The Chesapeake Bay region is a vast and fragile ecosystem stretching through six states and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, a mosaic of land and water whose ports, urban centers, suburbs, and farms are home to almost 17 million people and whose streams, shores, and inlets nurture 3,600 plant and animal species. Early explorers such as Captain John Smith encountered an extraordinarily productive bay with mountainous oyster reefs, masses of shad, rockfish, and sturgeon, and thick forests of underwater grasses. Today, that natural bounty is disappearing as the bay and its rivers and streams are severely stressed by pollution caused by human inhabitants. The Chesapeake watershed, the land that drains into the bay, covers 64,000 square miles.
