Underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay declined more than 20 percent last year, hurt by summer heat and heavy rains and snow melt that sent tons of mud and debris into the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Program said Wednesday.
The losses mean levels of the grasses that provide food and homes for fish, birds and other species have dropped to their lowest point since 2006. Scientists said grasses are now at historically low levels, but the news was tempered by growth found in some parts of the bay.
The underwater grasses are important to the health of the Chesapeake because in addition to providing habitat for crabs and striped bass, they also improve water clarity by trapping sediment, add oxygen to bay water, provide food for waterfowl and help prevent shoreline erosion.
Heavy rains from back-to-back storms that caused widespread flooding throughout the Northeast last fall sent tons of garbage and sediment into the bay. That raised concerns about damage to underwater grasses in the upper bay, but the Chesapeake Bay Program said last year that aerial photos taken in November showed the damage was not as bad as feared.
2 comments:
Of course we all know what the simple solution is......give ten million dollars to Chesapeake Bay Foundation, five million to Waterkeeper Alliance, another five million to Kathy Phillips and another million to Democrat candidates for office. I double damn guarantee if we did this we would never hear about this again. Well, maybe not for another four years, anyway.
2:52 Well said!
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