A annual report from the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program on the health of the bay and its 64,000-mile watershed was released today and it shows modest improvements.
Work has been underway for 25 years, and the slow rate of progress has frustrated many officials, residents and environmentalists. That may be why Jeffrey Lape, director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, downplayed the progress a bit.
"In my letter in last year's Bay Barometer, I affirmed 'the need to take bolder actions and involve a wider network to achieve sharp improvements' in the bay's health," Lape wrote in the report's introduction. "While the 2009 Bay Barometer shows slight progress toward our health and restoration goals, the truth is that the Chesapeake Bay is still degraded. However, the 'bolder actions' and 'wider network' have begun to take shape, and I look to the future with enthusiasm."
He pointed to new short-term goals on nitrogen and phosphorus to speed cleanup and increase accountability. And he also noted an executive order from President Obama on Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection.
Specifically, the report said the overall health of the bay averaged 45 percent based on goals for water quality, habitats and lower food web, and fish and shellfish abundance -- a 6 percent increase from 2008. Dissolved oxygen was down, but water clarity, underwater bay grasses and bottom-dwelling species were up.
On restoration and protection efforts, the Bay Program partnership achieved 64 percent of its goals to reduce pollution, restore habitats, manage fisheries, protect watersheds and foster stewardship. But increases in population in the watershed and the people's activities meant many improvements were offset.
In total, however, pollution reduction efforts were up and reductions in nutrients in wastewater were down. But there wasn't much progress on agricultural runoff and air pollution control goals. Oyster habitat restoration was up and so were the planting of forest buffers. Bay education in area schools also increased.
The report offers some steps that everyone can take to help improve the health of the bay: Don't fertilize your lawn because that adds to nutrient pollution; pick up dog waste to keep bacteria out of the bay; use a phosphate-free dishwasher detergent to reduce phosphorus in wastewater; drive less to reduce emissions; plant native trees, shrubs and wildflowers to filter pollution and attract wildlife; install a rain barrel or rain garden to collect and absorb runoff; volunteer to clean up a stream, creek or river in your community.
Photos of bay crabs and bay grasses courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Program