Bridges cross the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Md., on June 27, 2016. (Image by Will Parson)

The Chesapeake Bay continues to show signs of improved health, according to the most recent Chesapeake Bay Report Card from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). While the estuary’s “C” grade remains unchanged since 2012, the score of 54 percent in 2016 is an improvement from a 53 percent in 2015 and 50 percent in 2014.

“The 2016 Report Card again shows a steady improvement in a variety of ecosystem health indicators throughout the Bay,” said Nick DiPasquale, Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, in a release. “These improvements are accomplished by cooperation and collaboration at all levels of government and with the active participation and support of informed citizens."

UMCES researchers use several indicators of Bay health to calculate the Chesapeake Bay Health Index, including water clarity and dissolved oxygen, the amount of algae and nutrients in the water, the abundance of underwater grasses and the strength of populations like blue crabs and striped bass.

Many of these indicators improved or held steady from the previous year. The Fisheries Index, for example, improved from a 73 percent in 2015 to a 90 percent in 2016, with blue crabs in particular showing a marked increase. Phosphorus pollution also decreased across much of the estuary and its tributaries, and dissolved oxygen levels remained high.

Despite this progress, experts caution that more work is needed to see a fully restored Bay. Nitrogen pollution worsened from 2015 to 2016, as did populations of benthic organisms—the worms, clams and other invertebrates that live at the bottom of the Bay.

“We are happy to see that our beloved Chesapeake Bay continues its recovery. These scientifically rigorous report card results are telling us that we are indeed heading in the right direction,” said Dr. Bill Dennison, Vice President for Science Application at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “We still have a long way to go to fully restoring the Bay, so we need to have our diverse partnerships of people and organizations continue to work together to reduce the runoff of sediments and nutrients into the Bay.”

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