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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 Recycled/Recyclable—Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on Recycled Paper (30% Postconsumer) Printed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Chesapeake Bay Program 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 2004 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) 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.
Recommended publications
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  • Chesapeake Bay Restoration: Background and Issues for Congress

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  • This Land Is Whose Land?

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  • Stormwater Protection: No Butts About It

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