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Chesapeake Bay watershed states call for federal support
ANNAPOLIS — Leaders of states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed called Thursday for continued federal support of the nation’s largest estuary. The Chesapeake Executive Council signed a resolution urging federal support and also elected Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan as its new chairman. “As a lifelong Marylander who has always had a love for the Chesapeake […]
Chesapeake Bay Program funding could be kept in budget deal
RICHMOND, Va. — A $1.1 trillion budget bill that would keep the federal government running through September fully funds the program that has coordinated Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts for decades. The bill contains $73 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which President Donald Trump has called for defunding. The program, formed in […]
Bay report: Chesapeake ‘in recovery’
A report from the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Bay Barometer calls the bay “an ecosystem in recovery,” with some data showing improvement in the Chesapeake’s health but others indicating continued problems. According to the report, issued on Tuesday, signs of resilience include a 24 percent increase in underwater grasses from 2012 to 2013 and increases in […]
O’Malley named chairman of Chesapeake Bay council
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday was named the chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council, saying he hoped to have a new Chesapeake Bay Watershed agreement signed next year. The Democratic governor who served two consecutive terms as the chairman of the council in 2007 and 2008, pledged Thursday to lead the Chesapeake […]
D.C. Mayor Gray to chair key Chesapeake Bay panel
RICHMOND, Va. — District of Columbia Mayor Vincent C. Gray is the new chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council, the policy-making body of the program overseeing the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Gray’s election came Monday at the annual meeting of the council in northern Virginia. He succeeds Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson in […]
Chesapeake Bay grasses down in 2011; rain, heat blamed
Underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay declined more than 20 percent last year, hurt by summer heat and heavy rains and snow melt that sent tons of mud and debris into the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Program said Wednesday. The losses mean levels of the grasses that provide food and homes for fish, birds and […]
Obama cuts EPA, increases Chesapeake Bay Program
The Environmental Protection Agency’s main program to restore the Chesapeake Bay would get more money but other projects for the water way would be cut in the budget released Monday by President Barack Obama, a Chesapeake Bay Foundation official said. The budget calls for $15 million to be added to the $58 million budget for […]
Chesapeake Bay grasses survive heavy fall rains
ANNAPOLIS — The Chesapeake Bay Program says underwater grasses in the Susquehanna Flats survived this fall’s heavy rains better than researchers expected. Heavy rains from back-to-back storms that caused widespread flooding throughout the Northeast also sent tons of garbage and sediment into the bay. That raised concerns about damage to underwater grasses in the upper […]
Feds announce $10.9M in grants for Chesapeake Bay
WASHINGTON — Environmental projects across the Chesapeake Bay watershed will receive $10.9 million in grants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture as well as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and members of Congress plan to announce the grants Wednesday. The Chesapeake Bay Program says the 55 projects will reduce nitrogen, […]
Report challenging Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan questioned
A new assessment has found fatal flaws in an agriculture industry report calling for a halt in the new federally-led bay restoration strategy. The report said the strategy should be delayed until differences can be resolved between models developed by the Chesapeake Bay Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The assessment released Monday by […]
New data shows Chesapeake streams in bad health
Most streams in the Chesapeake watershed are in poor condition, according to data released Monday by the Chesapeake Bay Program. The federal and state partnership that coordinates restoration efforts, also released data showing reductions in key pollutants over the past 25 years at monitoring sites along tributaries that feed the Chesapeake, but noted levels were […]
New data shows Chesapeake streams in bad health
Most streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are in poor condition or worse. That’s according to new data released Monday by the Chesapeake Bay Program, the regional partnership that leads restoration efforts. Sampling of nearly 8,000 stream sites between 2000 and 2008 found 55 percent were in poor or very poor condition. Twenty-seven percent were […]
