Bay Journal

Topics: People + Society

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 rainwater to water plants.

A 24-year-old with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Alexander said she hopes to dedicate her career — whatever that turns out to be — to changing the way people think about the environment, as well as the way they treat the Chesapeake Bay in their own backyards.

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Jeremy Cox
March 19, 2019
People + Society
0 Comments

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

Lure of mainland tugs at roots – and hearts – of Smith Islanders

In the spring of 1987, I made the best move of my life — to remote Smith Island, MD, whose fisherfolk had endured for more than three centuries, 10 miles offshore in the center of Chesapeake Bay. It never crossed my mind I’d end up...

Tom Horton
March 13, 2019
Climate Change,People + Society
3 Comments

New ‘air force’ joins ranks of campaign to protect Chesapeake

Riverkeepers, researchers and volunteer monitors have long kept an eye on water quality from the ground and from the river. But, with the help of technology that’s suddenly far more accessible, they’re taking to the skies, too. Once...

Whitney Pipkin
March 12, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
0 Comments

People + Society: Archives

Middle Susquehanna mascot noses around when pollution is suspected

Carol Parenzan became the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper in July 2015 and was charged with protecting and improving the health of the river’s watershed between its north and west branches. Shortly afterward, her first staff member came...

Donna Morelli
February 12, 2019
People + Society,Pollution
0 Comments

Don’t let the bounty of the Chesapeake become only a memory (Opinion)

You get to a certain point in your life and you know that your days are numbered. You have a lot of years to look back and reflect on the parts that you enjoyed the most. One of those things for me is the Chesapeake Bay. I have traveled all...

Bill Bartlett
February 01, 2019
Fisheries,People + Society
1 Comment

Preserve fish or history? VA dam removal churns up debate

The Maury River appears tranquil as its glides past Lexington, VA. But the debate over its future has been anything but smooth. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is working with the city to tear down a hole-ridden dam that...

Jeremy Cox
January 29, 2019
Fisheries,People + Society
3 Comments

Chesapeake Bay Foundation celebrates 40 years of immersing students in watershed experiences (Opinion)

Forty years ago this fall, a group of school teachers arrived at the remote fishing village of Tylerton, MD, on Smith Island with their sleeping bags. Then, they put on old sneakers and walked into the nearby salt marshes. Those teachers from...

Tom Ackerman
December 20, 2018
People + Society
0 Comments

Cattle farmer uses down-to-earth practices to beef up the soil

The shaggy Red Devon-Angus and doe-eyed Jersey cattle surrounding Virginia farmer Matt Rales are more than the sum of their parts — though their meat will eventually be sold by the pound. To Rales, they are tools to tangibly address...

Whitney Pipkin
December 18, 2018
Climate Change,People + Society
3 Comments

Efforts strive to make outdoor spaces more inviting, accessible to all

When Kevin Bryan visits Rock Creek Park near his home in the District of Columbia, it reminds him of what’s possible. He sees families from many ethnic backgrounds hosting barbecues and birthday parties at picnic tables. Dog walkers wind...

Whitney Pipkin
December 11, 2018
People + Society
1 Comment

Months after storms, Chesapeake debris cleanup presses on

A half-submerged tree trunk bobbed in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. From his perch several hundred feet away aboard a small barge, John Gallagher began giving orders to his crew. Not much needed to be said. By now, the actions of the...

Jeremy Cox
December 05, 2018
Climate Change,People + Society
0 Comments

Watershed forum celebrates diverse, innovative partnerships (Opinion)

The first weekend of November marked the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s 13th annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum in Shepherdstown, WV. The event was a whirlwind of workshops, socializing, getting lost in the yellow, autumn forest and...

Lucy Heller
November 30, 2018
People + Society
0 Comments

Project to revive shoreline park using dredged material wins support (Blog)

A pioneering plan to revive a faded waterfront community park using sand and silt dredged from Baltimore’s harbor took a couple of small but significant steps forward this week. Community leaders in Turner Station, a historically...

Timothy B. Wheeler
November 29, 2018
Conservation + Land Use,People + Society
2 Comments

What on Earth led to the failure of environmental ethics? (Opinion)

Surveying the current wreckage of federal environmental policies, I’ve wondered: Close to half a century out from the first Earth Day — April 1970 — how could such a dramatic reversal even be possible? Across the board,...

Tom Horton
November 28, 2018
People + Society
3 Comments

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