An examination of the progress and challenges of saving the Chesapeake Bay
Like many people around Annapolis and the Eastern Shore I try to spend lots of time on the Chesapeake Bay. We are lucky to have such a spectacular body of water for sailing, swimming, boating, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, exploring, and, sometimes, just enjoying the sight of the sparkling waters. The Bay is also vital for transportation of goods and for the supply of local seafood.
The Bay is a large estuary that began forming at the end of the last Ice Age about 12–18 thousand years ago. The Bay stretches nearly 200 miles north to south and ranges in width from 3.4 miles across from Aberdeen to 35 miles by the mouth of the Potomac River. The water surface covers some 3,200 square miles with 5,600 miles of shoreline. The average depth of the bay is only 21 feet although there are channels that are 100 feet deep. Interestingly, there are estimates that indigenous peoples populated the Chesapeake region since 8,000 B.C. Captain John Smith was the first European explorer to navigate the Bay in 1608. Millions of gallons of freshwater flow into the Bay from the Susquehanna River. The watershed includes Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.
With all the highways, farms, and urban areas from which stormwater, irrigation, and waste flow into the Bay, it was inevitable that the waters would become polluted, and the environment stressed. About 50 years ago environmental groups took on the task of “Saving the Bay.” It has been a worthy cause supported by citizens, municipalities, the state and federal government, the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many local groups dedicated to cleaning up the Bay. The EPA set an ambitious program with 32 different goals to clean up the Bay that included stream buffers, improving wetlands, water quality, and reducing nutrient, phosphorus, and sediment run off. The original plan was to be completed by the year 2025. With just over one year to go before reaching the original deadline, most of the goals will not be met.
In July, Governor Wes Moore announced a new strategy for the Bay. The new plan will focus on water quality, human engagement, and more emphasis on human health. The program is titled, “Beyond 2025.” This new approach is to study how people want to use the Bay, and define what actions are feasible. Dr. Jana Davis is the head of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a grant making organization established by the State of Maryland in 1985 to provide grants to applicants working to improve the environment. The Trust has a rigorous review process selecting which groups receive grants. The funds range from small ($2500) to large (several hundred thousand dollars). In 2022–2023 the Trust distributed about $30 million in grants. When asked if the Bay is getting cleaner Dr. Davis reports, “Yes, slightly. Many of the (original) goals were set before serious pollution became a problem. The main goals were set in the middle of the Bay where most critters don’t live, and few people live. The scientists and government officials say we should focus on shallow areas where critters live, and people live. The Bay is getting cleaner, but there is considerably more work to do.”
My own unscientific survey of the health of the Bay looks better to me. Happily, boating enthusiasts are conscious about protecting the Bay. No longer do people throw garbage in the water or drain boat holding tanks in the Bay. Yacht clubs, marinas, and other maritime facilities and organizations have created Sustainability Committees to address environmental issues. Just a few years ago, I was horrified to see deflated party balloons floating on the surface of the Bay. In the past two years I am happy to report that it has been rare to see balloons and other floating objects. Tar-covered bulkheads, leaking oil tanks, highway runoff, harmful pesticides, and dangerous fertilizers are a few of the blights that pollute our waters. Planners, engineers, developers, and builders are mindful of pollution issues and add solutions to new construction.
I have sailed up and down the Bay many times over the past sixty years. I never tire of seeing the land pass by. Recently, I became intrigued by the environmental work toward the Eastern Shore of the Bay on a remote place called Poplar Island. At one time, Poplar was over 2,000 acres but the island has been slowly disappearing due to rising water levels and erosion. In 1990, only a few acres were still visible above water. But over the past decade, the residual material dredged from shipping channels leading to Baltimore has been transported and deposited around Popular Island—all part of an ambitious restoration project. I took an interesting tour (available to everyone) early this summer. The plan over the next ten years is to rebuild Poplar Island to its original size. When the work is completed in 2030 another disappearing island fifteen miles south of Poplar will be the next project. Each day a tour group of about 25 people board a small ferry for a 30-minute ride from Tilghman Island. Once on the island, a van takes the tour group around the it with a guide explaining the operations. I was intrigued to learn that 250 species of birds live around the island. To book a tour call 410-770-6503 or email poplartours@menv.com. Poplar Island is a good example of how a vital but dying piece of land in the Bay watershed can be brought back to a vibrant existence.
Environmental topics are frequently in the news these days with discussions and debates about climate change, devastating storm and fire events, sustainability initiatives, rising sea levels, pollution, erosion, air quality, greenhouse effects, and clean air and water. It is up to all of us to support environmental improvement efforts including those for the Chesapeake Bay. Our precious Bay is important for recreation, transportation, industry, harvesting food, and sometimes just relaxing by the water. My take is that the Bay is cleaner than it was when pollution was rampant, but we have a long way to go to restore the Chesapeake to its once pristine condition.
Gary Jobson is a world-class sailor, television commentator, author, longtime resident of Annapolis, and pre-eminent ambassador for sailing of the United States.
