2013: the chesapeake bay - washington post nieof water in the chesapeake bay and the many rivers...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 12, Issue 5
[ABCDE][ABCDE]
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
■ Post Reprint: “What Would It Take to Clean Up
The Bay by 2010?”
■ Discussion Questions: A Clean Chesapeake Bay by 2010?
■ Informational Graphic: The Chesapeake Bay: You drive across
it on the way to the beach, but have you ever thought about this
amazing natural resource?
■ Questions to Guide Viewing:
The Chesapeake Bay:Problems and Solutions
■ Editorial
Cartoon:
Chesapeake
2013: The Chesapeake Bay
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
In the early 1600s Captain John Smith wrote of the land and waters he explored. Hardwood forests gave way to terraced fields and marshlands as the landscape descended to the Potomac and
Anacostia rivers. In his Historie Smith describes what he observed: “The river above this place maketh his passage downe a low pleasant valley overshadowed in manie places with high rocky mountains from whence
distill innumerable sweet and pleasant springs.” The K’che-se-piak, meaning “land along the big river,” provided native inhabitants a rich habitat in which to farm, fish and hunt. Archaeologists testify to mounds of shells from oyster feasts. What would the Algonquian-speaking people who lived in the village of Nacotchtank on the Anacostia, or “anaquash” which means a village trading center, think of today’s Potomac and Anacostia rivers? Would they or others who lived in chiefdoms lament the waters they once paddled in canoes or the abundant fish they caught in their weirs? The Patowmack, “a great trading place,’’ inspires today’s leaders and
individuals to assess resources, trade ideas and find solutions to return the waters to their pristine abundance.
CouRTesY oF THe TRusTees oF THe loNDoN museum
Algonquian Indians Fishing by John White (created 1585-86)
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
“What Would It Take to Clean Up The Bay by 2010?”
BY DAVID A. FAHRENTHOLDWashington Post Staff Writer
• Originally Published Jan. 29, 2007
To deliver on the pledge to save the Chesapeake Bay in three short years, you could start by digging up a million lawns to fix septic tanks that pollute too much.
Then ask 80,000 farmers to make expensive changes in the way their farms work. Overhaul hundreds of sewage plants, each project with a price tag that could run into the millions.
And find about $28 billion — enough for six aircraft carriers — to pay for it all. Right now, authorities are at least $14 billion short.
This month, the Environmental Protection Agency said efforts to re-store the bay’s health need to be ac-celerated to meet a 2010 deadline. It turns out that “accelerated” might be understating it: Experts say meeting the goal would require widespread sacrifices from individuals and un-precedented funding from govern-ment sources. And even then, it might not be enough.
For now, no such shock-therapy campaign has been proposed. But environmentalists say the bay project’s many shortfalls are a lesson: After 19 years, the Chesapeake cleanup is struggling to produce results on par with its promises.
“We have done a truly tremendous
job of defining the problem, and we have done a truly tremendous job of defining the solution,” said J. Charles Fox, a former head of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “But we have not yet succeeded in actually implementing the solution.”
The bay cleanup, in its current form, began in 1987 with an agreement between state and federal governments. They promised that the bay, troubled by dirt, algae blooms and toxic chemicals, would be clean by 2000.
“We thought it was going to be Bethlehem Steel. We thought we were going to be able to point to
big polluters,” said Jack Greer, an official at the Sea Grant program at the University of Maryland.
Instead, they found that some of the bay’s worst pollutants came from such things as manure, lawn fertilizer and human waste. Its troubles began on every street, in every sewer, at the back end of every cow.
“I remember politicians just going pale,” Greer said.
When the 2000 deadline was missed, an even more sweeping agreement took its place. The leaders of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the District and the EPA pledged to fix the bay’s
lINDA DAVIDsoN/THe WAsHINGToN PosT
In Queen Anne's County, Md., development along the Chesapeake Bay area continues on the Kent Island narrows, where the Chester River joins the bay. Studies of the Chesapeake have found that manure, lawn fertilizer and human waste are the worst pollutants. Cleanup is unlikely to meet a 2010 deadline without unprecedented funding.
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
water, its oyster population, its beds of underwater grass and other environmental indicators by 2010.
There have been significant successes since then. Maryland passed a “flush tax,” a surcharge on water bills to pay for cleaning up the state’s sewage plants and farm fields. The bay’s rockfish population has continued its remarkable comeback, which began in the 1980s. Small
strips of forest, designed to filter runoff, have been planted alongside 5,000 miles of streams.
But all of that hasn’t been nearly enough, officials say.
Thousands of farms still need to implement measures to prevent soil, manure and fertilizer from washing downstream — from putting up fences to setting aside areas to regrow as forest. In Virginia, the
total is near 1.5 million acres — an area larger than Delaware.
States have said they will need at least $2 billion for these agricultural measures, which often include sending employees out to custom design a plan for each farm and reimbursing farmers for changes. Farmers have said they can’t afford the changes themselves.
“If we can’t absorb those costs,
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
the only alternative is to get out,” said Earl Hance, president of the Maryland Farm Bureau.
Another shortfall: Older septic systems — including some installed as late as 2005 — need to be replaced, or at least updated, so they release less nitrogen into groundwater. In Maryland, the most recent documents say 11,000 of 360,000 systems have been fixed so far.
If homeowners pay, each fix costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. Maryland has money to help homeowners pay for septic upgrades — but not enough to do all of them before 2010. At current funding levels, it would take 580 years.
Also, to make the 2010 deadline, hundreds of sewage plants would need upgrades, so they release less pollution. The cost is estimated at $6 billion.
But money isn’t the only problem with reaching the 2010 goal. The upgrades are so complicated, officials say, that they will take years to plan and carry out.
“If I had all the money in the world today, I would guarantee you I could not get it done by 2010,” said John T. Dunn, chief engineer of the District’s Water and Sewer Authority, whose Blue Plains sewage plant needs such an overhaul. He said that 2014 might be more realistic.
And even if all this effort were expended, experts say some 2010 goals might be impossible. One goal promises that the Chesapeake’s oyster population will grow tenfold. But years of restoration efforts have produced no breakthroughs.
“If we’re not well on the way by now, it’s just not going to happen,” said Standish K. Allen Jr., a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine
Science.Blame should be spread across
the watershed, environmentalists say, since all governments failed to act as boldly as the 2010 goals demanded and did little to contain sprawl. But the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which oversees the cleanup, has come in for special blame. Last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the bay program was not doing enough to coordinate environmental efforts or provide updates.
Critics say the program lost valuable time by calling for elaborate plans instead of plunging straight into pollution reductions. And at the end of all this planning, they say, the cleanup had the paralyzing price tag: $28 billion.
“What that number tended to do is make people say, ‘Well, it’s impossible. We can’t do it,’” said William C. Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental group.
In response to questions about the management of the Chesapeake
cleanup, bay program Director Rebecca Hanmer released a two-paragraph statement. It said the EPA was committed to “continue accelerating our progress toward a cleaner, healthier Chesapeake.”
For now, the consensus among environmentalists is that the costs of meeting the 2010 goals are prohibitively high. Instead, they have begun pushing for agricultural and sewer-plant funds to aim at 80 percent of the desired pollution reductions.
Even these revised plans would require wrangling an estimated $3 billion more than state and federal governments have allocated.
Nineteen years into the bay cleanup — intended as a model for environmental movements all over the world — even the easy fixes are hard.
“It’s not like you can find a place elsewhere that did it better,” said Ann Pesiri Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, an advisory body to the cleanup. “That’s the tragedy.” ■
lINDA DAVIDsoN/THe WAsHINGToN PosT
The sun rises over the Claiborne community on the northern tip of Talbot County, Md., by Eastern Bay. Clean up of the Chesapeake Bay will require about $28 billion to complete.
Name ________________________________________________________________ Date_____________________________
A Clean Chesapeake Bay by 2010?
For decades local residents, fishermen, scientists and environmentalists have been concerned about the quality of water in the Chesapeake Bay and the many rivers that feed into it. Goals have been set and revised to clean it up and return its abundant aquatic life. In 2007 Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold wrote about the state of The Bay and likelihood of reaching goals set to clean it up by 2010.
1. J. Charles Fox divides dealing with a problem into three stages: defining the problem, defining the solution and implementing the solution. In this front page news story, David Fahrenthold indicated which of the three stages have been completed?
2. From where do the worst pollutants come?
3. The 2000 clean up deadline was missed. What goals were set for the next decade?
4. What are three (3) successes mentioned in the article?
5. What can farmers do to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay?
6. What can homeowners and sewage plants do to help water quality on The Bay?
7. Why is the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program being blamed for much of the problem?
8. Read what the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant has done since 2007 to improve its facilities. [http://www.dcwater.com/ education/default.cfm] What are three ways DC Water is meeting goals set in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement?
9. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation issues an annual State of the Bay Report. [Scientists look at 13 indicators of health in three main categories — pollution, habitat and fisheries.] Review the most recent report. In what areas have improvements taken place?
10. Find another source to update attempts to clean the Bay. In addition to indicating the source, give examples of successful projects. Which projects proved to be disappointing? Compare and contrast this source with the most recent State of the Bay Report.
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
Tom Toles | November 23, 2012
1. Editorial cartoonists use very few words so the words they do use are important. What does the signage indicate?
2. Select two of the visual details on the west side of the cartoon. What do they illustrate? a. b.
3. To what does Tom Toles’ alter ego, in the lower right corner, refer?
4. Editorial cartoons are visual commentary. a. What issue does Toles address? b. What is Toles’ point of view on the issue?
5. Give the editorial cartoon a title.
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
The Chesapeake Bay: (Left side of graphic)
You drive across it on the way to the beach, but have you ever thought about this amazing natural resource?
The Chesapeake BayProblemsAGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT WASTEWATER WASTEWATERAIR POLLUTION FISHERIES AGRICULTUREDEVELOPMENTAIR POLLUTIONFISHERIES
Solutions
Estuaries (where rivers meet oceans) are some of the most productive habitats. �e Chesapeake is North America’s largest estuary and the world’s third-largest. • Half a
billion pounds of seafood are harvested from the bay every year. • 150 rivers from six states and Washington, D.C., drain into the bay. • 17 million people live within the area
drained by the bay. • On average, the bay is about 21 feet deep, but a deep channel runs through the middle — the trace of a prehistoric Susquehanna River. • Native
Americans called the bay “Tschiswapeki,” or “great shellfish bay.” • �e bay is 200 miles long and, at its widest, 30 miles across. • It holds 15 trillion gallons of water.
Farming without conservation practices can pollute the bay with • sediments from fields plowed for row crops such as corn and from farm animals wading through streams,• nitrogen and phosphorus from animal waste and fertilizers not used by crops,• germs from farm animals,
• pesticides and herbicides used to kill bugs and weeds.
�e building of suburbs on what was once farms and forests removes the trees and other plants that help keep the air and water clean. Rainwater runs quickly o� roads, roofs and parking lots, eroding the land and carrying sediments and pollution into the bay. Wildlife habitats are broken up, and weedy, nonnative plants movein. Air pollution increasesas people drive more.
About a third of the nitrogen polluting the bay comes from chemicals in the air produced by power plants, factories, motors and animal farms. Pollutants dissolve in rain or snow or they fall directly into the bay. �ey also fall to the ground where they are washed into local waterways.
Although sewage treatment plants are e�ective at removing much of the nitrogen from wastewater, significant amountsof harmful nutrients still get into the bay, killing o� plants and animals. Our vitamins and
medicines can’t be removed by the
treatment plants and pass through the system into the bay.
People love to eat the crabs, fish and oysters from the bay. But taking too many of them from the bay — that’s called overharvest-ing — harms the balance of the bay’s ecosystem. At one time, there were so many oysters that they could clean, or filter, the whole bay in a week. Fish such as shad, which used to migrate far upstream, are now few in number due to pollution, overfishing and dams that block spawning streams.
Sewage treatment plants are gradually upgrading by adding extra steps to their nutrient-removal process.
