The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure that has experienced widespread decline over the past four decades: toxic pollution, excess nutrient input increasing production of algae bloom, and declining sea grasses impact populations of the bay’s fish and wildlife species.

Appalachian forests, rivers, flyways - the forest blanketing the mountain chain stretching from Maine to Georgia - contains some of the richest streams in the world, with globally significant populations of fish, crayfish, mussels, and other invertebrates. The Mid-Atlantic portion of the forest also supports a rich diversity of terrestrial plants and wildlife, including a wide variety of deciduous tree species and songbirds, serving as one of the key corridors for bird migration along the Atlantic Flyway.

With extensive coastal shorelines, the mid-Atlantic coastal areas provide innumerable opportunities for wildlife-oriented recreation, ranging fishing and crabbing, bird watching and hunting. The iconic places for carrying out these recreational activities are the federal and state wildlife refuges. However, intensive economic development and population pressures have severely threatened and degraded natural habitat in coastal zones.

Impacts of climate change will be more evident and dramatic in the Chesapeake region than almost anywhere else in the nation. Loss of coastal wetlands, changes in water temperatures, increased prevalence of marine diseases, and increased pollution could cause some commercial saltwater fisheries such as winter flounder, blue crab, and rockfish to decline or even collapse, causing economic hardship for many in the region.

Fewer waterfowl will make their way to the Chesapeake Bay each year due to alterations to breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole region, changes to migration patterns from warmer temperatures, and loss of habitat in the Bay region from sea-level rise. Fishing in the Chesapeake Bay will also be affected by impacts such as warmer water temperatures. Impacts on Appalachian forests and rivers will also pose grave threats to biodiversity with warming streams, changing water flows, and the loss of habitat for migrating songbirds.