A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region CBP/TRS 273/05 EPA 903-R-04-009 www.chesapeakebay.net December 2004

The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed The Chesapeake Bay Program, formed in 1983 by the first Chesapeake Bay agreement, is a unique regional part- nership guiding the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The Bay Program partners include the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which represents the federal government; and participating adviso- ry groups. Delaware, New York and West Virginia, representing the Bay’s headwaters, also participate in Bay Program water quality restoration activities.

Chesapeake Bay Program 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109 Annapolis, Maryland 21403 (800) YOUR BAY

To read this report online and link to more information on the State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed, visit www.chesapeakebay.net/SOTB04

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The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Your Bay and ItsWatershed

The majestic Chesapeake Bay is the heart of the mid-Atlantic region. From early Native Americans to today’s visitors and residents, people have stood in awe of the astonishing beauty and plentiful resources provided by the Chesapeake and its surrounding lands. Today, however, the Bay and its water- shed are in peril and require immediate attention. This report on the health of the Bay watershed presents current efforts to restore what the U.S. Congress has called our “national treasure.”

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 1 To learn more about your part of the Bay watershed, visit Watershed Profiles at www.chesapeakebay.net/wspv31

2 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers an enormous 64,000- A Watershed Defined: A watershed is square- mile area that includes parts of six states — the land area through which water Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West flows and drains to the lowest point, into a stream, river, lake or estuary. Virginia — and all of the District of Columbia. Billions of gallons A watershed may be large or small, may occupy sloping, mountainous or of water flow each day through our backyard streams and rivers and, nearly flat terrain and cover many eventually, into the Chesapeake Bay. landscapes, including forests, farm- land, small towns and cities. Human activities in a watershed eventually The Bay is an estuary — a place of transition between the land and affect the water quality downstream. the sea, where incoming fresh water mixes with salty ocean water. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and is an extremely productive ecosystem, home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed NEW YORK State boundaries

Chesapeake Bay and Rivers

PENNSYLVANIA

NEW MARYLAND JERSEY

WEST VIRGINIA DC DELAWARE

VIRGINIA

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 3 A Stressed Ecosystem

For centuries, people have settled throughout the Bay’s watershed and harvested its bounty. The Bay and its rivers provide drinking water for millions, pathways for commerce, robust fish and shellfish industries, and recreation. As people have taken advantage of these resources, they have forever changed the Bay.

Today, the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed are in danger. Although it has provided for us for hundreds of years, the Bay now needs help from every citizen in the watershed.

Each small part of the Bay region is interconnected. Streams flowing through the Chesapeake’s headwaters are linked to the blue crab hiding among underwater grasses in its shallows. Natural corridors throughout the watershed connecting wetlands, forests and streams provide important habitat. These forests and wetlands hold nutrients and sediment in place and reduce the amount of runoff flowing into small creeks and streams. As they are destroyed to make room for roads and buildings, their ability to hold back pollutants and the important habitat they offer are lost as well.

A complex network of rivers and streams, beginning at the Chesapeake’s headwaters hundreds of miles away, carries fresh water into the Bay. These waterways also carry pollution, and by the time they reach the Chesapeake, the accumulated pollution load can be enormous.

4 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 5 Bay Program Partnership Working to Restore the Chesapeake Bay restoration partners know that we have forever changed the watershed’s landscape. Now, in the face of a growing population, we must work to manage the natural systems of the Bay and its watershed to bring them back into balance.

The Chesapeake Bay region states have joined forces with the federal government to restore and protect the Bay and its watershed. This partnership, called the Chesapeake Bay Program, was created in 1983 to help coordinate restoration efforts across state boundaries. Over the

6 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed past 20 years, scientists, resource managers, community organizations, local governments, farmers, watermen and other citizens have come together to work toward securing a brighter future for the Chesapeake.

Restoration effort is ongoing, and we need your help. We must be diligent in protecting and restoring the Bay, so that our children and theirs—and many generations to come—will be able to enjoy the splendor of this national treasure.

