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: WHAT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE MEANT FOR NATIVE AMERICANS | COMMENTARY
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of declaring our independence from England and its king, there has been a torrent of written and visual reflections on our hallowed Declaration of Independence and its global historical importance. One example is the harsh reality of Native Americans trapped in a lose-lose situation during the Revolutionary War. Tribes…
GERALD WINEGRAD: TRUMP’S SENSELESS ATTACKS ON CLEAN ENERGY | COMMENTARY
Last week’s column covered President Donald Trump’s insane blockage of clean and cheap sustainable energy from wind power. Equally appalling is his attack on solar power, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. His policies spur higher energy prices and diminish electrical supplies while promoting greater usage of polluting and costlier coal, oil and natural gas. At an April…
Gerald Winegrad: Trump’s insane war on wind energy | COMMENTARY
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.” Bob Dylan (1962) Since taking office again on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has taken a wrecking ball to our nation’s conservation efforts, dismantling approved legislation, regulations and funding. Many bedrock initiatives were enacted under Republican presidents and with bipartisan efforts. Some date…
GERALD WINEGRAD: WHAT THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IS REALLY TELLING US | COMMENTARY
Maryland’s Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain recently posted an op-ed, “What the Chesapeake Bay is trying to tell us.” The secretary left many gaps, omitting what the bay is really telling us. First, the Chesapeake is loudly telling us now and has been for decades that it is not its warming waters that are the major…
GERALD WINEGRAD: NATURE IS THE BEST PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH AND LONGEVITY | COMMENTARY
As we plunge into the New Year enveloped in grey wintry weather and heightened socio-economic and political stress, let us seek relief in nature, a cure-all for distress, anxiety and depression.
Evidence of the need for this natural balm is everywhere. Suicide is a major national public health problem with U.S. suicide rates among the highest of wealthy nations. In 2024, the U.S. suicide rate was 15.6 per 100,000 people, 26th highest of 183 countries and well above the world average of 9.2. By comparison, our neighboring nation of Mexico is at 7 and Canada has a 9.4 rate.
GERALD WINEGRAD: WEAK NEW BAY AGREEMENT IS DEATH WARRANT FOR CHESAPEAKE | COMMENTARY
The agreement has been politically sanitized to appear as if meaningful plans are being made, when actually it is a major setback.
GERALD WINEGRAD: FOREST DESTRUCTION STILL THRIVES IN BAY REGION | COMMENTARY
When forests are destroyed and fragmented by development, agriculture and timbering, their ecological services and economic benefits may be lost if timbered land is not reforested or allowed to regenerate. The EPA-led Bay Program and scientists connected with bay restoration have recognized the incredible importance of forests to a healthy bay, especially streamside forested buffers.
DECLINE OF UNDERWATER GRASSES IMPEDES BAY RESTORATION | COMMENTARY
Remarkably, Maryland DNR’s Brooke Landry, their SAV program chief and chair of the Bay Program’s SAV Workgroup, touted the SAV data with the greenwashing that pervades bay restoration: “Despite many environmental pressures on the Bay, we continue to see signs of resilience and recovery in our underwater grasses. The increases in SAV acres observed in three of the four salinity zones this year are truly a testament to the effectiveness of long-term nutrient reductions and collaborative restoration efforts.” Really?
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.
Sign up for news & updates from Patuxent Riverkeeper