Low-oxygen conditions reached an early peak this summer Annapolis, MD—Today, Chesapeake Bay Program partners announced that the Bay’s “dead zone” in 2024 was near the long-time average taken from 1985 to 2023. Dead zone conditions began forming from late April to early May, reaching a peak sometime in June to July and ending in October. […]
Continue ReadingLower amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution flowing into Bay Annapolis, MD—The Chesapeake Bay Program announced that an estimated 29.8% of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries met water quality standards for clarity (measured by underwater grass abundance), dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a (a measure of algae growth) during the 2020-2022 assessment period. […]
Continue ReadingAnnual update provides recent data for 18 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement outcomes Annapolis, MD The Chesapeake Bay Program is pleased to release its annual update on the environmental health and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Bay Barometer is a science-based snapshot of the most recent data that is available for the goals and […]
Continue ReadingEPA Investing $9.6 million for Projects to Improve Chesapeake Bay Queen Anne, Md. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz announced a nearly $10 million investment into restoring the Chesapeake Bay with projects to be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Today’s announcement included over $4.6 million in grants for six […]
Continue ReadingHomeowners to be Incentivized for Implementing Best Practices in Watershed to Improve Water Quality and Create Wildlife Habitat The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control recently introduced two new conservation incentive programs to improve water quality and create wildlife habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Both programs – the Delaware Community Conservation Assistance […]
Continue ReadingAcre-by-acre, underwater grasses in the Chesapeake begin to slowly rebound Annapolis, MD — In 2021, an estimated 67,470 acres of underwater grasses were mapped in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, achieving 37% of the ultimate restoration goal of 185,000 acres. However, it is likely that more underwater grasses grew in the Bay in […]
Continue ReadingAnnapolis, MD, At the conclusion of their two-day meeting in Annapolis, the members of the Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) elected their officers for 2022, including naming Maryland Senator Sarah Elfreth, as Chair of the Commission. The CBC is a tri-state legislative body, with bipartisan membership from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, that works to advance policy […]
Continue Reading(Kent Island, MD – A crewmember of a tanker ship was airlifted by the Maryland State Police near Kent Island on Wednesday morning after the individual experienced a medical emergency while the ship was underway in the Chesapeake Bay en route from Baltimore. A Maryland State Police helicopter crew conducted an aerial hoist operation from […]
Continue ReadingGrants awarded to support green infrastructure, tree plantings, oyster habitat WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program today announced over $3.6 million in grants for projects that will protect and restore Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 18 grants […]
Continue ReadingFleming’s second book documents the Chesapeake’s Smith and Tangier Islands ANNAPOLIS, MD – The environment, culture, and economies of the Smith Island, Maryland and Tangier Island, Virginia—the Chesapeake Bay’s last two inhabited offshore islands—are intimately documented through the lens and dedication of Annapolis-based photographer Jay Fleming in his second book, Island Life, set to be […]
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