Upper Bay

The near-record amount of runoff that coursed down the Susquehanna River and into the Chesapeake Bay last spring has created the lowest salinity levels seen in the upper bay since 1985, when water monitoring stations were established. Gauges at the Conowingo Dam registered 5 trillion gallons of discharge during the three-month gusher that ended in May, enough to replace the water in the upper bay every 30 days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The spring total is surpassed only by 1993, when 5.5 trillion gallons gushed from the river's mouth.

Capt. Herbert Hamilton Ward III, a retired career naval officer who was active in Upper Chesapeake Bay environmental matters and other issues, died March 17 from complications of a blood clot at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. The Broadmead retirement community resident was 91. The son of a lawyer and a homemaker, Herbert Hamilton Ward III was born and raised in Wilmington, Del., where he graduated in 1939 from Friends School. He was a member of an accelerated wartime class at the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1943.

Much like last year, this fall's rockfish season has been something of a mystery for a lot of fishermen especially in the middle and upper bay, where the catch rate has been low.Reports out of the lower areas of Maryland's tidal waters -- from the Virginia state to Hooper Island Light -- indicate great striper fishing for chummers and trollers, with catches averaging 5 to 8 pounds.But farther north, the action is off.Ask a fisherman what the problem is, and there are many responses:* The water is still too warm (surface temperature was 66 degrees at the mouth of the Patapsco River late last week)

State biologists have found "concentrated pockets" of dead oysters in the upper Chesapeake Bay, which they blame on a record-high influx of fresh water into the estuary this year. But the die-off appears so far to be limited to two areas north of the Bay Bridge, officials note, which together account for just 2 percent of the state's overall oyster harvest. Reporting preliminary results from a continuing baywide survey, the Department of Natural Resources said biologists recently found three-fourths or more of the oysters dead on bars between the mouth of the Patapsco and Magothy rivers and across the bay in an area north of Rock Hall.

Yesterday's fishing report incorrectly listed the minimum length for rockfish through Sunday. The minimum is 28 inches.The Sun regrets the error.For several years after the 5-year moratorium on fishing for rockfish was lifted at the start of this decade, waters of the upper Chesapeake Bay remained closed for the spring season on big spawning rockfish.The reasoning of state Fisheries Service biologists was to protect a major spawning area and the mature migratory rockfish that late each spring or early summer reproduce, leave the bay and travel as far north as Nova Scotia.

The wind was southwest somewhere over 15 knots as the 20-footer rose and fell off Kent Island above the Bay Bridge. Even with the double spans breaking up the breeze and the piers and pilings knocking down the seas, fishing was barely tolerable -- and the catch rate was as poor as the weather.One 28-inch rockfish had been caught nearly two hours earlier, attacking a large, white bunker spoon. But since a pair of spoons and a pair of parachutes and plastic shad had produced nothing -- and it appeared the catch of the day might become a late spring cold.

Governor Parris N. Glendening told port of Baltimore officials yesterday that the state has identified five potential locations for a vital, but controversial, upper bay dredge disposal site.But Mr. Glendening declined to identify the locations or say much about them at a morning meeting with the Private Sector Port Committee, a group that represents nearly every aspect of port operations.He said the state is working with the legislature, business groups, watermen and other organizations to establish a new dredge site, and he said he didn't want to generate public opposition to any plan before the state has had time to address concerns that are expected to arise.

The tropical storm that deluged Maryland in early September may have killed off many of the oysters in the upper Chesapeake Bay, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman said Monday. DNR spokesman Josh Davidsburg wouldn't say how extensive or severe the die-off was, saying state biologists are still checking. But he did say preliminary reports indicate the bivalves died from an overwhelming influx of fresh water into the upper bay after Tropical Storm Lee, which rained 12 inches or more over much of the region.

State officials say they are investigating a "very large" fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, but suspect cold temperatures killed them, rather than any water-quality problems. An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers. Agency spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus said bay water quality appears acceptable, and biologists believe "cold-water stress" the likely cause of the fish kill.

