‘Playing defense on every level': Advocates worry about future of Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the healthiest it has been according to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science The Statement Card gave the Bay a C a grade the Bay hasn t received since But conservationists and advocates stated the News I-Team they ve never experienced anything like the chaos and proposed cuts of the past five months According to those experts it is already putting decades of environmental progress in jeopardy I ve never seen anything like this Hilary Harp Falk the president and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation narrated the I-Team I have been in this field for years Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay has been a decades-long fight Triumphant the I-Team is communicated because of cooperation between the federal governing body six states the District of Columbia and a host of nonprofits committed to restoring the Bay Falk notified I-Team you can see touch and swim in the progress that has been made and she worries proposed budget cuts by President Donald Trump could undo the changes It doesn t make sense to me It s crab feasts and oysters It is swimming in your local river all of that Falk explained the I-Team on a pier above the Bay It s getting better and the idea that we would stop or take a step back really is hard to get your head around Looming cuts impact on Bay Falk noted she s worried about the impact of thousands of job losses in federal environmental agencies frozen grants and those proposed budget cuts The chaos is that every hour on the hour there s a new announcement a new rollback There s a phone call from a federal colleague who s just lost their job Falk noted While the federal leadership won t release precise numbers Falk reported thousands of people have left agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the U S Geological Survey and the U S Department of Agriculture all of which do central work on the Bay There s an incredible amount of talent right now that s flooding out of the federal regime Falk explained the I-Team On top of the job losses conservationists are tracking more than billion in cuts to federal agencies proposed in President Trump s up-to-date budget outline The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says it is money the USGS uses to monitor fish and stream wellness in the Bay Money the Agriculture Department granted to farmers to adopt environmentally friendly farming techniques frozen Kristin Reilly the director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition explained that s hurt years of trust-building with farmers I don t think farmers are going to be alone in their hesitation on federal funding she declared Part of those massive proposed cuts according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation include billion from the EPA budget slightly more than half the agency s budget last year The EPA devotes million annually to the Bay restoration alone according to the foundation Terminated grants Reilly explained these days are full of anxiety for her and her squad too I would be lying to say if we weren t extremely worried about what s going on Reilly disclosed Her coalition is tracking dozens of grants Bay restoration groups count on that they say have been canceled Reilly declared specific after work had already begun resiliency projects like flood walls urban tree planting to increase shade and fight circumstances change and environmental justice grants Reilly commented even grants that are still funded have been frozen and unfrozen at least once in the past four months causing unease and confusion The future of the Bay Facing intense questioning at a latest Senate committee EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin seemed to back the Bay The Chesapeake Bay Venture is an amazing plan Zeldin narrated Sen Chris Van Hollen D-Md Our crew takes great pride in running it with a lot of success stories that span multiple states including yours We will make sure you also have a smile on your face when the full budget is circulated and you see the numbers for the Chesapeake Bay Cars Autos May EV uncertainty How Trump's charging station funding freeze is affecting the DC area News I-Team May Maryland crab watermen hope higher tariffs will aid their struggling industry It is promising but not a guarantee in budget writing or law Not yet Federal money spent on the Bay both Falk and Reilly say cannot be replaced by states or by private donors The Bay Foundation s Falk says it is taking them away from the job at hand We are playing defense on pretty much every single level and it s really taking away from the work we should be doing Falk announced Published by Ted Oberg produced by Rick Yarborough and shot and edited by Jeff Piper