ysabetwordsmith) wrote, ysabetwordsmith 
busy Sometimes our efforts to restore the environment pay off.
Chesapeake Bay Grasses Increase 12%, Pollution Controls are WorkingA partnership of states and agencies trying to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay said that bay grasses increased 12 percent last year, a sign that pollution control efforts are working. The total area of underwater bay grasses was the highest baywide acreage since 2002.
If you follow my posts on gardening, birdfeeding, and photos, then you know that I garden for wildlife. Looking at the YardMap parameters, here…
Sadly the main program is dormant, but the YardMap concept is awesome, and many of its informative articles remain. YardMap was a citizen science…
Here is my card for the Winterfest in July Bingo fest. It runs from July 1-30. Celebrate all the holidays and traditions of winter! ( See all my…
April 30 2010, 05:23:34 UTC 11 years ago
The decline of the Chesapeake coincides precisely with Omega Protein moving off the open ocean to catch menhaden and into the bay itself. Once that happened, the algae levels exploded, water clarity plummeted, eel grass died off and everything else went to pot.
Menhaden are filter feeders, and they filter out the top and middle layers of the water column. The billions of fish would travel from one end of the entire bay to the other, nearly 3 times in a 24-hour period, leaving sparkling clear water in their wake. As a result, sunlight was able to reach down as much as 40 feet, and eel grass pretty much carpeted the floor of the entire bay.
Nutrient load *IS* a factor, but let's face facts here? Waterfowl, fish and mammals in numbers FAR greater than humans have been crapping into the water for the last 50,000 years, with no detrimental effect. Even the heavy loads of sewage and farm runoff were still being handled by the ecosystem. It was in bad shape, but it still worked. Then Omega Protein moved in and started wiping out the janitorial staff. And they don't do it nice, either. They take ALL the fish, of all sizes, even those with eggs. "Everything but the wiggle" is the company motto.
So here we are, with OP having one hand tied behind their back for a few years, and GOSH-GOLLY-GEE-WHILLIKERS!! Will ya lookee dat?!? The bay is IMPROVING!! And the scientists are all baffled.
Uh-huh.
More like the scientists are bought and paid for, to keep their mouths shut.
Thank you!
April 30 2010, 06:01:15 UTC 11 years ago