✚ Compost your kitchen scraps, rather than sending them down the disposal.
✚ Don’t pour chemicals and medicines down the drain. Use natural cleansers.
✚ Reduce your wastewaterby taking shorter showers.Flush the toilet less o�en, following this rule:
If it’s yellow, let it mellow.If it’s brown, flush it down.
Clean, alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power, are more available.
✚ Turn o� TVs, lights and computers.
✚ Travel by bike, walk or takepublic transportation.
✚ Encourage your parents to use energy-e�cient vehicles.
✚ Get your school to becomea “green school.”
Living close to work or school reduces air pollution (less driving). Runo� is reduced by using green roofs, pavement that lets water through and rain gardens.
✚ Get your family or school to builda “rain garden” that captures runo� from downspouts, keepingit out of storm drains and creeks.
✚ Plant more plants at home or school to absorb runo�.
✚ Take the car to a car wash.�ey are required to clean and recycle their water.
Well-managed farms are excellent filters, soaking up rainwater like a sponge and filtering out sediments and pollutants. Crops can be grown without plowing the soil. Farm animals rotated through a seriesof pastures allow grazed landsto recover quickly.
✚ Find out where your food comes from and how it is raised. Get your school to set up a vegetable garden.
✚ Buy produce at local farmers markets. Organically grown foods use no polluting pesticides.
✚ If you eat meat, make sure it is pasture-fed.
Dead zones are caused by excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), which result in dense algae blooms, which block out sunlight and severely deplete oxygen dissolved in the water, making it deadly for bay life.
Striped bass, or rockfish, though abundant in number, have recently been observed to be underweight, some having open sores. �is may be because their favorite food, a small fish called menhaden, is being heavily fished in the lower bay.
Blue crabs seem abundant now, although scientists are still concerned about the numbers of females. Crabs need the safetyof the bay’s underwater grass beds as a hiding place when they
are so� or young and vulnerable.
Bay grasses reduce shoreline erosion, provide oxygen to the water, collect sediment and create protec-tive cover for young fish, crabs and shrimp.
Oyster reefs provide habitat for fish, crabs andsmall invertebrates. Each oyster can filter about 50 gallons of water a day, cleaning the bay.
A healthy bay would be filled with clean, clear water supporting a food web that begins with plankton (plant and animal microorganisms) that sustains small fish and invertebrates, which are eaten by larger fish preyed upon by birds and mammals. A balanced ecosystem and sustainable fishing industry could support people for generations to come.
մեe ailing bay is challenged by increasing population and development, excessive pollution and sediment, overfishing and the major loss of forests and wetlands that once filtered water flowing into its rivers and streams. A bay with exhausted resources cannot sustain the jobs of people who make their living from the Chesapeake's fish, crabs and other resources.
Excess sediments cloud the water, overwhelming oysters and making it di�cult for underwater vegetation to grow. Without bay grasses, the water has less oxygen and young fish and crabs have nowhere to hide from predators.
Mowing grass close to the ground reduces the ability of the ground to soak up and filter rainwater. Pesticides,
fertilizers and pet waste eventually run o� into the bay, creating a pollution problem. Gas mowers, weed whackers and leaf blowers release 10 times the pollution of a car running for the same amount of time.
When European colonists arrived in the 1600s, they settled by the bay, fished the waters and cut down foreststo clear land for farming. As cities grew and the human population increased, the bay became polluted and depleted.
�e bay was at its sickest in the 1980s. About 80 percent of its underwater grasses had disappeared and 98 percent of its oysters were gone. Since then, environmental laws and e�orts to restore the bay’s health are slowly improving its chances.
Non-nativePhragmites reeds Algae bloom Tidal wetlands
Wind and solar power
High-densityhousing Chicken
tractor
No-till crops
Farmers market Pasture-fed animals
Farm animals denied access to stream
Forested bu�ers
Sewage treatment plant with added nutrient-removal systems
Crabharvesting
Submerged bay grasses
Menhaden
Striped bass
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Tilling the soil
Growing suburbs
Sewage treatment plant
Menhadenfishing
Coal-fired power plant
✚ Skip the fertilizer and learn to enjoy a few weeds in the lawn. Some, such as clover, are good for the soil.
✚ Compost your leaves. ✚ Mow high with a push mower to allow grass to builda better root system that will absorb and filter water. ✚ Plant native plants. ✚ Pick up a�er your pet.
SO
UR
CE
S: C
hes
apea
ke B
ay F
oun
dat
ion
, Ch
esap
eake
Bay
Pro
gram
TE
XT A
ND
ILLU
STR
ATIO
N B
Y PA
TTE
RS
ON
CLA
RK
/TH
E W
ASH
ING
TON
PO
ST
You drive across it on the way to the beach, but have you ever really thought about this amazing natural resource?
EXCESS NUTRIENTS
CONTAMINANTS
SEDIMENTS
Biologists are trying to help oysters return to the bay with hatcheries that introduce young oysters to the bay. Limits have been set on the harvest of menhaden, a fish that eats plankton (filtering the bay like oysters do) and is itself eaten by bigger fish. Blue crab numbers have improved dramatically dueto regulations on the harvestof female crabs.
✚ Stay out of bay-grass beds in shallow waters.
✚ Avoid using lawn fertilizers.
✚ Use proper catch-and-release fishing methods.
✚ HOW YOU CAN HELP
YOUR YARDYOUR YARD
Volume 12, Issue 5
An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In education Program
© 2013 THe WAsHINGToN PosT ComPANYJanuary 11, 2013
The Chesapeake Bay: (Right side of graphic)
The Chesapeake BayProblemsAGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT WASTEWATER WASTEWATERAIR POLLUTION FISHERIES AGRICULTUREDEVELOPMENTAIR POLLUTIONFISHERIES
Solutions
Estuaries (where rivers meet oceans) are some of the most productive habitats. �e Chesapeake is North America’s largest estuary and the world’s third-largest. • Half a
billion pounds of seafood are harvested from the bay every year. • 150 rivers from six states and Washington, D.C., drain into the bay. • 17 million people live within the area
drained by the bay. • On average, the bay is about 21 feet deep, but a deep channel runs through the middle — the trace of a prehistoric Susquehanna River. • Native
Americans called the bay “Tschiswapeki,” or “great shellfish bay.” • �e bay is 200 miles long and, at its widest, 30 miles across. • It holds 15 trillion gallons of water.
Farming without conservation practices can pollute the bay with • sediments from fields plowed for row crops such as corn and from farm animals wading through streams,• nitrogen and phosphorus from animal waste and fertilizers not used by crops,• germs from farm animals,
• pesticides and herbicides used to kill bugs and weeds.
�e building of suburbs on what was once farms and forests removes the trees and other plants that help keep the air and water clean. Rainwater runs quickly o� roads, roofs and parking lots, eroding the land and carrying sediments and pollution into the bay. Wildlife habitats are broken up, and weedy, nonnative plants movein. Air pollution increasesas people drive more.
About a third of the nitrogen polluting the bay comes from chemicals in the air produced by power plants, factories, motors and animal farms. Pollutants dissolve in rain or snow or they fall directly into the bay. �ey also fall to the ground where they are washed into local waterways.
Although sewage treatment plants are e�ective at removing much of the nitrogen from wastewater, significant amountsof harmful nutrients still get into the bay, killing o� plants and animals. Our vitamins and
medicines can’t be removed by the
treatment plants and pass through the system into the bay.
People love to eat the crabs, fish and oysters from the bay. But taking too many of them from the bay — that’s called overharvest-ing — harms the balance of the bay’s ecosystem. At one time, there were so many oysters that they could clean, or filter, the whole bay in a week. Fish such as shad, which used to migrate far upstream, are now few in number due to pollution, overfishing and dams that block spawning streams.
Sewage treatment plants are gradually upgrading by adding extra steps to their nutrient-removal process.
✚ Compost your kitchen scraps, rather than sending them down the disposal.
✚ Don’t pour chemicals and medicines down the drain. Use natural cleansers.
✚ Reduce your wastewaterby taking shorter showers.Flush the toilet less o�en, following this rule:
If it’s yellow, let it mellow.If it’s brown, flush it down.
Clean, alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power, are more available.
✚ Turn o� TVs, lights and computers.
✚ Travel by bike, walk or takepublic transportation.
✚ Encourage your parents to use energy-e�cient vehicles.
✚ Get your school to becomea “green school.”
Living close to work or school reduces air pollution (less driving). Runo� is reduced by using green roofs, pavement that lets water through and rain gardens.
✚ Get your family or school to builda “rain garden” that captures runo� from downspouts, keepingit out of storm drains and creeks.
✚ Plant more plants at home or school to absorb runo�.
✚ Take the car to a car wash.�ey are required to clean and recycle their water.
Well-managed farms are excellent filters, soaking up rainwater like a sponge and filtering out sediments and pollutants. Crops can be grown without plowing the soil. Farm animals rotated through a seriesof pastures allow grazed landsto recover quickly.
✚ Find out where your food comes from and how it is raised. Get your school to set up a vegetable garden.
✚ Buy produce at local farmers markets. Organically grown foods use no polluting pesticides.
✚ If you eat meat, make sure it is pasture-fed.
Dead zones are caused by excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), which result in dense algae blooms, which block out sunlight and severely deplete oxygen dissolved in the water, making it deadly for bay life.
Striped bass, or rockfish, though abundant in number, have recently been observed to be underweight, some having open sores. �is may be because their favorite food, a small fish called menhaden, is being heavily fished in the lower bay.
Blue crabs seem abundant now, although scientists are still concerned about the numbers of females. Crabs need the safetyof the bay’s underwater grass beds as a hiding place when they
are so� or young and vulnerable.
Bay grasses reduce shoreline erosion, provide oxygen to the water, collect sediment and create protec-tive cover for young fish, crabs and shrimp.
Oyster reefs provide habitat for fish, crabs andsmall invertebrates. Each oyster can filter about 50 gallons of water a day, cleaning the bay.
A healthy bay would be filled with clean, clear water supporting a food web that begins with plankton (plant and animal microorganisms) that sustains small fish and invertebrates, which are eaten by larger fish preyed upon by birds and mammals. A balanced ecosystem and sustainable fishing industry could support people for generations to come.
մեe ailing bay is challenged by increasing population and development, excessive pollution and sediment, overfishing and the major loss of forests and wetlands that once filtered water flowing into its rivers and streams. A bay with exhausted resources cannot sustain the jobs of people who make their living from the Chesapeake's fish, crabs and other resources.
Excess sediments cloud the water, overwhelming oysters and making it di�cult for underwater vegetation to grow. Without bay grasses, the water has less oxygen and young fish and crabs have nowhere to hide from predators.
Mowing grass close to the ground reduces the ability of the ground to soak up and filter rainwater. Pesticides,
fertilizers and pet waste eventually run o� into the bay, creating a pollution problem. Gas mowers, weed whackers and leaf blowers release 10 times the pollution of a car running for the same amount of time.
When European colonists arrived in the 1600s, they settled by the bay, fished the waters and cut down foreststo clear land for farming. As cities grew and the human population increased, the bay became polluted and depleted.
�e bay was at its sickest in the 1980s. About 80 percent of its underwater grasses had disappeared and 98 percent of its oysters were gone. Since then, environmental laws and e�orts to restore the bay’s health are slowly improving its chances.
Non-nativePhragmites reeds Algae bloom Tidal wetlands
Wind and solar power
High-densityhousing Chicken
tractor
No-till crops
Farmers market Pasture-fed animals
Farm animals denied access to stream
Forested bu�ers
Sewage treatment plant with added nutrient-removal systems
Crabharvesting
Submerged bay grasses
Menhaden
Striped bass
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Tilling the soil
Growing suburbs
Sewage treatment plant
Menhadenfishing
Coal-fired power plant
✚ Skip the fertilizer and learn to enjoy a few weeds in the lawn. Some, such as clover, are good for the soil.
✚ Compost your leaves. ✚ Mow high with a push mower to allow grass to builda better root system that will absorb and filter water. ✚ Plant native plants. ✚ Pick up a�er your pet.