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 7 8 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Nutrient and Sediment Pollution Edging Down Monitoring data collected throughout the watershed show that, in some of the Bay’s major tributaries, the The State of the concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment flowing into the Bay are decreasing. These charts use flow-adjusted data, which are ‘normalized’ to account for seasonal and year-to-year variability in weather patterns. Flow-adjusted data help Chesapeake Bay resource managers better assess the effectiveness of land-based pollution reduction actions. Want to Learn More?

and Its Watershed www.chesapeakebay.net/sediment.htm For more information on each N P S www.chesapeakebay.net/nutr1.htm indicator, we include a direct link to the Chesapeake Bay N P S The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Program website. By following N P S the links, visitors to the N S its Watershed provides a snapshot of website can explore issues P in depth and access the data N P S the Bay’s health. This section of the used to compile the report.

Many of the indicators N P S report gives a brief overview of some included in the following N P S pages are updated and posted N P S of the key indicators Bay experts rely on the Bay Program website as new data are available N P S throughout the year. on to assess the health of the Bay and N P S its watershed. Where possible, this N P S

For a full list of the indicators used in this report shows how these indicators are report, visit the State of the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed section of the N P S Chesapeake Bay Program’s website, at N P S N P S interrelated and interconnected within www.chesapeakebay.net/SOTB04 the watershed. 1980s – 2003 Nitrogen Phosphorus Sediment

N P S Decreasing trend

N P S No significant trend

N P S Increasing trend

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2 004 9 Oysters at Historic Lows Blue Crabs at Risk Rockfish Population Stable Migratory Fish Habitat Expanding Wetlands Being Restored Bay Grasses Show Annual Variation Forest Buffers Sprouting Up Dissolved Oxygen Levels Dangerously Low in Summer

10000 40 2.00 Volume of Mainstem Bay Lower Layer Waters with Reduced Oxygen 2003 Goal – 1,357 miles Wetlands Restoration Program Achievement Restoration Goal (185,000 acres by 2010) Current 2010 Goal: 10,000 miles 60 9000 (June – September Average) 35 1400 180 (established 2003) 1.50 Baywide Female Spawning Stock Biomass 18 8000 Not Buffered Worse PA Goal: 4,000 acres 160 30 50 1200 Opened, but not yet With Forest 16 Better 1.00 Restored: 930 acres 7000 to Migratory Fish 140 41% 25 Fishing moratoria: 1000 Percent Achievement: 23% 14 40 Opened to 120 6000 0.50 MD & DE: 1985-1990 Total Riparian Forest 12 Virginia Migratory Fish 2.0 – <5 mg/L Hypoxia 20 VA: 1989-1990 800 Remaining 100 5000 Buffers Maryland 30 MD Goal: 15,000 acres Total 10 0.00 43% 80 4000 59% 0.2 – <2 mg/L Severe Hypoxia 15 600 Restored: 12,593 acres Restored 8 Average 1998 Goal – 731 miles Percent Achievement: 84% Initial 2010 Goal: 2,010 miles liters) below 5 mg/L 20 57% 60 3000 12 10 -0.50 400 (established 1996) 6 0 – <0.2 mg/L Anoxia Spawning Female Index 40 2000 Cumulative Miles Restored 4 5 -1.00 10 200 VA Goal: 6,000 acres Bay Grasses (x 1,000 acres) Commercial Landings (million lbs) Commercial Restored: 794 acres 20 1000 2

0 -1.50 0 0 Percent Achievement: 13% 0 0 Volume (10 0 Cumulative Miles of River Habitat Opened

SSB (females ages 4+ years, millions of lbs.) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2001 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1953 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2003 1971 2001 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1968 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2003