U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest is urging state officials to abandon plans for an Upper Bay dredge spoil disposal site and instead to seek land for such a facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground.The proposed Upper Bay facility -- a man-made island of dredge material similar to Hart-Miller Island in southeast Baltimore -- is a key part of a 20-year comprehensive plan aimed at deciding where to put the mud and silt scooped from Maryland's extensive shipping channels.But, as state officials mull four potential sites between the mouth of the Patapsco River and Pooles Island, community opposition is growing to the proposed island that could hold 100 million cubic yards of dredge material.

The tropical storm that deluged Maryland in early September may have killed off many of the oysters in the upper Chesapeake Bay, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman said Monday. DNR spokesman Josh Davidsburg wouldn't say how extensive or severe the die-off was, saying state biologists are still checking. But he did say preliminary reports indicate the bivalves died from an overwhelming influx of fresh water into the upper bay after Tropical Storm Lee, which rained 12 inches or more over much of the region.

Last week when Herbert Sachs, Maryland's representative on the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, said the problem of silt build-up behind Conowingo Dam had been discussed for years, but nothing had been done about it, he was spot on. The inaction over well in excess of a decade means the reality of a substantial ecological disaster is looming large. The kind of disaster risked by leaving the mess of sediment behind Conowingo Dam isn't the sort of thing that would cost human lives, but it is the kind of thing that is bound to change life along the Chesapeake Bay. It's also the kind of disaster we've experienced before.

The near-record amount of runoff that coursed down the Susquehanna River and into the Chesapeake Bay last spring has created the lowest salinity levels seen in the upper bay since 1985, when water monitoring stations were established. Gauges at the Conowingo Dam registered 5 trillion gallons of discharge during the three-month gusher that ended in May, enough to replace the water in the upper bay every 30 days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The spring total is surpassed only by 1993, when 5.5 trillion gallons gushed from the river's mouth.

State officials say they are investigating a "very large" fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, but suspect cold temperatures killed them, rather than any water-quality problems. An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers. Agency spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus said bay water quality appears acceptable, and biologists believe "cold-water stress" the likely cause of the fish kill.

The Inner Harbor's no place to swim anyway, but now you can add another reason not to go in the water downtown: jellyfish. Softball-sized, milky white and bell-shaped, with long tentacles trailing, the gelatinous animals could be seen moving slowly about Thursday in the murky water by the Constellation. Scientists identified them as Chrysaora quinquecirrha — the most common of sea nettles in the Chesapeake Bay. Usually, though, they hang out farther south, where they sting unwary bathers and swimmers.

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said that all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Schopenhauer's views could be applied to almost any issue that is currently being debated, but it seems one of the most useful times is during discussions of any environmental problem. Just listen to conversations about global warming. The truth behind Schopenhauer's model was brought home on a local level during a recent presentation to a group about the problems of silt behind the Conowingo Dam. One man in the back of the room was quietly polite but obviously anxious to say something.

In rare good news for the Chesapeake Bay, scientists reported Wednesday that underwater grasses made significant gains last year in the beleaguered estuary, growing thickly enough in the upper bay to visibly clear the water while continuing to rebound in the lower bay. Aerial surveys found that the grasses had spread across nearly 12,000 additional acres of bottom last year, an increase of 18 percent from 2007, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program, the...

Last week when Herbert Sachs, Maryland's representative on the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, said the problem of silt build-up behind Conowingo Dam had been discussed for years, but nothing had been done about it, he was spot on. The inaction over well in excess of a decade means the reality of a substantial ecological disaster is looming large. The kind of disaster risked by leaving the mess of sediment behind Conowingo Dam isn't the sort of thing that would cost human lives, but it is the kind of thing that is bound to change life along the Chesapeake Bay. It's also the kind of disaster we've experienced before.

In rare good news for the Chesapeake Bay, scientists reported Wednesday that underwater grasses made significant gains last year in the beleaguered estuary, growing thickly enough in the upper bay to visibly clear the water while continuing to rebound in the lower bay. Aerial surveys found that the grasses had spread across nearly 12,000 additional acres of bottom last year, an increase of 18 percent from 2007, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program, the...