SO
UR
CE
S: C
hes
apea
ke B
ay F
oun
dat
ion
, Ch
esap
eake
Bay
Pro
gram
TE
XT A
ND
ILLU
STR
ATIO
N B
Y PA
TTE
RS
ON
CLA
RK
/TH
E W
ASH
ING
TON
PO
ST
You drive across it on the way to the beach, but have you ever really thought about this amazing natural resource?
EXCESS NUTRIENTS
CONTAMINANTS
SEDIMENTS
Biologists are trying to help oysters return to the bay with hatcheries that introduce young oysters to the bay. Limits have been set on the harvest of menhaden, a fish that eats plankton (filtering the bay like oysters do) and is itself eaten by bigger fish. Blue crab numbers have improved dramatically dueto regulations on the harvestof female crabs.
✚ Stay out of bay-grass beds in shallow waters.
✚ Avoid using lawn fertilizers.
✚ Use proper catch-and-release fishing methods.
✚ HOW YOU CAN HELP
YOUR YARDYOUR YARD
Name ________________________________________________________________ Date_____________________________
The Chesapeake Bay: Problems and Solutions
Use of ColorProblems Solutions
Use of TopographyProblems Solutions
Use of IllustrationsProblems Solutions
Name ________________________________________________________________ Date_____________________________
The Chesapeake Bay: Problems and SolutionsUnderstanding Content — Problems
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Understanding Content — Solutions
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
The
Ches
apea
ke B
ayProblem
sA
GR
ICU
LTU
RE
DE
VE
LOP
ME
NT
WA
STE
WA
TER
WA
STE
WA
TER
AIR
PO
LLU
TIO
NF
ISH
ER
IES
AG
RIC
ULT
UR
ED
EV
ELO
PM
EN
TA
IR P
OL
LUTI
ON
FIS
HE
RIE
S
Solutions
Estu
arie
s (w
her
e ri
vers
mee
t oc
ean
s) a
re s
ome
of t
he
mos
t pr
oduc
tive
hab
itat
s. �
e C
hes
apea
ke is
Nor
th A
mer
ica’
s la
rges
t es
tuar
y an
d t
he
wor
ld’s
th
ird
-larg
est.
• H
alf a
billi
on p
oun
ds
of s
eafo
od a
re h
arve
sted
from
th
e ba
y ev
ery
year
. • 1
50
riv
ers
from
six
sta
tes
and
Was
hin
gton
, D.C
., d
rain
into
th
e ba
y. •
17
mill
ion
peo
ple
live
wit
hin
th
e ar
ea
dra
ined
by
the
bay.
• O
n a
vera
ge, t
he
bay
is a
bout
21
feet
dee
p, b
ut a
dee
p ch
ann
el r
uns
thro
ugh
th
e m
idd
le —
th
e tr
ace
of a
pre
his
tori
c S
usqu
ehan
na
Riv
er. •
Nat
ive
Amer
ican
s ca
lled
th
e ba
y “T
sch
isw
apek
i,” o
r “g
reat
sh
ellfi
sh b
ay.”
• �
e ba
y is
20
0 m
iles
lon
g an
d, a
t it
s w
ides
t, 3
0 m
iles
acro
ss. •
It h
old
s 15
tri
llion
gal
lon
s of
wat
er.
Farm
ing
wit
hou
t co
nse
rva
tion
p
ract
ices
ca
n p
ollu
te t
he
ba
y w
ith
•
sed
ime
nts
from
fiel
ds
plo
wed
fo
r ro
w c
rop
s su
ch a
s co
rn a
nd
from
farm
an
ima
ls w
ad
ing
th
rou
gh s
trea
ms,
• n
itro
gen
an
d p
ho
sph
oru
s
from
an
ima
l wa
ste
an
d fe
rtili
zers
n
ot u
sed
by
crop
s,•
germ
s fr
om fa
rm a
nim
als
,
• p
est
icid
es
an
d h
erb
icid
es
u
sed
to
kill
bu
gs a
nd
wee
ds.
�e
bu
ildin
g of
su
bu
rbs
on w
ha
t w
as
once
farm
s a
nd
fore
sts
rem
oves
th
e tr
ees
an
d o
ther
p
lan
ts t
ha
t h
elp
kee
p t
he
air
a
nd
wa
ter
clea
n. R
ain
wa
ter
run
s q
uic
kly
o� r
oa
ds,
ro
ofs
an
d
pa
rkin
g lo
ts, e
rod
ing
the
lan
d
an
d c
arr
yin
g se
dim
ents
an
d
pol
luti
on in
to t
he
ba
y. W
ildlif
e h
ab
ita
ts a
re b
roke
n u
p, a
nd
w
eed
y, n
onn
ati
ve p
lan
ts m
ove
in. A
ir p
ollu
tion
incr
ease
sa
s p
eop
le d
rive
mor
e.
Ab
out
a t
hir
d o
f th
e n
itro
gen
p
ollu
tin
g th
e b
ay
com
es fr
om
chem
ica
ls in
th
e a
ir p
rod
uce
d b
y p
ow
er
pla
nts
, fa
cto
rie
s, m
oto
rs
an
d a
nim
al f
arm
s. P
ollu
tan
ts
dis
solv
e in
ra
in o
r sn
ow o
r th
ey fa
ll d
irec
tly
into
th
e b
ay.
�ey
als
o fa
ll to
th
e gr
oun
d w
her
e th
ey a
re
wa
shed
into
loca
l w
ate
rwa
ys.
Alt
hou
gh s
ew
age
tre
atm
en
t p
lan
ts a
re e
�ec
tive
at
rem
ovin
g m
uch
of t
he
nit
roge
n fr
om
wa
stew
ate
r, si
gnifi
can
t a
mou
nts
of h
arm
ful n
utr
ien
ts s
till
get
into
th
e b
ay,
kill
ing
o� p
lan
ts a
nd
a
nim
als
. Ou
r vi
tam
ins
an
d
med
icin
es c
an
’t b
e re
mov
ed b
y th
e tr
eatm
ent
pla
nts
an
d
pa
ss t
hro
ugh
th
e sy
stem
in
to t
he
ba
y.
Peo
ple
love
to
eat
the
cra
bs,
fish
a
nd
oys
ters
from
th
e b
ay.
Bu
t ta
kin
g to
o m
an
y of
th
em fr
om t
he
ba
y —
th
at’s
ca
lled
ove
rha
rve
st-
ing
— h
arm
s th
e b
ala
nce
of t
he
ba
y’s
ecos
yste
m. A
t on
e ti
me,
th
ere
wer
e so
ma
ny
oyst
ers
tha
t th
ey
cou
ld c
lea
n, o
r fil
ter,
the
wh
ole
ba
y in
a w
eek.
Fis
h s
uch
as
sha
d,
wh
ich
use
d t
o m
igra
te fa
r u
pst
rea
m, a
re n
ow fe
w in
nu
mb
er
du
e to
pol
luti
on, o
verfi
shin
g a
nd
d
am
s th
at
blo
ck s
paw
nin
g st
rea
ms.
Sew
age
tre
atm
ent
pla
nts
are
gr
ad
ua
lly u
pgr
ad
ing
by
ad
din
g ex
tra
ste
ps
to t
hei
r n
utr
ien
t-re
mo
val p
roce
ss.
✚ C
omp
ost
you
r ki
tch
en s
cra
ps,
ra
ther
th
an
sen
din
g th
em
dow
n t
he
dis
pos
al.
✚ D
on’t
pou
r ch
emic
als
an
d
med
icin
es d
own
th
e d
rain
. U
se n
atu
ral c
lea
nse
rs.
✚ R
edu
ce y
our
wa
stew
ate
rb
y ta
kin
g sh
orte
r sh
ower
s.Fl
ush
th
e to
ilet
less
o�
en,
follo
win
g th
is r
ule
:
If it’
s ye
llow
, let
it m
ello
w.
If it’
s br
own,
flus
h it
dow
n.
Cle
an
, alt
ern
ati
ve e
ne
rgy
sou
rce
s, s
uch
as
win
d a
nd
sol
ar
pow
er, a
re m
ore
ava
ilab
le.
✚ T
urn
o�
TVs,
ligh
ts a
nd
com
pute
rs.
✚ T
rave
l by
bik
e, w
alk
or
take
pu
blic
tra
nsp
orta
tion
.
✚ E
nco
ura
ge y
our
pa
ren
ts t
o u
se
ener
gy-e
�ci
ent
veh
icle
s.
✚ G
et y
our
sch
ool t
o b
ecom
ea
“gr
een
sch
ool.”
Livi
ng
clo
se t
o w
ork
or
sch
oo
l re
du
ces
air
pol
luti
on (l
ess
dri
vin
g).
Ru
no�
is r
edu
ced
by
usi
ng
gre
en
ro
ofs
, pa
vem
en
t th
at
lets
wa
ter
thro
ug
h a
nd
ra
in g
ard
en
s.
✚ G
et y
our
fam
ily o
r sc
hoo
l to
bu
ilda
“ra
in g
ard
en”
tha
t ca
ptu
res
run
o� fr
om d
own
spou
ts, k
eep
ing
it o
ut
of s
torm
dra
ins
an
d c
reek
s.
✚ P
lan
t m
ore
pla
nts
at
hom
e or
sc
hoo
l to
ab
sorb
ru
no�
.
✚ T
ake
th
e ca
r to
a c
ar
wa
sh.
�ey
are
req
uir
ed t
o cl
ean
an
d
recy
cle
thei
r w
ate
r.
Wel
l-ma
na
ged
farm
s a
re e
xcel
len
t fil
ters
, soa
kin
g u
p r
ain
wa
ter
like
a
spon
ge a
nd
filt
erin
g ou
t se
dim
ents
a
nd
pol
luta
nts
. Cro
ps
can
be
grow
n
wit
ho
ut
plo
win
g t
he
so
il. F
arm
a
nim
als
ro
tate
d t
hro
ugh
a s
erie
sof
pa
stu
res
allo
w g
raze
d la
nd
sto
rec
over
qu
ickl
y.
✚ F
ind
ou
t w
her
e yo
ur
food
com
es
from
an
d h
ow it
is r
aise
d. G
et y
our
sc
hoo
l to
set
up
a v
eget
able
gar
den
.
✚ B
uy
pro
du
ce a
t lo
cal f
arm
ers
m
ark
ets.
Org
an
ica
lly g
row
n fo
ods
u
se n
o p
ollu
tin
g p
esti
cid
es.
✚ If
you
ea
t m
eat,
ma
ke s
ure
it
is p
ast
ure
-fed
.
De
ad
zo
ne
s ar
e ca
used
by
exce
ss n
utri
ents
(nit
roge
n a
nd
ph
osph
orus
), w
hic
h r
esul
t in
den
se a
lgae
blo
oms,
wh
ich
blo
ck o
ut s
unlig
ht
and
sev
erel
y d
eple
te o
xyge
n d
isso
lved
in t
he
wat
er, m
akin
g it
dea
dly
for
bay
life.
Str
ipe
d b
ass
, or
rock
fish
, th
ough
abu
nd
ant
in n
umbe
r, h
ave
rece
ntl
y be
en o
bser
ved
to
be
und
erw
eigh
t, s
ome
hav
ing
open
sor
es. �
is m
ay
be b
ecau
se t
hei
r fa
vori
te fo
od,
a sm
all fi
sh c
alle
d m
en
ha
de
n,
is b
ein
g h
eavi
ly fi
shed
in t
he
low
er b
ay.
Blu
e c
rab
s se
em a
bun
dan
t n
ow, a
lth
ough
sci
enti
sts
are
still
co
nce
rned
abo
ut t
he
num
bers
of f
emal
es. C
rabs
nee
d t
he
safe
tyof
th
e ba
y’s
und
erw
ater
gra
ss b
eds
as a
hid
ing
plac
e w
hen
th
eyar
e so
� o
r yo
ung
and
vul
ner
able
.
