Bay Journal

Topics: People + Society

Advocates say the Chesapeake Bay would not be where it is today without the influence of former Virginia Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, who pushed for pivotal Bay policies in the late 1980s. He died Oct. 29 at his home in Charlottesville, VA, at the age of 79.

During his tenure as Virginia’s governor from 1986 to 1990, Baliles helped craft a multistate Chesapeake Bay Agreement that was the first to detail numeric goals for reducing nutrient pollution.

“Gov. Baliles, I think, is credited for laying the foundation for a lot of the environmental improvements that Virginia has seen over the last 30 years,” said Joe Maroon, executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment.

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Whitney Pipkin
November 06, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

Outreach strategies cropping up to help growing number of female farmers

One of the biggest changes to the face of agriculture and forestry these days in Chesapeake Bay states is women. That new demographic is leading some environmental groups and government agencies to launch new strategies for engaging female...

Ad Crable
October 15, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
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For farmers, Bay cleanup needs mix with fight for survival

Eighteen dollars and 16 cents. That’s how much money Forrest Pritchard cleared in the mid-1990s after his first harvest. His farm in Virginia’s fertile Shenandoah Valley produced five freight cars’ worth of corn that year. But...

Jeremy Cox
October 09, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
0 Comments

Alliance to honor environmental champions at Taste of the Chesapeake

For the last 48 years, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has believed that the best results come from bringing people together to find common ground, then working to deploy “boots on the ground” to bring clean water projects to...

Kate Fritz
August 30, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

People + Society: Archives

Neighborly approach to stream buffers has ripple effect among Amish

Each spring after the fertile fields have been planted in Lancaster County, PA, more than 400 Plain Sect children and their families gather on a restored section of Mill Creek, a stream that flows through an area with the highest concentration...

Ad Crable
August 29, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
0 Comments

Lower milk prices, demand taking toll on region’s dairy farmers

For many dairy farmers in Chesapeake Bay states, the financial screws keep tightening. While grain farmers can be hurt by disastrous years such as 2018 when water-soaked fields resulted in zero yields for some, they are backed by crop...

Ad Crable
August 22, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
1 Comment

Ruth Patrick’s stream research broke ground – and a glass ceiling or two

In World War II, the U.S. Navy captured a German submarine off the East Coast. But where in the world was the sub base that posed such an alarming threat to the country? Military officials didn’t have a clue, but they scraped the...

Ad Crable
July 30, 2019
People + Society
1 Comment

When it came to the Bay, Hughes was more than up to the challenge (Opinion)

“Harry Hughes Horton.” Sounds good, don’t ya think? A missed opportunity that I’ll explain in a bit. I always had a soft spot for Harry R. Hughes, Maryland’s governor from 1979 to 1987, who died March 13 at age...

Tom Horton
May 17, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

New National Heritage Area to highlight Susquehanna

The majestic Lower Susquehanna River, its vistas, wooded hills, sculpted potholes — in the river rocks, not roads — and its place in shaping U.S. history will get more attention now that it has earned a seat among the...

Ad Crable
May 13, 2019
People + Society
3 Comments

Rick Middleton, founder of Charlottesville-based SELC, retires

Rick Middleton didn’t fancy himself an environmental lawyer when he graduated from Yale Law School in 1971. That category didn’t exist. The United States had only just commemorated its first Earth Day, and the future founder of...

Whitney Pipkin
April 19, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

New Bay Program director has worked on water quality, Bay issues for decades

When Dana Aunkst grew up in Northcentral Pennsylvania, he didn’t have to look far from home to see water quality problems. He grew up in Watsontown, a small community along the West Branch of the Susquehanna, one of the state’s...

Karl Blankenship
April 17, 2019
People + Society,Politics + Policy
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Community conversations aim to broaden visitor experience at Piscataway Park

In the heavily wooded acres of Piscataway Park, on Maryland’s shore of the Potomac River, is a popular collection of cattle, sheep, hogs and plants — with breeds and varieties commonly found on local farms in the 1700s. Along with...

Whitney Pipkin
April 11, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

Academy prepares citizens to lead the way in Bay cleanup

Maya Alexander wants to help a school in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County gain its “green” certification. She is committed to volunteering for months, training students how to save energy, recycle classroom waste and collect...

Jeremy Cox
March 19, 2019
People + Society
1 Comment

Former MD governor Harry Hughes, who launched Bay restoration, dies

Former Maryland Gov. Harry R. Hughes, who launched the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, died Wednesday at his home on the Eastern Shore. He was 92. The state’s 57th governor, in office from 1979 to 1987, forged the federal-state...

Timothy B. Wheeler
March 14, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

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