Key Details

• Where: Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina, Cambridge, MD
• When: July 15-16, 2024 (Early Bird party on Sunday night – Note the Monday-Tuesday dates, a shift from our usual Wednesday-Friday schedule)

>The League's hotel room block expires on June 17, 2024. After that date, the hotel does not guarantee room availability or nightly room rate.

Hotel Amenities

• Incredible restaurants
• Pools and a beach
• Kayaking and water sports
• Walking trails

The discounted hotel room rate for convention attendees is $175/night (plus taxes). The special rate is available for three days before and three days after the convention dates (subject to room availability).

Reserve your room online or by calling the hotel directly at (410) 901-1234 and providing our group code (G-IZWL) to receive the League’s discounted rate.

Floor Plan

Find key locations and amenities at the Hyatt Resort.

Convention Kit

Want all the information in one convenient packet? Download the convention kit.

With an action-packed, two-day national convention in Cambridge, Maryland, the League is offering virtual workshops before the in-person convention. Workshops will run for 1 hour each with ample time for Q&A and engagement with the presenters. Workshops will be recorded and available for anyone to view after the live events. Please see below for more details.

Tools for Creating a Crowdsourced Monitoring Network at Your Chapter

Want to get people in your community involved in Nitrate Watch or Salt Watch, but don’t know where to start? League staff have put together the building blocks you need to get people in your community engaged in chapter monitoring activities, whether they are students, scouts or adults who are concerned about the safety of their drinking water.

This workshop highlights a wide range of tools – from flyers and fact sheets to social media resources, the Clean Water Hub website and more – specifically designed for community outreach.

Watch the recording

Increasing Chapter Visibility with a Paint the Plow Community Event

In the fall of 2023, League staff led a “Paint the Plow” program in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation – students, partner organizations, and even our staff painted 11 snowplow blades with smart salt messaging. Those plow blades are used across the county today.

This workshop will walk you through how to run a “Paint the Plow” program in your community, from working with the DoT or local government, engaging partners, and the supplies you’ll need – plus some lessons learned. This is a great project to get League messaging out in your community, engage folks in Smart Salt messaging, and recruit new members.

Watch the recording

We hope you’ll take some time to enjoy all the amenities at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort in Cambridge, Maryland. The League’s special hotel room rate (about half the seasonal rate for this hotel!) is good for three days before and three days after convention as long as rooms are available. Book early to ensure you don’t miss this deal!

To ensure smooth sailing in July, we have a few tips on getting to Cambridge.

A Note About the Key Bridge Collapse: You have likely heard about the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, and the tragic loss of six people who were working on the bridge when it collapsed. This bridge is NOT on the route convention attendees will follow to and from the convention site in Cambridge. Attendees will cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Route 50.

By Car

Plan around peak travel times. Maryland’s Eastern Shore is a popular summer destination for people throughout the Washington, DC, region, and traffic is especially busy on the weekends. Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning are peak travel times going east across the Bay Bridge and on Routes 50 and 301 toward the convention site in Cambridge. Sunday morning/afternoon are peak drive times coming back west.

Getting there: If you plan to arrive at the convention hotel on Sunday, July 14 (the Early Bird Welcome Reception and Auction will be held on Sunday evening), there will be much less traffic toward Cambridge on Sunday morning, although you’ll still have company on the roads from people with Sunday-to-Sunday beach rentals. If you plan to arrive at the hotel on Saturday, avoid traveling in the direction of Cambridge on Saturday morning.

Crossing the Bay Bridge: Route 50, which is the most commonly used major road toward the Eastern Shore, crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Traffic congestion approaching the bridge has been substantially reduced through “highway speed tolling” using E-Z Pass, Pay-By-Plate or Video Tolling (cash payment is NOT accepted). The Maryland Transportation Authority Bay Bridge website has useful travel tips, including about peak travel times, and real-time traffic information.

Coming home: After convention, traffic will be much lighter heading back west Wednesday or Thursday.

Driver assistance crossing the Bay Bridge: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge offers a spectacular view of the bay and surrounding landscape. But if you’re nervous about driving the 4-mile-long span, assistance is available. The Kent Island Express is a paid service that will drive your car (and you!) over the Bay Bridge. Call 410-604-0486 one hour before you expect to reach the bridge. The fee for this service is $40 cash / $50 credit and additional fees apply for trips between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. (which are by advance appointment only).

By Plane

If you’re arriving by plane and heading straight to convention (rather than taking in the sights, like Washington, DC), you definitely want to fly into Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, and Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia, are far from the convention site and the League strongly discourages Ikes from using these airports.

From BWI, you have a few options for getting to Cambridge:

• Rental car: Multiple car rental companies operate out of BWI. You do need to take a free shuttle from the airport terminal to the car rental facility.
• Bay Runner Shuttle: This shuttle stops right at the Hyatt Regency, making it simple for you to get from BWI to the convention hotel. A one-way fare is $84, but per-person rates decrease when you have more than one passenger in your reservation. PLEASE NOTE: The earliest shuttle from the convention hotel to BWI departs at 6 a.m. daily. If you plan to use the shuttle to travel to BWI after convention, keep the shuttle departure time in mind when booking your flight home.