Bay
gra
sse
s re
duc
e sh
orel
ine
eros
ion
, pro
vid
e ox
ygen
to
the
wat
er,
colle
ct s
edim
ent
and
cre
ate
prot
ec-
tive
cov
er fo
r yo
ung
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
sh
rim
p.
Oys
ter
ree
fs p
rovi
de
hab
itat
for
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
smal
l in
vert
ebra
tes.
Eac
h
oyst
er c
an fi
lter
abo
ut 5
0 g
allo
ns
of w
ater
a d
ay, c
lean
ing
the
bay.
A h
ea
lth
y b
ay w
ould
be
fille
d w
ith
cle
an, c
lear
wat
er s
uppo
rtin
g a
food
web
th
at b
egin
s w
ith
pla
nkt
on (p
lan
t an
d a
nim
al m
icro
orga
nis
ms)
th
at
sust
ain
s sm
all fi
sh a
nd
inve
rteb
rate
s, w
hic
h a
re e
aten
by
larg
er fi
sh p
reye
d u
pon
by
bird
s an
d m
amm
als.
A b
alan
ced
eco
syst
em a
nd
sus
tain
able
fis
hin
g in
dus
try
coul
d s
uppo
rt p
eopl
e fo
r ge
ner
atio
ns
to c
ome.
մեe
aili
ng
bay
is c
hal
len
ged
by
incr
easi
ng
popu
lati
on a
nd
dev
elop
men
t, e
xces
sive
pol
luti
on a
nd
sed
imen
t, o
verfi
shin
g an
d t
he
maj
or lo
ss o
f fo
rest
s an
d w
etla
nd
s th
at o
nce
filt
ered
wat
er fl
owin
g in
to it
s ri
vers
an
d s
trea
ms.
A b
ay w
ith
exh
aust
ed r
esou
rces
can
not
sus
tain
th
e jo
bs o
f peo
ple
wh
o m
ake
thei
r liv
ing
from
th
e C
hes
apea
ke's
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
oth
er r
esou
rces
.
Exc
ess
se
dim
en
ts c
loud
th
e w
ater
, ove
rwh
elm
ing
oyst
ers
and
mak
ing
it d
i�cu
lt fo
r un
der
wat
er v
eget
atio
n t
o gr
ow.
Wit
hou
t ba
y gr
asse
s, t
he
wat
er h
as le
ss o
xyge
n a
nd
you
ng
fish
an
d c
rabs
hav
e n
owh
ere
to h
ide
from
pre
dat
ors.
Mow
ing
gras
s cl
ose
to t
he
grou
nd
red
uces
th
e ab
ility
of t
he
grou
nd
to
soak
up
and
filt
er r
ain
wat
er. P
esti
cid
es,
fert
ilize
rs a
nd
pet
was
te e
ven
tual
ly r
un o
� in
to t
he
bay,
cre
atin
g a
pollu
tion
pro
blem
. Gas
m
ower
s, w
eed
wh
acke
rs a
nd
leaf
blo
wer
s re
leas
e 10
tim
es t
he
pollu
tion
of a
car
run
nin
g fo
r th
e sa
me
amou
nt
of t
ime.
Wh
en E
urop
ean
col
onis
ts a
rriv
ed in
th
e 16
00
s, t
hey
set
tled
by
the
bay,
fish
ed t
he
wat
ers
and
cut
dow
n fo
rest
sto
cle
ar la
nd
for
farm
ing.
As
citi
es g
rew
an
d t
he
hum
an p
opul
atio
n in
crea
sed
, th
e ba
y be
cam
e po
llute
d a
nd
dep
lete
d.
�e
bay
was
at
its
sick
est
in t
he
198
0s.
Abo
ut 8
0 p
erce
nt
of it
s un
der
wat
er g
rass
es h
ad d
isap
pear
ed a
nd
98
per
cen
t of
its
oyst
ers
wer
e go
ne.
Sin
ce t
hen
, en
viro
nm
enta
l law
s an
d e
�or
ts t
o re
stor
e th
e ba
y’s
hea
lth
are
slo
wly
impr
ovin
g it
s ch
ance
s.
Non
-nat
ive
Ph
rag
mit
es
reed
sA
lgae
blo
omT
idal
wet
lan
ds
Win
d an
d so
lar
pow
er
Hig
h-de
nsi
tyho
usi
ng
Chi
cken
trac
tor
No-
till
cro
ps
Fa
rmer
s m
arke
tPa
stu
re-f
ed a
nim
als
Farm
an
imal
s d
enie
d a
cces
s to
str
eam
Fore
sted
bu
�er
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt w
ith
adde
d n
utr
ien
t-re
mov
al s
yste
ms
Cra
bha
rves
tin
g
Subm
erge
d ba
y gr
asse
s
Men
hade
n
Stri
ped
bass
Con
cen
trat
ed a
nim
al
feed
ing
oper
atio
ns
Til
lin
g th
e so
il
Gro
win
g su
burb
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt
Men
hade
nfis
hin
g
Coa
l-fir
ed
pow
er p
lan
t
✚ S
kip
the
fert
ilize
r an
d le
arn
to
enjo
y a
few
wee
ds
in t
he
law
n. S
ome,
suc
h a
s cl
over
, are
goo
d fo
r th
e so
il.✚
Com
post
you
r le
aves
. ✚ M
ow h
igh
wit
h a
pus
h m
ower
to
allo
w g
rass
to
build
a be
tter
roo
t sy
stem
th
at w
ill a
bsor
b an
d fi
lter
wat
er. ✚
Pla
nt
nat
ive
plan
ts. ✚
Pic
k up
a�
er y
our
pet.
SOURCES: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Program TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION BY PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST
You
dri
ve a
cro
ss it
on
th
e w
ay t
o t
he
be
ach
, bu
t h
ave
yo
u e
ver
rea
lly t
ho
ugh
t a
bo
ut
this
am
azi
ng
nat
ura
l re
sou
rce
?
EXC
ES
S N
UTR
IEN
TS
CO
NTA
MIN
AN
TS
SED
IMENTS
Bio
logi
sts
are
try
ing
to h
elp
oys
ters
re
turn
to
the
ba
y w
ith
ha
tch
eri
es
tha
t in
trod
uce
you
ng
oyst
ers
to t
he
ba
y. L
imit
s h
ave
bee
n s
et o
n t
he
ha
rves
t of
men
ha
den
, a fi
sh t
ha
t ea
ts p
lan
kton
(filt
erin
g th
e b
ay
like
oyst
ers
do)
an
d is
itse
lf ea
ten
by
big
ger
fish
. Blu
e cr
ab
nu
mb
ers
hav
e im
pro
ved
dra
ma
tica
lly d
ue
to r
egu
lati
ons
on t
he
ha
rves
tof
fem
ale
cra
bs.
✚ S
tay
out
of b
ay-
gra
ss b
eds
in
sh
allo
w w
ate
rs.
✚ A
void
usi
ng
law
n fe
rtili
zers
.
✚ U
se p
rop
er c
atc
h-a
nd
-rel
ease
fis
hin
g m
eth
ods.
✚ H
OW
YO
U C
AN
HE
LP
YOU
R Y
AR
DYO
UR
YA
RD
The
Ches
apea
ke B
ayProblem
sA
GR
ICU
LTU
RE
DE
VE
LOP
ME
NT
WA
STE
WA
TER
WA
STE
WA
TER
AIR
PO
LLU
TIO
NF
ISH
ER
IES
AG
RIC
ULT
UR
ED
EV
ELO
PM
EN
TA
IR P
OL
LUTI
ON
FIS
HE
RIE
S
Solutions
Estu
arie
s (w
her
e ri
vers
mee
t oc
ean
s) a
re s
ome
of t
he
mos
t pr
oduc
tive
hab
itat
s. �
e C
hes
apea
ke is
Nor
th A
mer
ica’
s la
rges
t es
tuar
y an
d t
he
wor
ld’s
th
ird
-larg
est.
• H
alf a
billi
on p
oun
ds
of s
eafo
od a
re h
arve
sted
from
th
e ba
y ev
ery
year
. • 1
50
riv
ers
from
six
sta
tes
and
Was
hin
gton
, D.C
., d
rain
into
th
e ba
y. •
17
mill
ion
peo
ple
live
wit
hin
th
e ar
ea
dra
ined
by
the
bay.
• O
n a
vera
ge, t
he
bay
is a
bout
21
feet
dee
p, b
ut a
dee
p ch
ann
el r
uns
thro
ugh
th
e m
idd
le —
th
e tr
ace
of a
pre
his
tori
c S
usqu
ehan
na
Riv
er. •
Nat
ive
Amer
ican
s ca
lled
th
e ba
y “T
sch
isw
apek
i,” o
r “g
reat
sh
ellfi
sh b
ay.”
• �
e ba
y is
20
0 m
iles
lon
g an
d, a
t it
s w
ides
t, 3
0 m
iles
acro
ss. •
It h
old
s 15
tri
llion
gal
lon
s of
wat
er.
Farm
ing
wit
hou
t co
nse
rva
tion
p
ract
ices
ca
n p
ollu
te t
he
ba
y w
ith
•
sed
ime
nts
from
fiel
ds
plo
wed
fo
r ro
w c
rop
s su
ch a
s co
rn a
nd
from
farm
an
ima
ls w
ad
ing
th
rou
gh s
trea
ms,
• n
itro
gen
an
d p
ho
sph
oru
s
from
an
ima
l wa
ste
an
d fe
rtili
zers
n
ot u
sed
by
crop
s,•
germ
s fr
om fa
rm a
nim
als
,
• p
est
icid
es
an
d h
erb
icid
es
u
sed
to
kill
bu
gs a
nd
wee
ds.
�e
bu
ildin
g of
su
bu
rbs
on w
ha
t w
as
once
farm
s a
nd
fore
sts
rem
oves
th
e tr
ees
an
d o
ther
p
lan
ts t
ha
t h
elp
kee
p t
he
air
a
nd
wa
ter
clea
n. R
ain
wa
ter
run
s q
uic
kly
o� r
oa
ds,
ro
ofs
an
d
pa
rkin
g lo
ts, e
rod
ing
the
lan
d
an
d c
arr
yin
g se
dim
ents
an
d
pol
luti
on in
to t
he
ba
y. W
ildlif
e h
ab
ita
ts a
re b
roke
n u
p, a
nd
w
eed
y, n
onn
ati
ve p
lan
ts m
ove
in. A
ir p
ollu
tion
incr
ease
sa
s p
eop
le d
rive
mor
e.
Ab
out
a t
hir
d o
f th
e n
itro
gen
p
ollu
tin
g th
e b
ay
com
es fr
om
chem
ica
ls in
th
e a
ir p
rod
uce
d b
y p
ow
er
pla
nts
, fa
cto
rie
s, m
oto
rs
an
d a
nim
al f
arm
s. P
ollu
tan
ts
dis
solv
e in
ra
in o
r sn
ow o
r th
ey fa
ll d
irec
tly
into
th
e b
ay.
�ey
als
o fa
ll to
th
e gr
oun
d w
her
e th
ey a
re
wa
shed
into
loca
l w
ate
rwa
ys.
Alt
hou
gh s
ew
age
tre
atm
en
t p
lan
ts a
re e
�ec
tive
at
rem
ovin
g m
uch
of t
he
nit
roge
n fr
om
wa
stew
ate
r, si
gnifi
can
t a
mou
nts
of h
arm
ful n
utr
ien
ts s
till
get
into
th
e b
ay,
kill
ing
o� p
lan
ts a
nd
a
nim
als
. Ou
r vi
tam
ins
an
d
med
icin
es c
an
’t b
e re
mov
ed b
y th
e tr
eatm
ent
pla
nts
an
d
pa
ss t
hro
ugh
th
e sy
stem
in
to t
he
ba
y.
Peo
ple
love
to
eat
the
cra
bs,
fish
a
nd
oys
ters
from
th
e b
ay.
