Beyond the Bay Initiative

The Chesapeake Bay region represents some of the most important migration and wintering habitat in the Atlantic Flyway.

However, industrial, commercial and agricultural development have taken heavy tolls on the health of the Chesapeake.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is the focus of Ducks Unlimited's Beyond the Bay program, which improves water quality and restores and enhances key waterfowl migration and wintering habitats.

It has been estimated that the bay ecosystem supports some 2,700 species. However, Maryland has lost 73% of its wetlands; Virginia, 42%; and Pennsylvania, 56%.

Sedimentation and nutrient loading have had serious consequences in the area, most notably the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds. 

SAV production is critical to sustaining fish and wildlife populations by providing food and cover and in the maintenance of water quality by absorbing nutrients and filtering sediments.

The Bay once was the principle over wintering area for the canvasback duck, where 50% of the continental population could be found.

These high populations were supported by extensive aquatic plants, which have declined to historical low levels.

Key points:

The Chesapeake Bay area encompasses a 64,000 square mile drainage area located in the mid-atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard.

The region is recognized as the most significant migration and wintering habitat in the Atlantic Flyway.

The salt and fresh water marshes in the area provide for fish, shellfish, and many other types of wildlife.

Great amounts of forests in the area have been cleared. The remaining are unable to support many species of neotropical song birds that depend on large blocks of forest to successfully breed.

Primary species that benefit:

American black ducks
mallards
canvasback
Canada Geese

Threatened or endangered plants and animals:

piping plover
bald eagle
peregrine falcon
Delmarva fox squirrel
sensitive joint vetch
Virginia round-leaf birch
Peters mountain mallow
James River Spiny mussel

Project and Partnership examples:

A Memorandum of Understanding between DU and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation activated restoration programs in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation pledged $75,000 in support of the effort. To date, over 3,300 acres of habitat have been restored on public and private land.