Issue Position: Protecting the Chesapeake Bay

Issue Position

The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are a prized treasure, not only for Marylanders but for our entire region. The beauty of, and the bounties produced by, the Bay are treasured by every Marylander - from the Eastern Shore to the mountains of Western Maryland. For many years, blue crabs, oysters, clams and rockfish were abundant - and just some of the staples that helped our Maryland watermen earn a living. However, for more than a half-century the Chesapeake Bay has seen troubled times, suffering from overfishing, sediment runoff, excess nitrogen and phosphorus, and devastating disease. These physical factors plus bureaucratic red tape have driven many watermen out of work and have kept us from returning the Bay to the status it once enjoyed.

Restoring the Bay requires a multi-faceted approach - protecting the forests in the Bay watershed, addressing urban run-off, upgrading sewage treatment plants, and investigating new innovative cures for fishery diseases. Addtionally, restoration of the Bay's bottom and water column requires a unique form of "best managment practices" be developed and implemented for a completely, healthy ecosystem. These practices must reduce agriculture run-off while maintaining competitiveness for our important Eastern Shore agriculture and poultry industries.

Much has been attempted at our state level, but since the Bay watershed includes many states, there is an important federal and regional role in Bay restoration. As a member of Congress I would work with my fellow Members of Congress and federal officials to assess the effectiveness and funding of Federal programs and to ensure collaboration between state and federal agencies to accomplish these goals. I would meet regularly with officials and Governors of the Bay watershed states to improve communication, cooperation and multistate responsibility. Only by forming local and regional partnerships with people and organizations that have the Chesapeake's best interests at heart will we realize the full potential of the Chesapeake Bay.

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