Bu
t ta
kin
g to
o m
an
y of
th
em fr
om t
he
ba
y —
th
at’s
ca
lled
ove
rha
rve
st-
ing
— h
arm
s th
e b
ala
nce
of t
he
ba
y’s
ecos
yste
m. A
t on
e ti
me,
th
ere
wer
e so
ma
ny
oyst
ers
tha
t th
ey
cou
ld c
lea
n, o
r fil
ter,
the
wh
ole
ba
y in
a w
eek.
Fis
h s
uch
as
sha
d,
wh
ich
use
d t
o m
igra
te fa
r u
pst
rea
m, a
re n
ow fe
w in
nu
mb
er
du
e to
pol
luti
on, o
verfi
shin
g a
nd
d
am
s th
at
blo
ck s
paw
nin
g st
rea
ms.
Sew
age
tre
atm
ent
pla
nts
are
gr
ad
ua
lly u
pgr
ad
ing
by
ad
din
g ex
tra
ste
ps
to t
hei
r n
utr
ien
t-re
mo
val p
roce
ss.
✚ C
omp
ost
you
r ki
tch
en s
cra
ps,
ra
ther
th
an
sen
din
g th
em
dow
n t
he
dis
pos
al.
✚ D
on’t
pou
r ch
emic
als
an
d
med
icin
es d
own
th
e d
rain
. U
se n
atu
ral c
lea
nse
rs.
✚ R
edu
ce y
our
wa
stew
ate
rb
y ta
kin
g sh
orte
r sh
ower
s.Fl
ush
th
e to
ilet
less
o�
en,
follo
win
g th
is r
ule
:
If it’
s ye
llow
, let
it m
ello
w.
If it’
s br
own,
flus
h it
dow
n.
Cle
an
, alt
ern
ati
ve e
ne
rgy
sou
rce
s, s
uch
as
win
d a
nd
sol
ar
pow
er, a
re m
ore
ava
ilab
le.
✚ T
urn
o�
TVs,
ligh
ts a
nd
com
pute
rs.
✚ T
rave
l by
bik
e, w
alk
or
take
pu
blic
tra
nsp
orta
tion
.
✚ E
nco
ura
ge y
our
pa
ren
ts t
o u
se
ener
gy-e
�ci
ent
veh
icle
s.
✚ G
et y
our
sch
ool t
o b
ecom
ea
“gr
een
sch
ool.”
Livi
ng
clo
se t
o w
ork
or
sch
oo
l re
du
ces
air
pol
luti
on (l
ess
dri
vin
g).
Ru
no�
is r
edu
ced
by
usi
ng
gre
en
ro
ofs
, pa
vem
en
t th
at
lets
wa
ter
thro
ug
h a
nd
ra
in g
ard
en
s.
✚ G
et y
our
fam
ily o
r sc
hoo
l to
bu
ilda
“ra
in g
ard
en”
tha
t ca
ptu
res
run
o� fr
om d
own
spou
ts, k
eep
ing
it o
ut
of s
torm
dra
ins
an
d c
reek
s.
✚ P
lan
t m
ore
pla
nts
at
hom
e or
sc
hoo
l to
ab
sorb
ru
no�
.
✚ T
ake
th
e ca
r to
a c
ar
wa
sh.
�ey
are
req
uir
ed t
o cl
ean
an
d
recy
cle
thei
r w
ate
r.
Wel
l-ma
na
ged
farm
s a
re e
xcel
len
t fil
ters
, soa
kin
g u
p r
ain
wa
ter
like
a
spon
ge a
nd
filt
erin
g ou
t se
dim
ents
a
nd
pol
luta
nts
. Cro
ps
can
be
grow
n
wit
ho
ut
plo
win
g t
he
so
il. F
arm
a
nim
als
ro
tate
d t
hro
ugh
a s
erie
sof
pa
stu
res
allo
w g
raze
d la
nd
sto
rec
over
qu
ickl
y.
✚ F
ind
ou
t w
her
e yo
ur
food
com
es
from
an
d h
ow it
is r
aise
d. G
et y
our
sc
hoo
l to
set
up
a v
eget
able
gar
den
.
✚ B
uy
pro
du
ce a
t lo
cal f
arm
ers
m
ark
ets.
Org
an
ica
lly g
row
n fo
ods
u
se n
o p
ollu
tin
g p
esti
cid
es.
✚ If
you
ea
t m
eat,
ma
ke s
ure
it
is p
ast
ure
-fed
.
De
ad
zo
ne
s ar
e ca
used
by
exce
ss n
utri
ents
(nit
roge
n a
nd
ph
osph
orus
), w
hic
h r
esul
t in
den
se a
lgae
blo
oms,
wh
ich
blo
ck o
ut s
unlig
ht
and
sev
erel
y d
eple
te o
xyge
n d
isso
lved
in t
he
wat
er, m
akin
g it
dea
dly
for
bay
life.
Str
ipe
d b
ass
, or
rock
fish
, th
ough
abu
nd
ant
in n
umbe
r, h
ave
rece
ntl
y be
en o
bser
ved
to
be
und
erw
eigh
t, s
ome
hav
ing
open
sor
es. �
is m
ay
be b
ecau
se t
hei
r fa
vori
te fo
od,
a sm
all fi
sh c
alle
d m
en
ha
de
n,
is b
ein
g h
eavi
ly fi
shed
in t
he
low
er b
ay.
Blu
e c
rab
s se
em a
bun
dan
t n
ow, a
lth
ough
sci
enti
sts
are
still
co
nce
rned
abo
ut t
he
num
bers
of f
emal
es. C
rabs
nee
d t
he
safe
tyof
th
e ba
y’s
und
erw
ater
gra
ss b
eds
as a
hid
ing
plac
e w
hen
th
eyar
e so
� o
r yo
ung
and
vul
ner
able
.
Bay
gra
sse
s re
duc
e sh
orel
ine
eros
ion
, pro
vid
e ox
ygen
to
the
wat
er,
colle
ct s
edim
ent
and
cre
ate
prot
ec-
tive
cov
er fo
r yo
ung
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
sh
rim
p.
Oys
ter
ree
fs p
rovi
de
hab
itat
for
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
smal
l in
vert
ebra
tes.
Eac
h
oyst
er c
an fi
lter
abo
ut 5
0 g
allo
ns
of w
ater
a d
ay, c
lean
ing
the
bay.
A h
ea
lth
y b
ay w
ould
be
fille
d w
ith
cle
an, c
lear
wat
er s
uppo
rtin
g a
food
web
th
at b
egin
s w
ith
pla
nkt
on (p
lan
t an
d a
nim
al m
icro
orga
nis
ms)
th
at
sust
ain
s sm
all fi
sh a
nd
inve
rteb
rate
s, w
hic
h a
re e
aten
by
larg
er fi
sh p
reye
d u
pon
by
bird
s an
d m
amm
als.
A b
alan
ced
eco
syst
em a
nd
sus
tain
able
fis
hin
g in
dus
try
coul
d s
uppo
rt p
eopl
e fo
r ge
ner
atio
ns
to c
ome.
մեe
aili
ng
bay
is c
hal
len
ged
by
incr
easi
ng
popu
lati
on a
nd
dev
elop
men
t, e
xces
sive
pol
luti
on a
nd
sed
imen
t, o
verfi
shin
g an
d t
he
maj
or lo
ss o
f fo
rest
s an
d w
etla
nd
s th
at o
nce
filt
ered
wat
er fl
owin
g in
to it
s ri
vers
an
d s
trea
ms.
A b
ay w
ith
exh
aust
ed r
esou
rces
can
not
sus
tain
th
e jo
bs o
f peo
ple
wh
o m
ake
thei
r liv
ing
from
th
e C
hes
apea
ke's
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
oth
er r
esou
rces
.
Exc
ess
se
dim
en
ts c
loud
th
e w
ater
, ove
rwh
elm
ing
oyst
ers
and
mak
ing
it d
i�cu
lt fo
r un
der
wat
er v
eget
atio
n t
o gr
ow.
Wit
hou
t ba
y gr
asse
s, t
he
wat
er h
as le
ss o
xyge
n a
nd
you
ng
fish
an
d c
rabs
hav
e n
owh
ere
to h
ide
from
pre
dat
ors.
Mow
ing
gras
s cl
ose
to t
he
grou
nd
red
uces
th
e ab
ility
of t
he
grou
nd
to
soak
up
and
filt
er r
ain
wat
er. P
esti
cid
es,
fert
ilize
rs a
nd
pet
was
te e
ven
tual
ly r
un o
� in
to t
he
bay,
cre
atin
g a
pollu
tion
pro
blem
. Gas
m
ower
s, w
eed
wh
acke
rs a
nd
leaf
blo
wer
s re
leas
e 10
tim
es t
he
pollu
tion
of a
car
run
nin
g fo
r th
e sa
me
amou
nt
of t
ime.
Wh
en E
urop
ean
col
onis
ts a
rriv
ed in
th
e 16
00
s, t
hey
set
tled
by
the
bay,
fish
ed t
he
wat
ers
and
cut
dow
n fo
rest
sto
cle
ar la
nd
for
farm
ing.
As
citi
es g
rew
an
d t
he
hum
an p
opul
atio
n in
crea
sed
, th
e ba
y be
cam
e po
llute
d a
nd
dep
lete
d.
�e
bay
was
at
its
sick
est
in t
he
198
0s.
Abo
ut 8
0 p
erce
nt
of it
s un
der
wat
er g
rass
es h
ad d
isap
pear
ed a
nd
98
per
cen
t of
its
oyst
ers
wer
e go
ne.
Sin
ce t
hen
, en
viro
nm
enta
l law
s an
d e
�or
ts t
o re
stor
e th
e ba
y’s
hea
lth
are
slo
wly
impr
ovin
g it
s ch
ance
s.
Non
-nat
ive
Ph
rag
mit
es
reed
sA
lgae
blo
omT
idal
wet
lan
ds
Win
d an
d so
lar
pow
er
Hig
h-de
nsi
tyho
usi
ng
Chi
cken
trac
tor
No-
till
cro
ps
Fa
rmer
s m
arke
tPa
stu
re-f
ed a
nim
als
Farm
an
imal
s d
enie
d a
cces
s to
str
eam
Fore
sted
bu
�er
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt w
ith
adde
d n
utr
ien
t-re
mov
al s
yste
ms
Cra
bha
rves
tin
g
Subm
erge
d ba
y gr
asse
s
Men
hade
n
Stri
ped
bass
Con
cen
trat
ed a
nim
al
feed
ing
oper
atio
ns
Til
lin
g th
e so
il
Gro
win
g su
burb
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt
Men
hade
nfis
hin
g
Coa
l-fir
ed
pow
er p
lan
t
✚ S
kip
the
fert
ilize
r an
d le
arn
to
enjo
y a
few
wee
ds
in t
he
law
n. S
ome,
suc
h a
s cl
over
, are
goo
d fo
r th
e so
il.✚
Com
post
you
r le
aves
. ✚ M
ow h
igh
wit
h a
pus
h m
ower
to
allo
w g
rass
to
build
a be
tter
roo
t sy
stem
th
at w
ill a
bsor
b an
d fi
lter
wat
er. ✚
Pla
nt
nat
ive
plan
ts. ✚
Pic
k up
a�
er y
our
pet.
SOURCES: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Program TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION BY PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST
You
dri
ve a
cro
ss it
on
th
e w
ay t
o t
he
be
ach
, bu
t h
ave
yo
u e
ver
rea
lly t
ho
ugh
t a
bo
ut
this
am
azi
ng
nat
ura
l re
sou
rce
?
EXC
ES
S N
UTR
IEN
TS
CO
NTA
MIN
AN
TS
SED
IMENTS
Bio
logi
sts
are
try
ing
to h
elp
oys
ters
re
turn
to
the
ba
y w
ith
ha
tch
eri
es
tha
t in
trod
uce
you
ng
oyst
ers
to t
he
ba
y. L
imit
s h
ave
bee
n s
et o
n t
he
ha
rves
t of
men
ha
den
, a fi
sh t
ha
t ea
ts p
lan
kton
(filt
erin
g th
e b
ay
like
oyst
ers
do)
an
d is
itse
lf ea
ten
by
big
ger
fish
. Blu
e cr
ab
nu
mb
ers
hav
e im
pro
ved
dra
ma
tica
lly d
ue
to r
egu
lati
ons
on t
he
ha
rves
tof
fem
ale
cra
bs.
