Loose Feathers #9: Chesapeake Edition

A few weeks ago, a study found little improvement in the condition of the Chesapeake Bay over the past few years. (My posts here and here.) Recently there have been new developments in the story.

• A study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series focuses on pollution as the major cause of declines in the bay's marine life and considers possible methods for remediation.
• The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has lost a lawsuit that attempted to limit nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater discharge from the town of Onancock, Virginia.
• The December issue of the Chesapeake Bay Journal has coverage of some of the bay's problems, including the decline of blue crabs from overfishing, the possibility of reducing nitrogen and phosphorus runoff through dietary changes in livestock, and the disappearance of eelgrass in many areas of the bay.
  

And some other bay notes:

• The National Geographic website has a special section devoted to the history of the Chesapeake Bay, including a flash animation comparing the the bay in 1609 when John Smith and the English arrived to the current day. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/chesapeake/)