Chesapeake Bay Journal

Young American shad will soon begin their perilous fall migration out of Bay tributaries and into coastal waters where, if they're lucky, they will live the next four or five years until they return as adults to spawn.

As they swim downstream, they will have to find their way past predators their ancestors never had to deal with, such as blue catfish in Virginia rivers and the Potomac, largemouth bass-even snakeheads. In some rivers, the young shad will have to make their way through power-producing turbines at hydroelectric dams.

When they make it to the Bay, they'll have to get past a hungry and abundant population of striped bass. Not only is the population large, individual fish on average are bigger than they have been in decades, meaning they need more to eat.

Come back on the Beaten Path: Capt. John Smith brought the earliest Europeans to the shores of the Nanticoke River in 1608. Before long, he might also bring more customers to Millie's Road House in the town of Vienna, MD.

White House seeks to cut conservation funding for help Bay farmers: The fate of a huge Farm Bill spending increase targeting the Bay watershed was clouded this summer when the Bush administration proposed withholding that money in the 2009 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

PA approves bill that would help fund wastewater plant upgrades: The Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell approved bills in early July that could make up to $1.2 billion in new funding available for infrastructure improvements, including wastewater treatment plant upgrades in the Bay watershed.

Alliance partnership with Coke, OMO-SET offers free rain barrels: Free rain barrels are available through a partnership between the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore Coca-Cola Bottling Company and OMO-Science, Energy & Technology. By collecting rainwater that normally flows off a property, rain barrels save money on water bills, conserve water during dry periods and prevent polluted runoff.

Emissions ruling may cause Bay to miss nutrient reduction goal for air: A federal court ruling in July that tossed out an EPA rule to reduce smog and soot pollution in the Eastern United States means the Bay Program will likely miss one of the few 2010 nutrient reduction goals it had been expected to achieve.

NOAA deploys 'smart buoy' near mouth of Rappahannock: People exploring the Bay-whether on boats, or taking a virtual excursion on the Internet-can tap into information from a "smart buoy" deployed this summer near the mouth of the Rappahannock River.

Ariakensis introduction report set to be released in October: The long-anticipated environmental impact statement regarding the potential introduction of a nonnative oyster into the Chesapeake Bay has been delayed again, with officials now expecting a draft report to be released in October.

Action plan will coordinate; review Bay cleanup goals: For the past quarter century, the Bay Program has promised to achieve hundreds of goals for everything from improving water quality to ensuring that every high school student gets a "meaningful watershed experience" before graduating.