Oyster populations in the Chesapeake have been decimated by disease, Improved water quality and habitat restoration efforts along Rockfish have rebounded but concerns remain over Removing blockages in the watershed’s rivers allows Wetlands are a valuable piece of the Bay’s ecosystem. They filter Reductions in the pollutants flowing into the Bay are needed Streamside forests prevent pollutants from entering the The extent and duration of low oxygen levels in the deeper waters of the Bay vary intense harvest pressure and poor water quality. with proper management of the crab harvest are needed to disease, food sources and availability of spawning habitat. migratory fish to return upstream to spawn. Slowly, and capture pollutants, provide wildlife habitat, protect shorelines to help underwater bay grasses. Annual variations in bay grasses rivers of the watershed by soaking up nutrients and widely depending on the amount of rainfall, temperature and pollution levels. restore the Bay’s blue crab populations. migratory fish are returning. and reduce flooding. show the sensitivity of the Bay ecosystem. Note: Orange area of trapping sediment. www.chesapeakebay.net/american_oyster.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/striped_bass.htm bar includes estimated additional acreage. No survey in 1988. www.chesapeakebay.net/do.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/blue_crab.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/fishpass.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/wetlds1.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/forestbuff.htm www.chesapeakebay.net/baygras.htm Northeast Water Clarity Bush C&D Canal Improvements Gunpowder Bohemia Sassafrass Needed In Key Back Upper Central Mainstem Bay Habitat Areas Patapsco Upper Chester Water clarity is critical to Mouth of Choptank Nutrient Pollution – the health of underwater South grasses that provide Rhode Upper Choptank Too Much of a Good Thing important habitat for West Lower Choptank Piscataway Little Choptank When too many nutrients reach the many Bay animals. Creek Mattawoman Nanticoke Bay, they fuel large algae blooms that, Creek Patuxent Middle Mainstem Bay Fishing in turn, block sunlight and deplete the Bay Wicomico oxygen in the water as the algae die Potomac www.chesapeakebay.net/ Manokin and decompose. Without sunlight, status.cfm?sid=80 underwater bay grasses cannot grow. Rappahannock Without oxygen, blue crabs and fish Corrotoman Pocomoke cannot live. As underwater bay Piankatank Tangier Sound grasses die off, important habitat for Mobjack Bay Mattaponi fish and shellfish is lost. As blue crab populations decline, larger fish, such Pamunkey Chickahominy as rockfish, have fewer food sources. Each small part of the Bay ecosystem Trend Bay Grass Habitat York is connected. If one part is out of (1985-2003) Requirementment Attainmentt Status balance, the entire system suffers. Degrading (2001-2003)003) Appomattox Upper James Meetss Improving Lower Mainstem Bay Borderlinerline Segments with Fails unchanged trends Not Availablevailable have no symbol Elizabeth

Northeast Mixed Trends in Algae Levels Gunpowder Bohemia Middle Sassafrass Chlorophyll a — a pigment found Back in plants — is measured to determine Patapsco Upper Chester the amount of algae present in the water. Eastern Bay Mouth of Choptank

Middle Choptank Lower Choptank www.chesapeakebay.net/ status.cfm?sid=119 Mattawoman Creek Patuxent

Wicomico

Rappahannock

Tangier Sound

Chickahominy Trend Bay Grass Habitattat (1985-2003) Requirement Attainment Statusus Degrading (2001-2003) Meets Appomattox Improving Borderline Segments with Fails 12 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed unchanged trends Not Availableble have no symbol Nutrients and Sediment Harming the Bay Nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous, are the key pollu- tants harming the Chesapeake Bay. In small quantities, nutrients aren’t harmful. In fact, a healthy ecosystem needs nutrients for plants to grow and animals to flourish. But too many nutrients have disastrous effects.

Nutrients enter waterways through numerous paths. Rainwater carries fertilizer from lawns and farm fields. It washes small particles of dirt and oil from roadways and sidewalks, and erodes unprotected stream banks. Nutrients come from many sources, such as lawn fertilizer, sewage treatment plants and septic systems, farm fields and even the air. The largest contributors of nutrients to the Bay are agriculture, atmospheric deposition (nutrients entering the Bay from the air), wastewater treatment plants and runoff from developed, urban lands.

Sediment, what many of us refer to as dirt, also is harmful to the Bay. It is carried into waterways by stream bank and shoreline erosion and rainwater runoff. Sediment clouds the Bay’s water and limits the light needed for underwater bay grasses to grow.

