State of The Bay 2001
Poor Water Quality Inhibits CB Improvements in 2001
How’s the CB doing?
CB operates at ¼ of it’s potential
Excess phosphorus and nitrogen
Past year poor water quality
Accelerating land development
Threat to crab population
Scale 0 – 100
CB health rate now 27
One point less than year 2000
Quote
by
CBF President
William C. Baker
" Unless we dramatically reduce nutrient and sediment pollution, additional gains in underwater grasses will be impossible. Restoring underwater grasses by improving water quality is critical to bringing back the Bay’s blue crab population."
How the Report is created
CBF scientists measure key components
Exam best historical and current information
Pollution
Habitat
Fish and shellfish
Advice form other scientists
The Bay we know today
Measured against the rich and balanced Bay that Capt. John Smith explored
1600’s
Clear water
Meadows of underwater grasses
Mega oyster reefs
Abundant of fish
Health rate = 100
Confirmed by modern science
A blueprint for Bay improvement
1983 rating bottomed out = 23
Public agencies, private groups, and volunteers
Progress too slow
CBF top priority help Bay achieve score of 40 by 2010
CB Agreement, June 1999
Funding of $ 8.5 billion in federal, state and local
Unite and take action
Never see pristine Bay again ( Smith )
Index of 70 is achievable by 2050
State of Bay 2001
Habitat
42 Wetlands no change 2000
54 Forested Buffers + 1 from 2000
12 Underwater Grasses no change from 2000
30 Resource Lands – 3 from 2000
Pollution
30 Toxics no change from 2000
15 Water Clarity no change from 2000
15 Phosphorus no change from 2000
15 Nitrogen no change from 2000
15 Dissolved Oxygen no change from 2000
Fisheries
42 Crabs – 4 from 2000
75 Rockfish no change from 2000
2 Oysters no change from 2000
6 Shad + 1 from 2000
Average
27
The Land’s Effect on The Bay
What is a Watershed, Anyway?
All the land drains into the Bay
Drainage basin
64, 000 square miles
Largest on eastern seaboard
Wash., D.C., and 6 states NY, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV
What happens in the watershed, even hundreds of miles from the Bay, has a significant impact on the Bay itself.
Bottom line: pollution from enormous amount of land grains into CB, the Bay has a relatively small amount of water to absorb that pollution.
If the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed were reduced to the size of a football field, the depth of the water would on average be the thickness of the three dimes.
Dirty words we all need to know
A Chesapeake Bay Pollution Glossary
Nutrients
Toxic substances
Sediments
Point-source discharge
Stormwater runoff
Air pollution
Groundwater
Habitat and Resilience
How the Bay can filter pollution, Naturally
Forests, wetlands, underwater grasses, and oysters
Habitat for Bay creatures
Filters
Humans create more pollution
Remove filters
Bay is harmed
Wasteful land use
Sprawl
Overharvesting and diseases kill oysters
Lost
50 % of forests
60 % of wetlands
90 % underwater grasses
98 % of oysters
Restoration - year 2000
2 million oysters planted
326 habitat restorations within Bay watershed
1,175 acres of wetlands and upland buffers
121 miles of riparian buffers
Year 2001 – 40, 000 underwater grasses planted in Bay by Bay Grasses in Classes and Bay Grasses for the Masses programs
40 by 2010
The Pursuit of an " Unimpaired " Bay
Chesapeake 2000
An agreement to reduce
nitrogen and phosphorus pollution
agricultural and urban runoff
Improving creates
Bay supports broad range species if reaches rate of 40
Water quality objectives
Sewage plant upgrades
How YOU can help
Drive 10 % less
Car pool
Use mass transit
Buy a car reduce auto emissions
Make your voice heard - government
Participate – hands –on restoration
Plant underwater grasses, trees