Chesapeake Bay's Health Starting To Improve

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- For years, the news about the health of the Chesapeake Bay has been bad.

Now, as Mike Schuh reports, experts are offering a glimmer of hope.

Too much fertilizer, too few crabs, fish and grasses. Experts worried if the damage could ever be undone---but according to a new report, things are moving in the right direction.

"This year, there are a number of indicators that are moving in a very positive direction. In many cases, it represents a trend that has taken place over a significant period of time," said Chesapeake Bay Program Director Nick DePasquale.

The experts are hopeful enough to say that the bay is in a state of recovery. Blue crabs, in particular, are looking good. Mild weather means more of the little crabs are surviving and the places where they live, the bay grasses, are on a rebound.

"And in the case of submerged vegetation, the bay grasses, we've seen a 27% increase," he said.

Shad is up 30% over target, but an area of improvement includes creating more shade forests near our waterways. But overall, slowly, the bay is getting better. Environmentalists say credit goes to a new coordinated effort by six states and the federal government.

"But we're operating in a much more coordinated fashion that we have in the past and I think we're seeing the benefits of that," he said.

Excess nitrogen fertilizer hurts the bay. This recent survey indicates that recent policy changes have resulted in a six percent decrease in the amount of nitrogen getting into the bay.