✚ S
tay
out
of b
ay-
gra
ss b
eds
in
sh
allo
w w
ate
rs.
✚ A
void
usi
ng
law
n fe
rtili
zers
.
✚ U
se p
rop
er c
atc
h-a
nd
-rel
ease
fis
hin
g m
eth
ods.
✚ H
OW
YO
U C
AN
HE
LP
YOU
R Y
AR
DYO
UR
YA
RD
The
Ches
apea
ke B
ayProblem
sA
GR
ICU
LTU
RE
DE
VE
LOP
ME
NT
WA
STE
WA
TER
WA
STE
WA
TER
AIR
PO
LLU
TIO
NF
ISH
ER
IES
AG
RIC
ULT
UR
ED
EV
ELO
PM
EN
TA
IR P
OL
LUTI
ON
FIS
HE
RIE
S
Solutions
Estu
arie
s (w
her
e ri
vers
mee
t oc
ean
s) a
re s
ome
of t
he
mos
t pr
oduc
tive
hab
itat
s. �
e C
hes
apea
ke is
Nor
th A
mer
ica’
s la
rges
t es
tuar
y an
d t
he
wor
ld’s
th
ird
-larg
est.
• H
alf a
billi
on p
oun
ds
of s
eafo
od a
re h
arve
sted
from
th
e ba
y ev
ery
year
. • 1
50
riv
ers
from
six
sta
tes
and
Was
hin
gton
, D.C
., d
rain
into
th
e ba
y. •
17
mill
ion
peo
ple
live
wit
hin
th
e ar
ea
dra
ined
by
the
bay.
• O
n a
vera
ge, t
he
bay
is a
bout
21
feet
dee
p, b
ut a
dee
p ch
ann
el r
uns
thro
ugh
th
e m
idd
le —
th
e tr
ace
of a
pre
his
tori
c S
usqu
ehan
na
Riv
er. •
Nat
ive
Amer
ican
s ca
lled
th
e ba
y “T
sch
isw
apek
i,” o
r “g
reat
sh
ellfi
sh b
ay.”
• �
e ba
y is
20
0 m
iles
lon
g an
d, a
t it
s w
ides
t, 3
0 m
iles
acro
ss. •
It h
old
s 15
tri
llion
gal
lon
s of
wat
er.
Farm
ing
wit
hou
t co
nse
rva
tion
p
ract
ices
ca
n p
ollu
te t
he
ba
y w
ith
•
sed
ime
nts
from
fiel
ds
plo
wed
fo
r ro
w c
rop
s su
ch a
s co
rn a
nd
from
farm
an
ima
ls w
ad
ing
th
rou
gh s
trea
ms,
• n
itro
gen
an
d p
ho
sph
oru
s
from
an
ima
l wa
ste
an
d fe
rtili
zers
n
ot u
sed
by
crop
s,•
germ
s fr
om fa
rm a
nim
als
,
• p
est
icid
es
an
d h
erb
icid
es
u
sed
to
kill
bu
gs a
nd
wee
ds.
�e
bu
ildin
g of
su
bu
rbs
on w
ha
t w
as
once
farm
s a
nd
fore
sts
rem
oves
th
e tr
ees
an
d o
ther
p
lan
ts t
ha
t h
elp
kee
p t
he
air
a
nd
wa
ter
clea
n. R
ain
wa
ter
run
s q
uic
kly
o� r
oa
ds,
ro
ofs
an
d
pa
rkin
g lo
ts, e
rod
ing
the
lan
d
an
d c
arr
yin
g se
dim
ents
an
d
pol
luti
on in
to t
he
ba
y. W
ildlif
e h
ab
ita
ts a
re b
roke
n u
p, a
nd
w
eed
y, n
onn
ati
ve p
lan
ts m
ove
in. A
ir p
ollu
tion
incr
ease
sa
s p
eop
le d
rive
mor
e.
Ab
out
a t
hir
d o
f th
e n
itro
gen
p
ollu
tin
g th
e b
ay
com
es fr
om
chem
ica
ls in
th
e a
ir p
rod
uce
d b
y p
ow
er
pla
nts
, fa
cto
rie
s, m
oto
rs
an
d a
nim
al f
arm
s. P
ollu
tan
ts
dis
solv
e in
ra
in o
r sn
ow o
r th
ey fa
ll d
irec
tly
into
th
e b
ay.
�ey
als
o fa
ll to
th
e gr
oun
d w
her
e th
ey a
re
wa
shed
into
loca
l w
ate
rwa
ys.
Alt
hou
gh s
ew
age
tre
atm
en
t p
lan
ts a
re e
�ec
tive
at
rem
ovin
g m
uch
of t
he
nit
roge
n fr
om
wa
stew
ate
r, si
gnifi
can
t a
mou
nts
of h
arm
ful n
utr
ien
ts s
till
get
into
th
e b
ay,
kill
ing
o� p
lan
ts a
nd
a
nim
als
. Ou
r vi
tam
ins
an
d
med
icin
es c
an
’t b
e re
mov
ed b
y th
e tr
eatm
ent
pla
nts
an
d
pa
ss t
hro
ugh
th
e sy
stem
in
to t
he
ba
y.
Peo
ple
love
to
eat
the
cra
bs,
fish
a
nd
oys
ters
from
th
e b
ay.
Bu
t ta
kin
g to
o m
an
y of
th
em fr
om t
he
ba
y —
th
at’s
ca
lled
ove
rha
rve
st-
ing
— h
arm
s th
e b
ala
nce
of t
he
ba
y’s
ecos
yste
m. A
t on
e ti
me,
th
ere
wer
e so
ma
ny
oyst
ers
tha
t th
ey
cou
ld c
lea
n, o
r fil
ter,
the
wh
ole
ba
y in
a w
eek.
Fis
h s
uch
as
sha
d,
wh
ich
use
d t
o m
igra
te fa
r u
pst
rea
m, a
re n
ow fe
w in
nu
mb
er
du
e to
pol
luti
on, o
verfi
shin
g a
nd
d
am
s th
at
blo
ck s
paw
nin
g st
rea
ms.
Sew
age
tre
atm
ent
pla
nts
are
gr
ad
ua
lly u
pgr
ad
ing
by
ad
din
g ex
tra
ste
ps
to t
hei
r n
utr
ien
t-re
mo
val p
roce
ss.
✚ C
omp
ost
you
r ki
tch
en s
cra
ps,
ra
ther
th
an
sen
din
g th
em
dow
n t
he
dis
pos
al.
✚ D
on’t
pou
r ch
emic
als
an
d
med
icin
es d
own
th
e d
rain
. U
se n
atu
ral c
lea
nse
rs.
✚ R
edu
ce y
our
wa
stew
ate
rb
y ta
kin
g sh
orte
r sh
ower
s.Fl
ush
th
e to
ilet
less
o�
en,
follo
win
g th
is r
ule
:
If it’
s ye
llow
, let
it m
ello
w.
If it’
s br
own,
flus
h it
dow
n.
Cle
an
, alt
ern
ati
ve e
ne
rgy
sou
rce
s, s
uch
as
win
d a
nd
sol
ar
pow
er, a
re m
ore
ava
ilab
le.
✚ T
urn
o�
TVs,
ligh
ts a
nd
com
pute
rs.
✚ T
rave
l by
bik
e, w
alk
or
take
pu
blic
tra
nsp
orta
tion
.
✚ E
nco
ura
ge y
our
pa
ren
ts t
o u
se
ener
gy-e
�ci
ent
veh
icle
s.
✚ G
et y
our
sch
ool t
o b
ecom
ea
“gr
een
sch
ool.”
Livi
ng
clo
se t
o w
ork
or
sch
oo
l re
du
ces
air
pol
luti
on (l
ess
dri
vin
g).
Ru
no�
is r
edu
ced
by
usi
ng
gre
en
ro
ofs
, pa
vem
en
t th
at
lets
wa
ter
thro
ug
h a
nd
ra
in g
ard
en
s.
✚ G
et y
our
fam
ily o
r sc
hoo
l to
bu
ilda
“ra
in g
ard
en”
tha
t ca
ptu
res
run
o� fr
om d
own
spou
ts, k
eep
ing
it o
ut
of s
torm
dra
ins
an
d c
reek
s.
✚ P
lan
t m
ore
pla
nts
at
hom
e or
sc
hoo
l to
ab
sorb
ru
no�
.
✚ T
ake
th
e ca
r to
a c
ar
wa
sh.
�ey
are
req
uir
ed t
o cl
ean
an
d
recy
cle
thei
r w
ate
r.
Wel
l-ma
na
ged
farm
s a
re e
xcel
len
t fil
ters
, soa
kin
g u
p r
ain
wa
ter
like
a
spon
ge a
nd
filt
erin
g ou
t se
dim
ents
a
nd
pol
luta
nts
. Cro
ps
can
be
grow
n
wit
ho
ut
plo
win
g t
he
so
il. F
arm
a
nim
als
ro
tate
d t
hro
ugh
a s
erie
sof
pa
stu
res
allo
w g
raze
d la
nd
sto
rec
over
qu
ickl
y.
✚ F
ind
ou
t w
her
e yo
ur
food
com
es
from
an
d h
ow it
is r
aise
d. G
et y
our
sc
hoo
l to
set
up
a v
eget
able
gar
den
.
✚ B
uy
pro
du
ce a
t lo
cal f
arm
ers
m
ark
ets.
Org
an
ica
lly g
row
n fo
ods
u
se n
o p
ollu
tin
g p
esti
cid
es.
✚ If
you
ea
t m
eat,
ma
ke s
ure
it
is p
ast
ure
-fed
.
De
ad
zo
ne
s ar
e ca
used
by
exce
ss n
utri
ents
(nit
roge
n a
nd
ph
osph
orus
), w
hic
h r
esul
t in
den
se a
lgae
blo
oms,
wh
ich
blo
ck o
ut s
unlig
ht
and
sev
erel
y d
eple
te o
xyge
n d
isso
lved
in t
he
wat
er, m
akin
g it
dea
dly
for
bay
life.
Str
ipe
d b
ass
, or
rock
fish
, th
ough
abu
nd
ant
in n
umbe
r, h
ave
rece
ntl
y be
en o
bser
ved
to
be
und
erw
eigh
t, s
ome
hav
ing
open
sor
es. �
is m
ay
be b
ecau
se t
hei
r fa
vori
te fo
od,
a sm
all fi
sh c
alle
d m
en
ha
de
n,
is b
ein
g h
eavi
ly fi
shed
in t
he
low
er b
ay.
Blu
e c
rab
s se
em a
bun
dan
t n
ow, a
lth
ough
sci
enti
sts
are
still
co
nce
rned
abo
ut t
he
num
bers
of f
emal
es. C
rabs
nee
d t
he
safe
tyof
th
e ba
y’s
und
erw
ater
gra
ss b
eds
as a
hid
ing
plac
e w
hen
th
eyar
e so
� o
r yo
ung
and
vul
ner
able
.
Bay
gra
sse
s re
duc
e sh
orel
ine
eros
ion
, pro
vid
e ox
ygen
to
the
wat
er,
colle
ct s
edim
ent
and
cre
ate
prot
ec-
tive
cov
er fo
r yo
ung
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
sh
rim
p.
Oys
ter
ree
fs p
rovi
de
hab
itat
for
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
smal
l in
vert
ebra
tes.
Eac
h
oyst
er c
an fi
lter
abo
ut 5
0 g
allo
ns
of w
ater
a d
ay, c
lean
ing
the
bay.
A h
ea
lth
y b
ay w
ould
be
fille
d w
ith
cle
an, c
lear
wat
er s
uppo
rtin
g a
food
web
th
at b
egin
s w
ith
pla
nkt
on (p
lan
t an
d a
nim
al m
icro
orga
nis
ms)
th
at
sust
ain
s sm
all fi
sh a
nd
inve
rteb
rate
s, w
hic
h a
re e
aten
by
larg
er fi
sh p
reye
d u
pon
by
bird
s an
d m
amm
als.
