The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mathews County Board of Supervisors are in early discussions about the possibility of the county taking over ownership of, and responsibility for, nine of the Coast Guard’s channel markers in Mathews waterways.

After a special board meeting on the topic last Wednesday, Hudgins resident Mike Walls agreed to form a task force to look into the benefits and risks of such an arrangement. A number of watermen and boaters in the audience agreed to participate.

Supervisors’ chairman Jack White said in an introductory statement that the county’s waterways are in critical condition, making it necessary to work in a timely fashion to do something to preserve them.

However, he said, “We have more questions than we have answers,” and he asked those at the meeting to come up with ideas to “find a path forward.”

During a public comment period, Gaylord Lockett of Seaford said that the Coast Guard has been removing chann...