The amount of nutrients and sediment flowing into the Bay must be reduced to restore healthy water quality for the Bay’s living resources. Bay Program partners are working together to develop comprehensive solutions, referred to as tributary strategies, for reducing nutrient For more information on the impacts pollution. of nutrients on the Bay ecosystem, visit www.chesapeakebay.net/nutr1.htm

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 13 14 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Examining the Bay’s Health over the Long Term The Chesapeake Bay is a dynamic system, and conditions within the Bay fluctuate from year to year, month to month and even day to day. With time, this complex system will respond to our restoration efforts, from pollution reductions and fisheries management to habitat restoration.

Examining data over time helps scientists understand natural varia- tions as well as the long-term effects of restoration efforts. All of the data provided in this report reflect the Bay’s health over the course of many years, and in some cases, decades.

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 15 Assessing a Vast Watershed Bay scientists have found that actions on land, even hundreds of miles upstream in the headwaters, affect the Bay’s living resources downstream.

Understanding the effects of management actions, as well as their relationship to the rest of the Bay ecosystem, requires a complex set of tools. As a result, Bay scientists rely heavily on a collection of water quality monitoring data and computer modeling.

Bay Program partners regularly collect water samples throughout the Bay’s mainstem as well as from its rivers and streams. Scientists analyze these samples to understand the current and long-term health of the Bay and its rivers.

These data are then combined with other information, such as historic hydrologic conditions and management actions, and used to create computer models of the Chesapeake and its watershed. These computer models help scientists better understand the likely effects of management actions on the Bay’s health. They also help scientists gain a better under- standing of how the Bay works.

Computer models are used to evaluate management strategies and projected long-term progress toward restoring a healthy Bay, while monitoring data help us determine whether we’re successful. Bay Program partners track more than 100 indicators of restoration progress and Bay watershed health; 89 of these use monitoring and tracking data, and the rest rely on computer modeling.

16 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Restoring the Bay A Work in Progress

When viewed together, what do all of these data and analyses tell Bay scientists about the health of the Chesapeake and its watershed? The Chesapeake Bay is a complex, sensitive and dynamic ecosystem. As a result, it is impossible to define the current state of the Chesapeake Bay in short, simple terms. No single chart tells the whole story.

Some areas of the Chesapeake and its watershed are improving. For instance, the number of streams with restored forested buffers – a vital management practice that slows the flow of harmful nutrients and sediment into streams and the Bay – is increasing. Rockfish are common in many areas of the Bay during summer months. On the other hand, critical species such as oysters and blue crabs are at or near historically low levels because of disease, harvest pressures, degraded habitat and poor water quality conditions.

Long-term monitoring data trends indicate that some progress has been made in stemming the flow of harmful nutrients into the Bay. Nearly 100 wastewater treatment plants have been upgraded to limit nutrient pollution. Similarly, more than three million acres of cropland have pollution-fighting nutrient management plans in place. But while we are making some progress, we still have a very long way to go. In 2003, near-record rains washed massive amounts of pollution into local waters and the Bay, resulting in record losses of Bay grasses and a huge increase in the volume of low-oxygen waters during the middle of the summer. Only after we have slashed nutrient and sediment levels far below current levels will we have a Bay ecosystem healthy and resilient enough to withstand these natural variations in weather.

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 17 Progress toward Meeting Nutrient and Sediment Goals Limited

The Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model provides program managers with a way to estimate the nutrient and sediment reductions that will likely occur as pollution abatement practices are implemented throughout the watershed. These reduction esti- mates also provide an indication of the pollutant load that would flow into the Bay in an “average year.” Using the model, managers can project the future response of various manage- ment actions put in place today.

Model estimates and water quality monitoring observations both indicate some limited progress has been made toward meeting watershed-wide nutrient and sediment reduction goals. However, much more needs to be done. To meet the dramatically tougher pollution reduction goals set in 2003, we must slash nearly twice as much nitrogen from the waters flowing into the Bay as has been eliminated since 1985, according to model estimates. Steep reductions in the amount of phosphorus and sediment flowing into the Bay also are needed.