Sunday, July 14

• Executive Board Meeting
• Early Bird Party and Auction
• Youth Convention Early Bird

Monday, July 15

• Convention Opening Ceremony
• League Awards Luncheon
• National Officer Elections
• Parade of States

Tuesday, July 16

• Endowment Board Meeting and Elections
• Board of Directors Meeting
• Executive Board Elections
• Conservation Luncheon
• Vote on Resolutions
• Convention Site Selection
• Closing Banquet and Officer Inductions

Steven Marking

A Visit from Will Dilg

Will Dilg was the driving force behind and the first national president of the Izaak Walton League of America. In 1924, he led an unprecedented grassroots campaign to establish the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. One hundred years later, the Refuge is an anchor for conservation and bastion for outdoor recreation along the river in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Drawing on Dilg’s impassioned speeches and editorials in Outdoor America magazine, Marking brings Dilg to life describing the imperiled environment along the upper Miss in the early 1920s and the extraordinary campaign to convince Congress to establish the Refuge. As importantly, Marking channels Dilg to talk with audiences today about the important work ahead to conserve natural resources, fish and wildlife, and special places for future generations.

Millicent Sparks

Harriet Tubman: Living History Experience

Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy are deeply rooted in Maryland from her early life as a slave on the Eastern Shore to her extraordinary bravery as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad freeing more than 70 slaves from this region over a 10-year period. Millicent Sparks’ portrayal of Harriet Tubman blends accounts of special events in Tubman’s life with an acute sense of Tubman’s personal qualities—her emotional depth, profound spirituality, immense intelligence, extraordinary dignity, and astounding courage.

Jeff Janvrin

Mississippi River Habitat Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Throughout a career spanning nearly 35 years, Jeff Janvrin has coordinated Wisconsin’s participation in the selection, design and monitoring of over 40 federally funded Upper Mississippi River Restoration Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects. He does much of his work in the field along 231 miles of river in Wisconsin. Janvrin actively promotes awareness of Mississippi River history and management through presentations, publications and development of a Mississippi River activity guide for formal and non-formal educators.

Peter Tango

Monitoring Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay Program

Since 2006, Peter Tango has served as a liaison between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey as Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Coordinator. In this role, he leads a wide range of teams and workgroups for the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership addressing issues related to monitoring, management, science and policy focused on the health and restoration of the Bay watershed. Tango is at the forefront of engaging volunteer water quality monitors and ensuring the data they collect is used in combination with other data to assess the health of and inform management decisions related to the Bay watershed.

Teresa Seidel

Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Teresa Seidel is the Director of the Great Lakes National Program Office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago. The Great Lakes National Program Office brings together federal, state, tribal, local and industry partners under the strategic framework of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to improve water quality, remediate seriously polluted sites, combat invasive species and restore native species and their habitat. Before leading the Great Lakes Program, Seidel was the Director of the Water Resources Division at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

Marcia Pradines Long

Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

In this position since 2016, Marcia Pradines Long has focused on strengthening relationships with the community, helping new audiences get engaged with the outdoors through programs like mentored hunts and finding the connections between people and wildlife that make conservation successful. The Complex consists of the Blackwater, Eastern Neck, Martin and Susquehanna National Wildlife Refuges. In her spare time, Long is an avid hunter, angler and a mentor for other women learning to hunt.

Dr. Doug Tallamy

Entomologist, University of Delaware

Dr. Tallamy is one of the most prominent advocates for harnessing the power of small-scale conservation to help slow the decline of and restore once-common wildlife. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Backyard. He will describe what’s at stake for the future of biodiversity in the United States. His presentation will include practical steps League chapters, members and supporters can take in “their backyard” to protect biodiversity and broaden public awareness of the role everyone can play in achieving this important outcome.

Dave Chanda

President and CEO, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation

Mr. Chanda will lead a panel discussion focused on the future of participation in outdoor recreation, especially angling and shooting sports. Panelists will highlight likely characteristics, interests and motivations of participants 10 years from now, and actions League chapters and members need to take now to successfully engage and support future participants.

Bill Dunn

Vice President for Marketing, National Shooting Sports Foundation

Mr. Dunn will share the perspective of the firearms industry on future participation in shooting sports and the evolving demographics of firearms ownership in America.

Samantha Briggs

Director, IWLA Clean Water Program

Samantha (Sam) Briggs has been with the League for over 7 years. She has a masters of environmental science and policy degree from Johns Hopkins University, and has a passion for connecting individuals with the environment and water quality monitoring within their communities.

Nicole Horvath

Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water)

Nicole Horvath currently serves as the lead of the Salt Summit Outreach Working Group. WSSC Water provides safe drinking water to over 1.8 million people in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland, and road salt pollution is an increasing concern in the region.

Ted Corrigan

CEO and General Manager, Des Moines Water Works

The Des Moines Water Works provides drinking water for about 600,000 people living in Des Moines and other communities in central Iowa. Mr. Corrigan will join a panel with Ms. Briggs and Ms. Horvath to discuss the 21st century challenges providing clean, safe drinking water.

Andrew McKean

Hunting and Conservation Editor, Outdoor Life magazine

Mr. McKean is an independent journalist covering the outdoors, wildlife conservation, and natural resources policy beats. He lives on a ranch outside Glasgow, Montana, where he contributes feature articles and reporting to a number of national publications.

Resolutions

Every year at Convention, League members vote on policy resolutions that set the direction of the organization. Chapters and divisions submitted 10 policy resolutions prior to the deadline in February. Resource committees and the Resolutions Committee met virtually in April to consider these proposals. Resolutions approved by the committees will be voted on by chapter delegates during the national convention.

The proposals that will be considered at convention are:

• Incentivizing alternatives to small gasoline engines
• Dredging best practices

See the proposed resolutions