Chesapeake Bay

I always worry, as I dust off the syllabus and prepare my fall course at Salisbury University - will the final exam show up? Storms along their 4,000-mile migration corridor or conditions on their sub-Arctic nesting grounds might delay the wild swans. They seldom arrive where I take my students until just before the semester ends. I designed "Topics in Chesapeake Bay" to be different. The university affords me the luxury of doing it as an inspirational condiment atop the required courses.

A boater discovered decomposed remains in the Chesapeake Bay south of the Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County shortly before noon on Sunday, Maryland Natural Resources Police said. The remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said. Because of the decomposition of the body, the age, gender and race of the victim could not be determined, officials said. After the boater reported the discovery, the NRP and the Coast Guard responded to the area.

With a new survey finding the Chesapeake Bay's crab population at its lowest level in five years after a poor spawn last year, Maryland officials announced Friday they would move to tighten catch limits on the region's iconic crustacean. The annual winter survey of Maryland and Virginia waters tallied 300 million crabs, the Department of Natural Resources reported. That's down nearly two-thirds from the number seen last year, when Gov. Martin O'Malley held a press conference at a crab house in Annapolis to declare crabs had rebounded from near-collapse in 2008 and were more plentiful than they'd been in nearly two decades.

The Chesapeake Bay's water quality has taken a turn for the better, state officials report, as the oxygen-starved 'dead zone' where fish, crabs and shellfish struggle to breathe has shrunk to its second smallest since 1985. Water samples taken in early August found that 11.8 percent of the Maryland portion of the bay has poor oxygen levels, nearly half the long-term average for this time of year, according to a report posted online by the state Department of Natural Resources . That's a turnaround from July, when the volume of water with low oxygen levels was above average.

You're never far from water in Maryland, with the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisecting the state. Yet for all that, there's a surprising shortage of places where people can launch a boat, cast a fishing line or wade in. A coalition of recreational enthusiasts, small businesses, local governments and civic and nonprofit groups hopes to change that.  They've launched a " Freedom to Float " campaign, seeking to capitalize on the release this week of...

What exactly is "stupefying" about turning the care of the Chesapeake Bay over to the state which has the greatest stake in having it be clean and functioning ("No defender of the bay," July 18)? Or was your editorial more about political candidates The Sun's editorial board wishes to support and less about issues? David Riley

As any parent knows, poor midterm grades present a dilemma. Is it better to be encouraging and positive, or to get outraged and impose punishment? Lean too far one way and you're a softie, the other and you may face only resistance and obstinacy. Such is the case with the two-year milestones set last year toward the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay by the states whose rivers drain into the estuary and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At the midway point, the results are a mixed bag at best.

Having moved to Maryland two years ago, I've learned something about its people: Marylanders stand up for the Chesapeake Bay. A healthy bay underlies the regional economy and is a fundamental part of our rich heritage. Four decades ago, Congress took action to protect places like the bay with the passage of the hallmark Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. These laws protect the bay for crabbers, oystermen, sailors and swimmers alike, while also protecting characteristic Maryland wildlife like the piping plover and the Maryland darter.

Unless I completely misinterpret this story ("Fatter folks, sicker bay," April 20), which is easy to do any time a "lefty" talks, it is a complete load of garbage! When the writer suggests that the health of the Chesapeake Bay is affected by the obesity of those who live near it, I have to respond that this is just another desperate attempt to lay blame on people, which usually is a precursor to another invasive law and a further erosion of freedom and liberty. He writes about a book he is reading by medical researchers and associates their findings with meanderings of his own mental deficiency and says, "It's intriguing to compare graphs these [Bay health]

On a hot summer day, it's hard to see how the Conowingo Dam could hurt the Chesapeake Bay. Anglers line the shore below the 94-foot high impoundment, casting out into the gently roiling Susquehanna River for rockfish breaking the water. Yet unseen, on the other side of the dam, millions upon millions of tons of sediment and nutrient pollution are slowly building up that could wreak havoc on the bay if they get through. "It's an invisible problem," said Michael Helfrich, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, as he watches the fishermen.