Chesapeake Bay Action Plan
After decades of effort, the voluntary, collaborative approach to restoring the health and vitality of the Chesapeake Bay— the largest estuary in the United States—has not worked and, in fact, is failing.
A diverse group of 57 senior scientists and policymakers have joined forces to save the Bay. This is our plan.
A SECOND TRUMP TERM WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE | COMMENTARY
In Trump’s previous four-year reign, Earthjustice sued to block the dismantling of environmental regulations 200 times and won 85% of their cases. I am ramping up my contributions to them, and if you care about our environment, you may want to do so, too.
CHESAPEAKE OYSTER SANCTUARIES HOLD PROMISE FOR RECOVERY | COMMENTARY
The sanctuary and aquaculture initiatives were vigorously opposed by oyster harvesters and the oyster industry. As they had for 140 years, they again fought any proposals that decreased public oyster grounds. Instead, they promoted the government system of paying to plant shell and seed oysters for them to harvest and sell. Such resistance has impeded the switch to aquaculture for 140 years despite the unambiguous evidence that aquaculture could produce an enormous quantity of oysters. This has been the case throughout the world as wild stocks crashed.
GERALD WINEGRAD: LARRY HOGAN’S SELF-DEALING AND ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL REGIME | COMMENTARY
Hogan still portrays himself as a small business owner. But HOGAN enterprises reported more than $2.5 billion in real estate deals since 1985. His enterprises are still touting their ability to grease the skids for government approvals and entitlements. HOGAN’s website claims: “If you want to determine the best strategy for taking your property through the governmental entitlement process as well as achieve the best development potential and highest return on your investment, you only need to turn to HOGAN.”
GERALD WINEGRAD: THERE’S STILL HOPE TO REVERSE THE CHESAPEAKE’S OYSTER COLLAPSE | COMMENTARY
There is no greater tragedy in the decline of the Chesapeake Bay than the collapse of the oyster population. The failure to heed warnings going back more than a century led to a blatant disregard for the science, with oysters now at 3% of late 19th-century levels. This despite the expenditure of more than $500…
The Chesapeake Bay deteriorates into a quagmire full of broken promises
By GERALD WINEGRAD After 40 years and $10 billion spent to restore the Chesapeake Bay’s polluted waters to meet basic Clean Water Act requirements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and bay states have failed to do so. EPA data document that 71.9% of Chesapeake’s tidal waters remain impaired (polluted) — an improvement of just 1.6% since…
Gerald Winegrad: Reflections on wildlife conservation after African safari |
By GERALD WINEGRAD Carol and I recently returned from a 20-day expedition to explore the wonders of the natural world in Tanzania and Kenya. She captured wildlife with her camera and I with my binoculars. We will be sharing the spectacular array of animals we saw and the awesome panoramic landscapes in a presentation at Quiet…
Gerald Winegrad: The sad state of the Chesapeake Bay and advocacy for its restoration
The main failure is not adequately controlling agricultural nutrients and sediment that are choking the bay system. Farmland covers two million acres of Maryland, 32% of its land mass. Farming is a leaky business, especially from the massive chicken industry growing about 600 million birds a year producing 1.6 million pounds of chicken litter, mostly poop.
A death warrant for the Chesapeake Bay?
Opinion by GERALD WINEGRAD
Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement. As a Maryland state senator at the time, I witnessed this event along with 700 other hopeful activists. Our optimism for a clean bay is being crushed as the harsh reality sinks in: The Environmental Protection Agency is badly failing in its duty to enforce the Clean Water Act and to prod bay states to meet mandatory pollution reductions to restore the Chesapeake. This is despite the states being given 15 years to comply.
We are senior Chesapeake Bay scientists and policymakers from Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania who have concluded that after decades of effort, the voluntary, collaborative approach to restoring the health and vitality of the largest estuary in the United States has not worked and, in fact, is failing. Our group unanimously recommends that all states draining into the Chesapeake Bay adopt our 25 action items in their Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP) and implement them to improve the Bay’s water quality and to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
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