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.
GERALD WINEGRAD: 2025 LEGISLATIVE SESSION WAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL BEATDOWN | COMMENTARY
Aquaculture regulations are tweaked but not the changes needed to advance oyster aquaculture. The bill allows publicly funded oyster restoration projects to generate water quality trading credits allowing pollution reductions from oysters to be traded for increased pollution elsewhere. In a separate bill, oyster poaching penalties are relaxed. The Legacy Act established a Water Quality Monitoring Program in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that simply formalizes the existing water quality monitoring syste
GERALD WINEGRAD: TRUMP’S BIG, UGLY, ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE BILL | COMMENTARY
Vast swaths of our nation’s public lands, including wilderness, are opened to private oil, gas, coal and mineral extraction as well as logging. Existing protections are overturned. The oil and gas industry would gain access to 293 million acres of public lands and waters — an area larger than Texas and California. Quarterly lease sales are required for oil and gas in all states from Alaska to Oklahoma with available public lands.
The pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) wilderness would be opened to oil and gas extraction. ANWR is known as “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins” to the Gwich’in Nation. The refuge supports irreplaceable wildlife habitat that could be permanently disrupted.
Mining would be allowed in lands adjoining the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness in Minnesota. Citizens are denied judicial review of permits.
At least 30 oil and gas lease sales are required in the Gulf of Mexico over a 15-year period. Six lease sales are required in Alaska’s Cook Inlet over a 10-year period. Cook Inlet hosts a declining endangered population of beluga whales (331 left), the white whales of the North
AS CHESAPEAKE RESTORATION CRASHES, GREENWASHING PERVADES
Let’s examine the Legacy Act’s details: First, a person who has a tidal fish license or commercial channa license and harvests and processes finfish on a vessel by ikejime for direct sale to restaurants need not have a food establishment license. Secondly, minor changes are made regarding the procedures for adoption of fishery management plans. Nothing is included that would better conserve crashing fish and crab populations.
GERALD WINEGRAD: ESSENTIAL MEASURES FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY RESTORATION | COMMENTARY
By Gerald Winegrad Last week’s column detailed how the governor and legislature failed to address the major environmental threats facing the Chesapeake Bay in the last legislative session. Despite waves of greenwashing depicting how well bay restoration is proceeding, the harsh reality is that after 41 years of efforts, the best we can say is that…
An Open Letter to the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Community
An Open Letter to the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Community By Gerald Winegrad May 5, 2025 Despite the gross failure of the Bay states to achieve the dictates of the Chesapeake TMDL by 2025 after being given 15 years to do, there have been no sanctions. Nor have the EPA or Bay states taken any new…
GERALD WINEGRAD: EARTH DAY REVEALS A TROUBLED PLANET | COMMENTARY
In 1969, my fascination with wildlife led me to my first real job after graduating from law school and becoming an attorney. I was hired as counsel to the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C., the beginning of 55 years of environmental advocacy. In February 1970, I attended a meeting with other conservationists convened by…
GERALD WINEGRAD: LOOKING FOR HEROES IN DEMORALIZING TIMES | COMMENTARY
By Gerald Winegrad Like most readers, I am recoiling daily from horrific news as the fabric of our democracy is torn asunder. It is as if the world we knew is being turned upside down, where the rule of law doesn’t matter and where billionaire autocrats rule with impunity. Dedicated career and probationary federal government employees…
DREAM OF A RESTORED CHESAPEAKE BAY IS IN DIRE STRAITS
Many insiders have learned that the easiest path in dealing with the major reason for failure — agriculture — is to throw more money at voluntary programs that have not worked and disregard regulatory actions. Policymakers, conservation leaders and some scientists have learned that job security, advancement and monetary rewards come from promoting a firehose of dollars to put out the ecological fire, thus avoiding conflict. Too many supposed leaders have become environmental mercenaries who desire to avoid any blowback in pushing for regulatory changes that impede the financial prospects of themselves or their organizations. You will repeatedly hear these environmental mercenaries touting the great successes of the Bay Program.
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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