Chesapeake Bay

20 Stories

An Unwanted and Inhospitable Lighthouse Finally Sells

Hooper Island Lighthouse went for way more than the starting price

(Newser) - The federal government has sold off a rather inhospitable lighthouse in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay for a six-figure sum after a bidding war at auction. The Hooper Island Lighthouse, located west of Middle Hooper Island in Maryland's Dorchester County, at first drew little interest, reported the Washington ...

Septic Systems, Climate Change, and a Looming Eco-Catastrophe

Millions of Americans can no longer take that flush for granted

(Newser) - For millions of American homeowners and their communities, the problem with septic systems is not just another seemingly distant threat due to climate change. It’s all happening right now; and, yes, it is projected to get worse. Per a detailed report by the Washington Post, rising sea and groundwater...

Crews Refloat Grounded Ship
Full Moon Helps Refloat Ship
Apr 17, 2022 1:25 PM CDT

Full Moon Helps Refloat Ship

Ever Given's sister ship became grounded a month ago in Chesapeake Bay

(Newser) - A container ship more than three football fields long has finally been pried from the muddy bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, more than a month after it ran aground off the coast of Maryland. After two unsuccessful attempts to dislodge it, and the subsequent removal of roughly 500 of the...

3 Weeks Later, Container Ship Still Stuck in the Chesapeake

Officials now say they'll start taking hundreds of containers off the Ever Forward to break it loose

(Newser) - Update: The Ever Given was stuck in the Suez Canal for a week. A similar ordeal for the Ever Forward, also owned by Evergreen Marine Corp., in the Chesapeake Bay has lasted a lot longer than that, and officials are now shifting strategy to get that vessel unstuck. The Guardian...

Isaias Is on the Move
Isaias Is on the Move
Aug 2, 2020 5:10 PM CDT

Isaias Is on the Move

The tropical storm strengthens as it moves north

(Newser) - Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida's east coast Sunday, with the tropical storm strengthening slightly in the evening on its way up the Eastern seabord, the AP reports. Officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus in Florida kept a close watch on the storm that was...

Body of RFK's Granddaughter Found
Body of RFK's
Granddaughter Found
Apr 7, 2020 12:43 AM CDT

Body of RFK's Granddaughter Found

Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean's canoe overturned in Chesapeake Bay

(Newser) - The body of one Kennedy family member who went missing while canoeing last week has been found, the AP reports. Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, was the granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the daughter of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. She and her 8-year-old son, Gideon, went...

Kennedys Died Trying to 'Retrieve a Ball'

David McKean recounts the incidents that led to tragic accident

(Newser) - The Kennedys grappled with yet another tragic loss Friday after Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean—Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter—and her 8-year-old son, Gideon, were feared dead in a canoe accident, USA Today reports. "She was my everything," her husband, David McKean, writes on Facebook . "She was...

Chesapeake Bay Problem Becomes Political Football

And climate change isn't helping

(Newser) - When the Conowingo Dam opened to fanfare nearly a century ago, the massive wall of concrete and steel began its job of harnessing water power in northern Maryland. It also quietly provided a side benefit: trapping sediment and silt before it could flow miles downstream and pollute the Chesapeake Bay,...

Helicopter Plunges Into Bay's Deepest Waters
Helicopter Crashes
Into 'The Hole'
May 4, 2019 3:12 PM CDT

Helicopter Crashes Into 'The Hole'

Authorities are scouring the Chesapeake Bay

(Newser) - A helicopter plunged into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and triggered a desperate search for survivors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Per eyewitnesses and officials, the two-seater hovered over a nearby farm before turning toward the bay and crashing about 3/4 of a mile out. The Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived...

Double-Amputee Army Vet Dies in Paddleboard Accident

(Newser) - A double-amputee Army veteran who was called an "adventure seeker" and "strong-willed man" by friends died Wednesday in the Chesapeake Bay while paddleboarding, NPR and the Washington Post report. Cody Iorns, 25, pushed off land near Annapolis, Md., around 6pm Wednesday with three other paddlers, but rough conditions—...