A b
alan
ced
eco
syst
em a
nd
sus
tain
able
fis
hin
g in
dus
try
coul
d s
uppo
rt p
eopl
e fo
r ge
ner
atio
ns
to c
ome.
մեe
aili
ng
bay
is c
hal
len
ged
by
incr
easi
ng
popu
lati
on a
nd
dev
elop
men
t, e
xces
sive
pol
luti
on a
nd
sed
imen
t, o
verfi
shin
g an
d t
he
maj
or lo
ss o
f fo
rest
s an
d w
etla
nd
s th
at o
nce
filt
ered
wat
er fl
owin
g in
to it
s ri
vers
an
d s
trea
ms.
A b
ay w
ith
exh
aust
ed r
esou
rces
can
not
sus
tain
th
e jo
bs o
f peo
ple
wh
o m
ake
thei
r liv
ing
from
th
e C
hes
apea
ke's
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
oth
er r
esou
rces
.
Exc
ess
se
dim
en
ts c
loud
th
e w
ater
, ove
rwh
elm
ing
oyst
ers
and
mak
ing
it d
i�cu
lt fo
r un
der
wat
er v
eget
atio
n t
o gr
ow.
Wit
hou
t ba
y gr
asse
s, t
he
wat
er h
as le
ss o
xyge
n a
nd
you
ng
fish
an
d c
rabs
hav
e n
owh
ere
to h
ide
from
pre
dat
ors.
Mow
ing
gras
s cl
ose
to t
he
grou
nd
red
uces
th
e ab
ility
of t
he
grou
nd
to
soak
up
and
filt
er r
ain
wat
er. P
esti
cid
es,
fert
ilize
rs a
nd
pet
was
te e
ven
tual
ly r
un o
� in
to t
he
bay,
cre
atin
g a
pollu
tion
pro
blem
. Gas
m
ower
s, w
eed
wh
acke
rs a
nd
leaf
blo
wer
s re
leas
e 10
tim
es t
he
pollu
tion
of a
car
run
nin
g fo
r th
e sa
me
amou
nt
of t
ime.
Wh
en E
urop
ean
col
onis
ts a
rriv
ed in
th
e 16
00
s, t
hey
set
tled
by
the
bay,
fish
ed t
he
wat
ers
and
cut
dow
n fo
rest
sto
cle
ar la
nd
for
farm
ing.
As
citi
es g
rew
an
d t
he
hum
an p
opul
atio
n in
crea
sed
, th
e ba
y be
cam
e po
llute
d a
nd
dep
lete
d.
�e
bay
was
at
its
sick
est
in t
he
198
0s.
Abo
ut 8
0 p
erce
nt
of it
s un
der
wat
er g
rass
es h
ad d
isap
pear
ed a
nd
98
per
cen
t of
its
oyst
ers
wer
e go
ne.
Sin
ce t
hen
, en
viro
nm
enta
l law
s an
d e
�or
ts t
o re
stor
e th
e ba
y’s
hea
lth
are
slo
wly
impr
ovin
g it
s ch
ance
s.
Non
-nat
ive
Ph
rag
mit
es
reed
sA
lgae
blo
omT
idal
wet
lan
ds
Win
d an
d so
lar
pow
er
Hig
h-de
nsi
tyho
usi
ng
Chi
cken
trac
tor
No-
till
cro
ps
Fa
rmer
s m
arke
tPa
stu
re-f
ed a
nim
als
Farm
an
imal
s d
enie
d a
cces
s to
str
eam
Fore
sted
bu
�er
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt w
ith
adde
d n
utr
ien
t-re
mov
al s
yste
ms
Cra
bha
rves
tin
g
Subm
erge
d ba
y gr
asse
s
Men
hade
n
Stri
ped
bass
Con
cen
trat
ed a
nim
al
feed
ing
oper
atio
ns
Til
lin
g th
e so
il
Gro
win
g su
burb
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt
Men
hade
nfis
hin
g
Coa
l-fir
ed
pow
er p
lan
t
✚ S
kip
the
fert
ilize
r an
d le
arn
to
enjo
y a
few
wee
ds
in t
he
law
n. S
ome,
suc
h a
s cl
over
, are
goo
d fo
r th
e so
il.✚
Com
post
you
r le
aves
. ✚ M
ow h
igh
wit
h a
pus
h m
ower
to
allo
w g
rass
to
build
a be
tter
roo
t sy
stem
th
at w
ill a
bsor
b an
d fi
lter
wat
er. ✚
Pla
nt
nat
ive
plan
ts. ✚
Pic
k up
a�
er y
our
pet.
SOURCES: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Program TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION BY PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST
You
dri
ve a
cro
ss it
on
th
e w
ay t
o t
he
be
ach
, bu
t h
ave
yo
u e
ver
rea
lly t
ho
ugh
t a
bo
ut
this
am
azi
ng
nat
ura
l re
sou
rce
?
EXC
ES
S N
UTR
IEN
TS
CO
NTA
MIN
AN
TS
SED
IMENTS
Bio
logi
sts
are
try
ing
to h
elp
oys
ters
re
turn
to
the
ba
y w
ith
ha
tch
eri
es
tha
t in
trod
uce
you
ng
oyst
ers
to t
he
ba
y. L
imit
s h
ave
bee
n s
et o
n t
he
ha
rves
t of
men
ha
den
, a fi
sh t
ha
t ea
ts p
lan
kton
(filt
erin
g th
e b
ay
like
oyst
ers
do)
an
d is
itse
lf ea
ten
by
big
ger
fish
. Blu
e cr
ab
nu
mb
ers
hav
e im
pro
ved
dra
ma
tica
lly d
ue
to r
egu
lati
ons
on t
he
ha
rves
tof
fem
ale
cra
bs.
✚ S
tay
out
of b
ay-
gra
ss b
eds
in
sh
allo
w w
ate
rs.
✚ A
void
usi
ng
law
n fe
rtili
zers
.
✚ U
se p
rop
er c
atc
h-a
nd
-rel
ease
fis
hin
g m
eth
ods.
✚ H
OW
YO
U C
AN
HE
LP
YOU
R Y
AR
DYO
UR
YA
RD
The
Ches
apea
ke B
ayProblem
sA
GR
ICU
LTU
RE
DE
VE
LOP
ME
NT
WA
STE
WA
TER
WA
STE
WA
TER
AIR
PO
LLU
TIO
NF
ISH
ER
IES
AG
RIC
ULT
UR
ED
EV
ELO
PM
EN
TA
IR P
OL
LUTI
ON
FIS
HE
RIE
S
Solutions
Estu
arie
s (w
her
e ri
vers
mee
t oc
ean
s) a
re s
ome
of t
he
mos
t pr
oduc
tive
hab
itat
s. �
e C
hes
apea
ke is
Nor
th A
mer
ica’
s la
rges
t es
tuar
y an
d t
he
wor
ld’s
th
ird
-larg
est.
• H
alf a
billi
on p
oun
ds
of s
eafo
od a
re h
arve
sted
from
th
e ba
y ev
ery
year
. • 1
50
riv
ers
from
six
sta
tes
and
Was
hin
gton
, D.C
., d
rain
into
th
e ba
y. •
17
mill
ion
peo
ple
live
wit
hin
th
e ar
ea
dra
ined
by
the
bay.
• O
n a
vera
ge, t
he
bay
is a
bout
21
feet
dee
p, b
ut a
dee
p ch
ann
el r
uns
thro
ugh
th
e m
idd
le —
th
e tr
ace
of a
pre
his
tori
c S
usqu
ehan
na
Riv
er. •
Nat
ive
Amer
ican
s ca
lled
th
e ba
y “T
sch
isw
apek
i,” o
r “g
reat
sh
ellfi
sh b
ay.”
• �
e ba
y is
20
0 m
iles
lon
g an
d, a
t it
s w
ides
t, 3
0 m
iles
acro
ss. •
It h
old
s 15
tri
llion
gal
lon
s of
wat
er.
Farm
ing
wit
hou
t co
nse
rva
tion
p
ract
ices
ca
n p
ollu
te t
he
ba
y w
ith
•
sed
ime
nts
from
fiel
ds
plo
wed
fo
r ro
w c
rop
s su
ch a
s co
rn a
nd
from
farm
an
ima
ls w
ad
ing
th
rou
gh s
trea
ms,
• n
itro
gen
an
d p
ho
sph
oru
s
from
an
ima
l wa
ste
an
d fe
rtili
zers
n
ot u
sed
by
crop
s,•
germ
s fr
om fa
rm a
nim
als
,
• p
est
icid
es
an
d h
erb
icid
es
u
sed
to
kill
bu
gs a
nd
wee
ds.
�e
bu
ildin
g of
su
bu
rbs
on w
ha
t w
as
once
farm
s a
nd
fore
sts
rem
oves
th
e tr
ees
an
d o
ther
p
lan
ts t
ha
t h
elp
kee
p t
he
air
a
nd
wa
ter
clea
n. R
ain
wa
ter
run
s q
uic
kly
o� r
oa
ds,
ro
ofs
an
d
pa
rkin
g lo
ts, e
rod
ing
the
lan
d
an
d c
arr
yin
g se
dim
ents
an
d
pol
luti
on in
to t
he
ba
y. W
ildlif
e h
ab
ita
ts a
re b
roke
n u
p, a
nd
w
eed
y, n
onn
ati
ve p
lan
ts m
ove
in. A
ir p
ollu
tion
incr
ease
sa
s p
eop
le d
rive
mor
e.
Ab
out
a t
hir
d o
f th
e n
itro
gen
p
ollu
tin
g th
e b
ay
com
es fr
om
chem
ica
ls in
th
e a
ir p
rod
uce
d b
y p
ow
er
pla
nts
, fa
cto
rie
s, m
oto
rs
an
d a
nim
al f
arm
s. P
ollu
tan
ts
dis
solv
e in
ra
in o
r sn
ow o
r th
ey fa
ll d
irec
tly
into
th
e b
ay.
�ey
als
o fa
ll to
th
e gr
oun
d w
her
e th
ey a
re
wa
shed
into
loca
l w
ate
rwa
ys.
Alt
hou
gh s
ew
age
tre
atm
en
t p
lan
ts a
re e
�ec
tive
at
rem
ovin
g m
uch
of t
he
nit
roge
n fr
om
wa
stew
ate
r, si
gnifi
can
t a
mou
nts
of h
arm
ful n
utr
ien
ts s
till
get
into
th
e b
ay,
kill
ing
o� p
lan
ts a
nd
a
nim
als
. Ou
r vi
tam
ins
an
d
med
icin
es c
an
’t b
e re
mov
ed b
y th
e tr
eatm
ent
pla
nts
an
d
pa
ss t
hro
ugh
th
e sy
stem
in
to t
he
ba
y.
Peo
ple
love
to
eat
the
cra
bs,
fish
a
nd
oys
ters
from
th
e b
ay.
Bu
t ta
kin
g to
o m
an
y of
th
em fr
om t
he
ba
y —
th
at’s
ca
lled
ove
rha
rve
st-
ing
— h
arm
s th
e b
ala
nce
of t
he
ba
y’s
ecos
yste
m. A
t on
e ti
me,
th
ere
wer
e so
ma
ny
oyst
ers
tha
t th
ey
cou
ld c
lea
n, o
r fil
ter,
the
wh
ole
ba
y in
a w
eek.
Fis
h s
uch
as
sha
d,
wh
ich
use
d t
o m
igra
te fa
r u
pst
rea
m, a
re n
ow fe
w in
nu
mb
er
du
e to
pol
luti
on, o
verfi
shin
g a
nd
d
am
s th
at
blo
ck s
paw
nin
g st
rea
ms.
Sew
age
tre
atm
ent
pla
nts
are
gr
ad
ua
lly u
pgr
ad
ing
by
ad
din
g ex
tra
ste
ps
to t
hei
r n
utr
ien
t-re
mo
val p
roce
ss.
