:: The Noblest of Bays ::
As early settlers made their way to what
we now know as Virginia, they were captivated by the sprawling
forests and meandering waterways that stretched across the uncharted
land. The settlers were particularly taken by a vast body of water
near the coast of our great state that they named “the noblest bay
in the universe.” That same body of water would later be called the
Chesepiooc, or “shellfish bay”, by natives, the Bahia de Santa Maria
by Spanish settlers, and the Great Bay of the Chesapeakes by English
settlers. Today, we know that body of water as the Chesapeake Bay,
and we know some of its watershed as the James River, the Potomac
River, and the Rappahannock River.
Those early settlers who coined the Chesapeake Bay the “noblest bay”
didn’t know that the Chesapeake Bay was and remains the largest
estuary in the country, or that its watershed covers over 64,000
miles, or that it would be known for delicious blue crabs, clams,
and oysters. They simply knew that the immeasurable waters of the
Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding wildlife were so beautiful that
it warranted the name “the noblest bay in the universe.”
But
centuries of change, transformation, and mobility have placed
serious strain on the Chesapeake Bay. Although still aesthetically
stunning, the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers, like many of America’s
resources, continue to be plagued by pollution. Once healthy,
balanced, and biologically productive, the Chesapeake Bay is now
listed as a marine dead zone and is the subject of an
over-twenty-year federal and state restoration effort. At a quick
glance through some of the Bay’s marshes and canals, you’ll still
see glimpses of lone pelicans and nesting eagles, and sometimes the
occasional fish springing out of the fresh and brackish waters. But
ask any Chesapeake Bay native and they will tell you that the
wildlife decline over the years is sharply noticeable. The urgency
from the state and federal government to restore the Chesapeake Bay
came much later than it did for Bay natives, and there is still so
much left to be done.
Today, the task of restoring the Chesapeake Bay is far beyond a
community-wide effort to control pollution and litter. The amount of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution in the Bay have
intoxicated its glassy waters to the point that many of the
pollutant substances are even found in tributary streams and rivers
many states away from the Chesapeake Bay. Over five years ago, the
Chesapeake Bay states, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the
District of Columbia, signed a recommitment that set specific
pollution reduction goals to be met by 2010. Now, just
two-and-a-half years from the 2010 deadline, we are still benchmarks
away from reaching the pollution reduction goals.
The restoration of the Chesapeake Bay will take nothing short of a
dramatic increase in federal financial and technical assistance to
the region’s farmers and landowners. Additionally, it will take a
federal commitment to provide greater focus, accountability, and
targeted programming to address the biggest challenges to the Bay’s
restoration.
The Chesapeake’s Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of
Energy and Agriculture Act of 2007 (CHESSEA), which I have
cosponsored, has the potential to have a major impact on Chesapeake
Bay conservation. If enacted, the bill would bring more than 30
substantive changes to current law, benefiting the Chesapeake Bay
and its 150 tributary streams and rivers. CHESSEA would provide
federal assistance to farmers and landowners in the
Chesapeake
Bay states to help them control the amount of toxins they release
into the Bay. Currently, 40% of the nitrogen and phosphorus, and 60%
of the sediment found in the Chesapeake Bay are a result of
agricultural contributions. Seeing that farmers have the financial
and technical assistance they need to control toxic runoffs will
greatly decrease the amount of toxic pollutants coming into the Bay.
CHESSEA would also provide additional incentives for the region’s
farmers to produce new sources of renewable energy in an effort to
improve water quality across the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed,
and to reduce the impact of fossil fuel consumption on the
atmosphere. The bill would help fulfill the specific pollution
reduction goals established in the federal and state commitment to
the Chesapeake Bay, so that we can get closer to meeting the goals
by 2010.
Today, people continue to flock to the Chesapeake Bay from all over
the country to fish, enjoy the sites of wild birds, hear the gentle
hum of crickets in the Bay’s surrounding woodlands, and enjoy
recreational sport with family and friends. Whether they all realize
the vulnerability of the surrounding ecosystem is unlikely, but
those of us who experience the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed on a
daily basis have a responsibility to recognize it. And our state and
federal governments have a responsibility to provide the necessary
funding and resources to help preserve our vast and most historical
natural treasures. Perhaps then we will be able to look out over the
Chesapeake Bay today and say that it is still the noblest of all
bays.
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