A 'Pirate' Averted Disaster in the Chesapeake Bay

After hearing a mayday call, Jeremy Shockley rescued 22 people

(Newser) - Chesapeake Bay crabber Jeremy Shockley calls himself a "pirate," but a lot of other people are calling him a hero. He was at a dock in Maryland Wednesday evening when he heard a mayday call, grabbed a crew, and rescued 22 people, including 14 children, whose boat had...

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Hits 5 in Chesapeake

One woman spends a month recovering after getting infected during kayak trip

(Newser) - A Maryland woman is lucky after a "wee beastie" invaded a cut on her foot while she enjoyed the waters of the Patuxent River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. The aggressive, flesh-eating Vibrio vulnificus bacteria multiply in warm weather and can cause skin and blood infections and intestinal illness,...

Ancient Ocean Found Under Chesapeake Bay

 Ancient Ocean Found 
 Under Chesapeake Bay 
in case you missed it
Nov 24, 2013 9:04 AM CST

Ancient Ocean Found Under Chesapeake Bay

Huge crater helped preserve salty sea

(Newser) - The remains of a salty ocean ancient enough for dinosaurs to have drowned in it have been found deep in the sediment under the Chesapeake Bay. The seawater—believed to be 100 to 150 million years old—was isolated, trapped a half-mile underground, and preserved with the help of an...

CO2 Levels Are Super-Sizing Crabs

Crustaceans bulk up as carbon levels rise

(Newser) - Carbon emissions usually make news for their effect on the climate, but they're also having a major impact on marine ecosystems in the form of creating huge crustaceans, the Washington Post finds. In the Chesapeake Bay area and many others, oyster and scallop populations are dropping as crabs—who...

$10K Fish Swimming in Chesapeake Bay

Striped bass is a prize in the Maryland Fishing Challenge

(Newser) - There's never been a better time to cast a fishing line into the Chesapeake Bay. You just might reel in a striped bass worth $10,000. The fish's name is Diamond Jim, and he's a prize in the Maryland Fishing Challenge, reports the Washington Post . The prize...

Chesapeake 'Dead Zone' Could Be Largest Ever

Marine life threatened in oxygen-starved portion of bay

(Newser) - High nutrient pollution levels have caused the Chesapeake Bay's underwater "dead zone" to expand unusually quickly this year: It covers a third of the bay and will likely become the bay's largest-ever area of oxygen-starved water. The dead zone, which sucks oxygen from deep waters and kills...

2M Dead Fish Appear in Chesapeake Bay

Latest in string of animal deaths

(Newser) - And the dead animals keep coming and coming and coming . The latest: an estimated 2 million dead fish in the Chesapeake Bay. State officials investigating the fish kill believe winter temperatures are to blame. The majority of the dead fish are adult "spot," which a Maryland Department of...

EPA to Amish: Put a Lid on Your Cow Poop

Feds worried Amish polluting Chesapeake with manure runoff

(Newser) - Think the Amish, with their simple, low-consumption ways, are paragons of environment-friendly living? Think again. The EPA plans to crack down on the Amish, because their cows are generating tons of manure that wash into the Chesapeake Bay, the New York Times reports. Lancaster County generates about 61 million pounds...

Oysters May Clean East Coast Waters

Electrified reefs could help restore the population

(Newser) - Oysters can be shocked into repopulating and cleaning up America's waterways, the Christian Science Monitor reports. A project in New York's East River is using metal reefs, powered by solar panels, to build up limestone and help oysters grow. The upside is that they filter water—up to 50 gallons...

Blue Crab Disappearing From Chesapeake Bay

Longtime fishermen lament lost way of life

(Newser) - Overfishing and water pollution have put the Chesapeake Bay's signature blue crab on the brink—along with fishermen who have long depended on it. Stocks are down 65% since 1990, the AP reports, as officials in Maryland and Virginia struggle to enact a patchwork of laws to reduce the harvest,...

20 Stories