For more than 25 years, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters has been the independent political voice for the environment in our state. We not only advocate for sound conservation policies, we also actively work to get pro-environment candidates elected and hold elected officials accountable. Report cards, such as the one you are now reading, are a key component of our "cycle of accountability."

Since 1997, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters has produced Gubernatorial Report Cards every two years to give voters an in-depth, unbiased look at our Governors' environmental records.

In Maryland, the Governor's office and its Administration, which includes the Department of the Environment and Department of Natural Resources, have an enormous impact on our natural resources and public health. The Administration's actions - or lack thereof - can directly affect Marylanders and our environment not just today but for decades to come.

We provide this report card -- with an overall letter grade and grades in individual categories --  as a measure for the Administration. The graded categories, and the issues detailed within each graded category, are not necessarily weighted equally. They are intended to be representative of the Administration's commitment to conservation and environmental protection, and not necessarily a comprehensive listing of every state action.

For the years 2005-2006, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters gives Governor Robert Ehrlich an overall grade of D for his environmental record.

The Ehrlich Administration has initiated some positive smallscale and pilot environmental programs, such as the Corsica River Initiative and the addition of hybrid buses to the state's fleet of vehicles.

But the Administration's lack of response to immediate conservation threats - such as Maryland's polluted waterways (including the Chesapeake Bay), bad development such as those proposed at Blackwater Refuge and Terrapin Run, and growing transportation needs - contributes to his low score.

One troubling pattern that has emerged is of the Ehrlich Administration proposing policy that would be bad for the environment - such as "writing off" waterways as too polluted, opening up restored rivers for commercial yellow perch fishing - then reversing its position, but only after public outcry. As a prime example, the Administration's two years of opposition to much needed air pollution controls, which revealed hours of lobbying and ties to industry lobbyists, makes it difficult to grade Governor Ehrlich highly for reversing his position and signing the Healthy Air Act. Also, the Governor's budget raided 75 percent of funding for Program Open Space in his third year in office (having raided it the first two years as well). He did, however, leave the dedicated funding source untouched in the 2006 election year.

The Administration has chosen not to enforce the law for air and water violations and has proposed selling water from state land to private developers. Through these actions, the Maryland Department of the Environment and Department of Natural Resources seem to be acting more in the interests of industries and developers than in the public's interest. In this critical election year, Governor Ehrlich's environmental score of D for 2005-2006, combined with his previous two-year score of a D+, should give voters cause for serious concern at the ballot box. Voters should seek a more steadfast environmental steward in the State House.

I hope you will use this report card, and share it with others, to help us make conservation a priority in our state.

J. Charles Fox,
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Cindy Schwartz
Executive Director