Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy
New York and the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is about 200 miles long with more than 1,600 miles of shoreline in its many coves, wetlands and tidal tributaries. It provides habitat to more than 3,600 different species of plants and animals and produces nearly 500 million pounds of seafood per year. The Chesapeake Bay (Bay) watershed covers 64,000 square miles and includes more than 16 million people in portions of 6 states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.
For larger image, click map
The New York portion of the Bay watershed consists of the Chemung and Susquehanna River basins and includes more than 6,250 square miles in 19 counties with a population of about 650,000 people.
The Bay has been significantly degraded since at least 1980 from excess sediment and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) entering its waters. Primary nutrient sources are sewage, cattle manure, inorganic fertilizer and atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Primary sediment sources are agriculture, stream bank erosion and construction.
Each state, including New York, is committed to developing and implementing a tributary strategy. Tributary strategies outline how nutrient and sediment loads delivered to the Bay could be reduced. They are living documents meant to be amended as better information is obtained.
To develop the New York Tributary Strategy, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has partnered with the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC) to help provide local input and technical support. The USC is a bi-state network of county natural resource professionals whose mission is to conserve the soil and water resources of the headwaters of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.
The USC includes representatives from the 13 New York counties that make up a vast majority of the New York portion of the Bay watershed. They are well suited to develop, implement and track many of the nonpoint aspects of the strategy.
A draft strategy was made available for public comment in May 2007. The final version of this strategy (pdf, 714 kb) and the response to comments (pdf, 32 kb) may be viewed by downloading the files or by contacting Peter Freehafer at (518) 402-8205.
Further information the Chesapeake Bay and our effort in New York can be obtained from the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition.
More about Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy:
- NY and the Chesapeake Bay Large Map - Large version of map for NY and the Chesapeake Bay.