While model estimates allow us to assess restora- tion actions, the ultimate 30 400 7 success of Bay restoration 350 6 25 will be measured by the 300 5 20 2010 health of the Bay’s living 250 4 Sediment resources. (For more 15 2010 200 2010 Goal Nitrogen 3 Phosphorus 150 information on the Bay 10 Goal Goal 2 100 Watershed Model, see 5 50 1

“Assessing a Vast Nitrogen Load (million lbs/yr) Sediment Load (millions tons/yr) Phosphorus Load (millions lbs/yr) 0 0 0 Watershed”, page 16.) 1985 2000 2002 1985 2000 2002 1985 2000 2002

www.chesapeakebay.net/ status.cfm?sid=186

18 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Confronting the Bay’s Challenges While important advances have been made over the past few decades in understanding the Chesapeake and implementing restoration programs, much more work remains to be done. The Bay watershed’s population grows by 100,000 each year, and development pressure is intensifying. We must make many difficult decisions, right now. Communities must decide how to stem the tide of nutrients and other pollutants flowing into the Bay as their populations grow and the demand for housing, roads and other development increases. Finding innovative ways to install best management practices on city Chesapeake Bay streets, in wastewater treatment plants and on farms continues to be Watershed Population Increasing a challenge. In addition to improving the way we manage our lands, we must improve the way we manage our living resources and take Since 1950, the Bay watershed’s population has doubled to about 16 into account the way they interact with the entire Bay ecosystem. million people. As the population of the watershed grows, so does our footprint on the landscape. In the past decade, population increased by about 8 percent, while the amount of impervious surface increased by 41 percent, representing an area five times the size of the nation’s capital. Managing future growth will be critical to preserving gains made during the first two decades of Bay restoration efforts.

www.chesapeakebay.net/land.htm

25 Estimated 20

15

10

5

Chesapeake Basin Population (millions) 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 19 You Can Help. Each citizen in the Bay watershed plays a part in this effort. Even the smallest contributions can add up to big changes for the health of your local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay restoration partners have a clear plan for restoring and protecting the Chesapeake and its watershed – Chesapeake 2000. Citizens must take part in implementing this plan. Students can work with their teachers to implement schoolyard and neighborhood restoration projects. Community groups can team up with local conservation organiza- tions to restore their local streams. Businesses can find ways to reduce their impact on their communities.

20 The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed Chesapeake Bay Gateways Are Your Chesapeake Connection

Chesapeake Bay Gateways are points of entry into the Chesapeake Bay’s Looking to the Future rich life and culture, where you can experience the history that shaped We must remember that humans have been influencing the Bay our nation, from the earliest European and its watershed for hundreds of years. The Bay cannot be restored settlements and the War of Independence, through the Industrial overnight. Bay scientists are helping us understand the problems Revolution, the Civil War and into facing the Chesapeake, and Bay Program partners are working on the 21st century. Chesapeake Bay Gateways reveal the Bay’s hidden an ambitious effort to restore the watershed. But it is only through treasures and tell its stories. Through the dedicated work of everyone living in the Bay watershed, its parks, wildlife refuges, maritime museums, historic or archaeological sustained over time, that we can restore the majestic beauty sites and water trails, each gateway and bounty of the Chesapeake Bay. provides a place to enjoy, relax, explore and learn more about the Chesapeake Bay. Visit www.baygateways.net to learn more about Chesapeake Bay Gateways and to plan your own Chesapeake Bay journey.

For more information on how you can get involved in your community to help restore the Bay and its rivers, visit www.chesapeakebay.net/involved.htm

Credits/Production Notes: Design: 818 Studio, Inc. Illustrations: Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. Photography: Many of the images included in this report were provided by the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Paynter Labs. Additional photographs courtesy of Middleton Evans, Starke Jett, Mike Land, Russ Mader, Dr. Kent Mountford and A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region 2004 Chris Spielmann. Chesapeake Bay Program 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109 Annapolis, Maryland 21403 (800) YOUR BAY www.chesapeakebay.net