Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog

President Proposes Almost $24 Million in Cuts for Bay Region

Once again, the Bush Administration is proposing to reduce federal funding for pollution reduction, species preservation, and habitat restoration in the Bay region. This year the proposed decrease is almost 24 million dollars.

With only three years to go to meet the 2010 goals for the Bay, this is a step backwards, just when the Bay states have been stepping forward with unprecedented programs and funding to reduce pollution. 

However, there is still opportunity to turn around the President’s proposed cuts. Congress frequently makes significant changes to the President’s proposal before it takes final action. This is where you can help. 

Right now and through the middle of this month, your locally elected U.S. Senators and Representative are developing their own list of priority requests for consideration by the all-important Appropriations Committees. These requests are often even more important than the President’s. 

You can encourage your elected officials to reverse the trend set by this President and fight for increasing, not decreasing, federal help for the restoration of the Bay and the streams that feed it. 

The Bay needs your help. Click here to write to your Senators and Representative to let them know you care.

Take the Polar Bear Plunge and Fight Global Warming

On December 8, CBF's president, Will Baker, will join hundreds of others across the country and take the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's third annual Polar Bear Plunge into the fridgid waters of Chesapeake Bay. Won't you join him?

CCAN's annual polar bear plunge draws prominent elected officials and journalists and allows us to dramatically communicate the dire threat to our planet’s environment – and to the Chesapeake Bay. We have one planet and it has a fever, and we need clean energy solutions now.

Join Will and other CBFers at this event and fundraiser. It all begins at 11 am on Saturday, Dec. 8th on the beach at CBF's Merrill Center headquarters in Annapolis. CCAN will have heated tents on the beach plus hot chocolate and donuts and even a trio of polar bears who sing rap songs for the Earth. It’s fun for the whole family for a cause that couldn’t be more vital.

Can't get to Annapolis? Check CCAN's Keep Winter Cold website for a plunge near you.

Register online at keepwintercold.org

And, again, keep in mind that this is also a fundraiser for CCAN and their work to fight global warming, such as the campaign to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act here in Maryland. Participants are simply asked to get their friends and family members to give pledges to sponsor their plunge. It’s easy, and CCAN will take care of all the details.

New Yorkers Find Eden

An article in the NY Daily News reveals that the Chesapeake Bay "is becoming increasingly popular with New Yorkers who can't quite believe how quickly they can reach the area."

Travel writers, B&B owners, and residents -- this is your chance to educate our New York tourists that they, too, belong to the Chesapeake Bay watershed and their help is needed if it is to remain a vacation destination.

To our New York visitors, share with us what lures you down to the Bay.

Wetlands' future depends on education

If you're looking for a good article about the importance of wetlands and the challenges they are facing in the Chesapeake Bay watershed this article from The Daily Times is a must-read.

What have we been doing for 19 years?

An article in today's Washington Post includes the following quote from J. Charles Fox, a former head of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about efforts over the past 19 years to clean up the Chesapeake Bay:

"We have done a truly tremendous job of defining the problem, and we have done a truly tremendous job of defining the solution. But we have not yet succeeded in actually implementing the solution."

National and local legislators throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will be tackling tough questions during this session. Keep David Fahrenthold's article in mind when the time comes to decide what efforts need your support.

More from the Washington Post:

• A picture is worth a thousand words. What will you do to protect the beauty of the Bay?
• Staggering amounts of work and funding are still needed.

National River Cleanup Week

American Rivers and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have set National River Cleanup Week for June 2-10, 2007. Organize a cleanup or find a cleanup near you.