The Chesapeake Bay has come a long way, even in the short time that I've been boating here. The water in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore is getting clearer. Crab and fish populations are improving. And now I hear about this new project: New Reef Created in Chesapeake Bay. The article isn't long, but here is a real quick synopsis:
A dam was demolished. Rather than toss all that concrete into a landfill, it was tested for contaminants and broken into small chunks. That concrete is now sitting on the bottom at the mouth of the Chester River as a reef. They plan to seed the area with baby oysters. Let's hope it works!
For my fellow boaters: "Designers worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard to build a reef that would not impede vessels." Not bad - trying to save the environment AND considering the desires of humans. I wonder if I should get an upgrade for my boat GPS? While the reef won't "impede" vessels, is it somewhere that pleasure boaters could go in the past? I'm not complaining, I just don't want to be cruising along thinking that the water in front of me is deep enough and CRUNCH! My guess is that signs will be posted for a while until everyone is used to it.
We have a long way to go, but I'm so happy to see steps being taken to fix what we messed up. I hope the baby oysters like their new home.
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