✚ C
omp
ost
you
r ki
tch
en s
cra
ps,
ra
ther
th
an
sen
din
g th
em
dow
n t
he
dis
pos
al.
✚ D
on’t
pou
r ch
emic
als
an
d
med
icin
es d
own
th
e d
rain
. U
se n
atu
ral c
lea
nse
rs.
✚ R
edu
ce y
our
wa
stew
ate
rb
y ta
kin
g sh
orte
r sh
ower
s.Fl
ush
th
e to
ilet
less
o�
en,
follo
win
g th
is r
ule
:
If it’
s ye
llow
, let
it m
ello
w.
If it’
s br
own,
flus
h it
dow
n.
Cle
an
, alt
ern
ati
ve e
ne
rgy
sou
rce
s, s
uch
as
win
d a
nd
sol
ar
pow
er, a
re m
ore
ava
ilab
le.
✚ T
urn
o�
TVs,
ligh
ts a
nd
com
pute
rs.
✚ T
rave
l by
bik
e, w
alk
or
take
pu
blic
tra
nsp
orta
tion
.
✚ E
nco
ura
ge y
our
pa
ren
ts t
o u
se
ener
gy-e
�ci
ent
veh
icle
s.
✚ G
et y
our
sch
ool t
o b
ecom
ea
“gr
een
sch
ool.”
Livi
ng
clo
se t
o w
ork
or
sch
oo
l re
du
ces
air
pol
luti
on (l
ess
dri
vin
g).
Ru
no�
is r
edu
ced
by
usi
ng
gre
en
ro
ofs
, pa
vem
en
t th
at
lets
wa
ter
thro
ug
h a
nd
ra
in g
ard
en
s.
✚ G
et y
our
fam
ily o
r sc
hoo
l to
bu
ilda
“ra
in g
ard
en”
tha
t ca
ptu
res
run
o� fr
om d
own
spou
ts, k
eep
ing
it o
ut
of s
torm
dra
ins
an
d c
reek
s.
✚ P
lan
t m
ore
pla
nts
at
hom
e or
sc
hoo
l to
ab
sorb
ru
no�
.
✚ T
ake
th
e ca
r to
a c
ar
wa
sh.
�ey
are
req
uir
ed t
o cl
ean
an
d
recy
cle
thei
r w
ate
r.
Wel
l-ma
na
ged
farm
s a
re e
xcel
len
t fil
ters
, soa
kin
g u
p r
ain
wa
ter
like
a
spon
ge a
nd
filt
erin
g ou
t se
dim
ents
a
nd
pol
luta
nts
. Cro
ps
can
be
grow
n
wit
ho
ut
plo
win
g t
he
so
il. F
arm
a
nim
als
ro
tate
d t
hro
ugh
a s
erie
sof
pa
stu
res
allo
w g
raze
d la
nd
sto
rec
over
qu
ickl
y.
✚ F
ind
ou
t w
her
e yo
ur
food
com
es
from
an
d h
ow it
is r
aise
d. G
et y
our
sc
hoo
l to
set
up
a v
eget
able
gar
den
.
✚ B
uy
pro
du
ce a
t lo
cal f
arm
ers
m
ark
ets.
Org
an
ica
lly g
row
n fo
ods
u
se n
o p
ollu
tin
g p
esti
cid
es.
✚ If
you
ea
t m
eat,
ma
ke s
ure
it
is p
ast
ure
-fed
.
De
ad
zo
ne
s ar
e ca
used
by
exce
ss n
utri
ents
(nit
roge
n a
nd
ph
osph
orus
), w
hic
h r
esul
t in
den
se a
lgae
blo
oms,
wh
ich
blo
ck o
ut s
unlig
ht
and
sev
erel
y d
eple
te o
xyge
n d
isso
lved
in t
he
wat
er, m
akin
g it
dea
dly
for
bay
life.
Str
ipe
d b
ass
, or
rock
fish
, th
ough
abu
nd
ant
in n
umbe
r, h
ave
rece
ntl
y be
en o
bser
ved
to
be
und
erw
eigh
t, s
ome
hav
ing
open
sor
es. �
is m
ay
be b
ecau
se t
hei
r fa
vori
te fo
od,
a sm
all fi
sh c
alle
d m
en
ha
de
n,
is b
ein
g h
eavi
ly fi
shed
in t
he
low
er b
ay.
Blu
e c
rab
s se
em a
bun
dan
t n
ow, a
lth
ough
sci
enti
sts
are
still
co
nce
rned
abo
ut t
he
num
bers
of f
emal
es. C
rabs
nee
d t
he
safe
tyof
th
e ba
y’s
und
erw
ater
gra
ss b
eds
as a
hid
ing
plac
e w
hen
th
eyar
e so
� o
r yo
ung
and
vul
ner
able
.
Bay
gra
sse
s re
duc
e sh
orel
ine
eros
ion
, pro
vid
e ox
ygen
to
the
wat
er,
colle
ct s
edim
ent
and
cre
ate
prot
ec-
tive
cov
er fo
r yo
ung
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
sh
rim
p.
Oys
ter
ree
fs p
rovi
de
hab
itat
for
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
smal
l in
vert
ebra
tes.
Eac
h
oyst
er c
an fi
lter
abo
ut 5
0 g
allo
ns
of w
ater
a d
ay, c
lean
ing
the
bay.
A h
ea
lth
y b
ay w
ould
be
fille
d w
ith
cle
an, c
lear
wat
er s
uppo
rtin
g a
food
web
th
at b
egin
s w
ith
pla
nkt
on (p
lan
t an
d a
nim
al m
icro
orga
nis
ms)
th
at
sust
ain
s sm
all fi
sh a
nd
inve
rteb
rate
s, w
hic
h a
re e
aten
by
larg
er fi
sh p
reye
d u
pon
by
bird
s an
d m
amm
als.
A b
alan
ced
eco
syst
em a
nd
sus
tain
able
fis
hin
g in
dus
try
coul
d s
uppo
rt p
eopl
e fo
r ge
ner
atio
ns
to c
ome.
մեe
aili
ng
bay
is c
hal
len
ged
by
incr
easi
ng
popu
lati
on a
nd
dev
elop
men
t, e
xces
sive
pol
luti
on a
nd
sed
imen
t, o
verfi
shin
g an
d t
he
maj
or lo
ss o
f fo
rest
s an
d w
etla
nd
s th
at o
nce
filt
ered
wat
er fl
owin
g in
to it
s ri
vers
an
d s
trea
ms.
A b
ay w
ith
exh
aust
ed r
esou
rces
can
not
sus
tain
th
e jo
bs o
f peo
ple
wh
o m
ake
thei
r liv
ing
from
th
e C
hes
apea
ke's
fish
, cra
bs a
nd
oth
er r
esou
rces
.
Exc
ess
se
dim
en
ts c
loud
th
e w
ater
, ove
rwh
elm
ing
oyst
ers
and
mak
ing
it d
i�cu
lt fo
r un
der
wat
er v
eget
atio
n t
o gr
ow.
Wit
hou
t ba
y gr
asse
s, t
he
wat
er h
as le
ss o
xyge
n a
nd
you
ng
fish
an
d c
rabs
hav
e n
owh
ere
to h
ide
from
pre
dat
ors.
Mow
ing
gras
s cl
ose
to t
he
grou
nd
red
uces
th
e ab
ility
of t
he
grou
nd
to
soak
up
and
filt
er r
ain
wat
er. P
esti
cid
es,
fert
ilize
rs a
nd
pet
was
te e
ven
tual
ly r
un o
� in
to t
he
bay,
cre
atin
g a
pollu
tion
pro
blem
. Gas
m
ower
s, w
eed
wh
acke
rs a
nd
leaf
blo
wer
s re
leas
e 10
tim
es t
he
pollu
tion
of a
car
run
nin
g fo
r th
e sa
me
amou
nt
of t
ime.
Wh
en E
urop
ean
col
onis
ts a
rriv
ed in
th
e 16
00
s, t
hey
set
tled
by
the
bay,
fish
ed t
he
wat
ers
and
cut
dow
n fo
rest
sto
cle
ar la
nd
for
farm
ing.
As
citi
es g
rew
an
d t
he
hum
an p
opul
atio
n in
crea
sed
, th
e ba
y be
cam
e po
llute
d a
nd
dep
lete
d.
�e
bay
was
at
its
sick
est
in t
he
198
0s.
Abo
ut 8
0 p
erce
nt
of it
s un
der
wat
er g
rass
es h
ad d
isap
pear
ed a
nd
98
per
cen
t of
its
oyst
ers
wer
e go
ne.
Sin
ce t
hen
, en
viro
nm
enta
l law
s an
d e
�or
ts t
o re
stor
e th
e ba
y’s
hea
lth
are
slo
wly
impr
ovin
g it
s ch
ance
s.
Non
-nat
ive
Ph
rag
mit
es
reed
sA
lgae
blo
omT
idal
wet
lan
ds
Win
d an
d so
lar
pow
er
Hig
h-de
nsi
tyho
usi
ng
Chi
cken
trac
tor
No-
till
cro
ps
Fa
rmer
s m
arke
tPa
stu
re-f
ed a
nim
als
Farm
an
imal
s d
enie
d a
cces
s to
str
eam
Fore
sted
bu
�er
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt w
ith
adde
d n
utr
ien
t-re
mov
al s
yste
ms
Cra
bha
rves
tin
g
Subm
erge
d ba
y gr
asse
s
Men
hade
n
Stri
ped
bass
Con
cen
trat
ed a
nim
al
feed
ing
oper
atio
ns
Til
lin
g th
e so
il
Gro
win
g su
burb
s
Sew
age
trea
tmen
t pla
nt
Men
hade
nfis
hin
g
Coa
l-fir
ed
pow
er p
lan
t
✚ S
kip
the
fert
ilize
r an
d le
arn
to
enjo
y a
few
wee
ds
in t
he
law
n. S
ome,
suc
h a
s cl
over
, are
goo
d fo
r th
e so
il.✚
Com
post
you
r le
aves
. ✚ M
ow h
igh
wit
h a
pus
h m
ower
to
allo
w g
rass
to
build
a be
tter
roo
t sy
stem
th
at w
ill a
bsor
b an
d fi
lter
wat
er. ✚
Pla
nt
nat
ive
plan
ts. ✚
Pic
k up
a�
er y
our
pet.
SOURCES: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Program TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION BY PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST
You
dri
ve a
cro
ss it
on
th
e w
ay t
o t
he
be
ach
, bu
t h
ave
yo
u e
ver
rea
lly t
ho
ugh
t a
bo
ut
this
am
azi
ng
nat
ura
l re
sou
rce
?
EXC
ES
S N
UTR
IEN
TS
CO
NTA
MIN
AN
TS
SED
IMENTS
Bio
logi
sts
are
try
ing
to h
elp
oys
ters
re
turn
to
the
ba
y w
ith
ha
tch
eri
es
tha
t in
trod
uce
you
ng
oyst
ers
to t
he
ba
y. L
imit
s h
ave
bee
n s
et o
n t
he
ha
rves
t of
men
ha
den
, a fi
sh t
ha
t ea
ts p
lan
kton
(filt
erin
g th
e b
ay
like
oyst
ers
do)
an
d is
itse
lf ea
ten
by
big
ger
fish
. Blu
e cr
ab
nu
mb
ers
hav
e im
pro
ved
dra
ma
tica
lly d
ue
to r
egu
lati
ons
on t
he
ha
rves
tof
fem
ale
cra
bs.
✚ S
tay
out
of b
ay-
gra
ss b
eds
in
sh
allo
w w
ate
rs.
✚ A
void
usi
ng
law
n fe
rtili
zers
.
✚ U
se p
rop
er c
atc
h-a
nd
-rel
ease
fis
hin
g m
eth
ods.
✚ H
OW
YO
U C
AN
HE
LP
YOU
R Y
AR
DYO
UR
YA
RD