On Monday, July 14, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will hold a public hearing on how the 2008 Farm Bill will affect the Chesapeake Bay. Discussion will involve what new actions can be taken to reduce pollution in the bay and how to further improve the condition of the ecosystem. The hearing is open to the public and will begin at 10 a.m. in the Lowes Annapolis Hotel, 126 West St.
“The new Farm Bill includes a section specific to the bay to utilize existing conservation services,” said Doug McKalip, director of the Legislative and Public Affairs Division in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We’re looking for a lot of broad-based people to come on Monday,” he said, noting attendees will include Marylanders and citizens and officials from all six states bordering the bay. He added the NRCS is hoping exposure to such a diverse group will lead to knowledge about how the public thinks the government should spend dollars on bay programs and what conservation organizations identify as priorities regarding the watershed.
“The Bill will call for about $23 million specific to building existing conservation services, McKalip said. “We need to be able to hit the ground running in the next fiscal year. “We’ve been applying conservation practices for a number of decades. We’re not new to the bay watershed, but the new Farm Bill certainly provides a boost.”
Enthusiasm for the Chesapeake Bay, its benefits and resources, has been strong since Captain John Smith explored the area in 1607. The bay has been a central part of Maryland’s history. It is a source of water and food and is important to the state’s economy and the Department of Tourism.
“It is a cargo carrying source,” said Tracy Bowen, executive director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation in Accokeek. People use the bay for recreation and to improve their quality of life. But, “how we value the bay has really changed,” Bowen said.
The Chesapeake was more productively used in the past. Boating, crabbing and oyster harvesting were extremely popular. While those activities are still popular, the bay is less productive because of urban and farm runoff and everyday pollution. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the oysters in the watershed filtered the entire bay in about three to four days during the Colonial-era. By 1988, the depletion of the oyster beds increased the days needed for filtration to 325.
“The Farm Bill is a good opportunity to identify how we can impact the water quality,” Bowen said. “Back in the day, people actually knew their water source, and today it seems they don’t have a connection to it.” Bowen and AFF have conducted polls and surveys to identify what citizens in the bay area understand about the water quality.
The Alice Ferguson Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading awareness about the cultural heritage of the Potomac River Watershed, one of the bay’s major tributaries.