Nutrient pollution in the majority of the Chesapeake Bay region’s freshwater streams and rivers has decreased over the last 25 years, according to data from scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Chesapeake Bay Program. (Learn more)
The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences has released a pilot study that contains science-based conclusions and recommendations to help the Chesapeake Bay Program evaluate its efforts to achieve nutrient reduction goals and clean up the Bay. (Learn more)
Related links: “Achieving Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: An Evaluation of Program Strategies and Implementation”
From the BayBlog: Take a tour of beautiful Patapsco Valley State Park in our latest photo tour blog entry. Patapsco Valley State Park is an urban oasis that offers miles of hiking and biking trails; fishing and swimming opportunities; and a place to connect with nature just minutes from the city. (Learn More)
Related links: Visit the Bay
To many, the Anacostia River is a symbol of environmental neglect. But a new report by DC Appleseed says that the river – one of the most polluted in the Chesapeake Bay watershed – could be reclaimed as a valuable resource and become a national model for urban river revitalization. (Learn more)
Related links: Rivers and Streams
Ten Maryland communities have been awarded a total of more than $230,000 to design “green streets” that will reduce polluted stormwater runoff to the Chesapeake Bay and local rivers while creating green jobs in urban areas. (Learn more)
Related links: Stormwater Runoff
From Vimeo: More than 5,000 volunteers picked up one-quarter million pounds of trash at 250 different sites around the Chesapeake Bay region during the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay's annual Project Clean Stream in April. Learn more about this annual event, which connects volunteers with their local streams, rivers and the Bay. (Learn more)
Related links: How You Can Help the Bay
The Chesapeake Bay has received a C-minus on the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s 2010 Bay Health Report Card. The 2010 grade is a 4 percent decrease from 2009, when the Bay’s health received a C. (Learn more)
Related links: Chesapeake Bay Report Card | Bay Barometer
There's nothing more “Chesapeake” than the Bay's signature crustacean, the blue crab. As both predator and prey, blue crabs are a keystone species in the Bay food web. They also make up the Bay's most productive commercial and recreational fisheries.
Watch out! It’s almost summer, which means May’s unwelcome critter will once again be visiting the Chesapeake Bay’s waters, delivering a painful sting to many swimmers and boaters. Do you know what it is?
Nature and history abound at Dutch Gap Conservation Area in Chesterfield, Va., an 810-acre site that surrounds the second successful English settlement in Virginia and is now home to blue herons, eagles, bass and other wildlife.