New Study Recommends Faster, More Cost-Effective Ways to Clean Up Chesapeake Bay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Contact:
Sharyn Stein – 202-572-3396 or sstein@environmentaldefense.org
Jennifer Andreassen – 202-572-3387 or jandreassen@environmentaldefense.org
 
(Washington, D.C. – November 29, 2007) Fundamental changes are needed in both public policy and private practices in order to save the Chesapeake Bay and to preserve the $1 trillion-a-year in economic benefits it generates for the regional and national economies. That’s the conclusion of a new report released by Environmental Defense today, less than one week before the annual meeting of the Chesapeake Executive Council next Wednesday.
 
The report, Farming for Clean Water , outlines a roadmap for Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, which have been moving far too slowly in spite of widespread understanding that the Bay is in trouble. The primary focus of the study is improving conservation efforts to reduce soil and nutrient runoff from farms, which offer one of the greatest opportunities to restore the health of the Bay.
 
“The Chesapeake Bay is in critical condition, but we can take steps to restore its health by cleaning it up faster and more cost-effectively than we are now,” said Suzy Friedman, a report co-author and agricultural projects manager for Environmental Defense. “Farms are the largest and the most indispensable part of the solution. We must help farmers, who already are taking steps to help the Bay, deliver even greater benefits.”
 
The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to 16 million people in six states – Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and West Virginia. (For state-by-state information related to the report, click here). The Bay has been in jeopardy from environmental degradation for many years. Crab and oyster catches are at historic lows, and local rivers and streams connected to the Bay are degraded.
 
“We have a long way to go, but we can restore the Bay – if we fundamentally change how we fund, deliver, credit and verify agricultural conservation,” said Eileen McLellan, a report co-author and Chesapeake Bay project coordinator for Environmental Defense. “We need more money, but we also must do a better, more cost-effective job with the limited resources at our disposal.”
 
The report’s recommended objectives include:
 
  • Targeting funds and attention to conservation practices that have proven most cost-effective in reducing farm runoff 
  • Making traditional conservation practices — such as nutrient management, conservation tillage, and cover crops — more effective by shifting emphasis to performance and outcomes, and by finding ways to make practices pay for themselves 
  • Increasing research and education on practices — such as dairy feed management and alternative cropping systems — that can help both the Bay and farmers’ bottom lines  
  • Increasing technical assistance resources for farmers, and creating market-based financial rewards for farmers who produce clean water and other environmental benefits 
  • Improving our abilities to track conservation funding, verifying what practices are actually implemented, and determining the nutrient and sediment load reductions they generate
 “It is critical that we remain focused on delivering the agricultural piece of a clean Bay,” said Friedman. “We hope that the city, federal and state representatives of the Chesapeake Executive Council take advantage of their meeting next Wednesday to increase attention on the role farms can play in developing innovative and cost-effective initiatives.”
 
The report has drawn support from other groups concerned with the future of the Bay.
 
“The report breaks new ground on the dialogue among agricultural stakeholders, government agencies and private efforts to achieve a healthy Chesapeake Bay,” said Bill Angstadt, executive secretary of the Delaware Maryland Agribusiness Association. “Conservation practices can pay for themselves and deliver win-win results, with economic benefits for farmers and lessened environmental impacts.”
 
“Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay is essential to the economy, heritage, and community fabric of the entire region,” said Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. “We need to find and promote those practices that are good for farmers.”
 

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