-
ney general’s race is R epublican
Jim Shalleck, a former prosecutor
from Montgomery County.
[email protected]MARYLANDB rown announces bid
for a ttorney general
MARK GAIL FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
R ep. Anthony G. Brown ( D) is
running to succeed A ttorney
General Brian Frosh, who has
opted not to seek reelection.Congressman, former
lieutenant governor has
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