In Centreville this week, Gov. Robert Ehrlich made water both means and end. The means is a new bottled water, named Maryland Natural Spring Water, dedicated to cleaning up the Bay. Before the month’s out, Ehrlich said, 20-ounce bottles of Maryland Natural Spring Water will be on the shelves at 50 retailers.

The end is a revived Corsica River. The Eastern Shore river, now on the EPA’s list of “impaired waters,” will be restored over five years at a cost of $19.4 million, mostly in federal money. “The achievements we make here will be taken to other waters,” Ehrlich said …

In Annapolis, Department of Natural Resources last week backed away from its controversial plan to allow more power dredging for oysters in the Bay. Power dredging was banned in the 1860s with the arrival of the steam engine, and scientists and conservationists warned that it’s just as dangerous to today’s precarious oyster population …

In Washington, the House Resources committee wants to auction 15 national parks and shrines to the oil industry and developers, says the National Parks Conservation Association. Included on a preliminary sell-off list leaked to the association of ex-park rangers is the Thomas Stone National Historical Site near La Plata. Stone built Haberdeventure in 1770, six years before he signed the Declaration of Independence …

In Virginia, where they’ll elect a new governor in November, Democratic candidate Tim Kaine said last weekend that he would seek more money for Chesapeake Bay cleanup and establish a permanent fund for acquiring sensitive lands. He made his announcement at the annual Virginia Environmental Assembly. GOP candidate Jerry Kilgore, who opposes a permanent land fund, said he had other commitments and didn’t show …

Our Creature Feature comes from New York, where the city that doesn’t sleep will start taking midnight naps for the sake of migratory birds. Following the lead of Chicago and Toronto, Manhattan civic leaders decided last week to dim the lights in buildings above the 40th floor after midnight during the fall and spring migration seasons.

“New York City is the nexus of ancient migratory flyways,” Audubon official E.J. McAdams told reporters. Thousands of birds have perished in recent years after being drawn to the lights. Lights Out New York, a voluntary program, will save not only birds but also energy.