A large-scale Watershed Restoration And Stewardship Project
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- The Potomac River Basin
- Issues in the Potomac River Basin - Resource use demands on the Potomac River Basin are
he Chesapeake Bay is our nation’s largest estuary and one of the most productive in the world. It was the first estuary targeted for restoration and protection in the United States. Stretching over 200 miles from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to the ocean with over 7000 miles of shoreline, and an average depth of only 22 feet, the Chesapeake characterizes the heart and soul of the Mid-Atlantic region. Its vast size and shallowness determine its amazing productivity and its sensitivity to what flows off the land and from its tributaries. The Bay’s watershed is home to nearly 15 million people and portions of six states make up its watershed.
The Potomac River BasinThe Potomac River Basin is one of the nation’s most geologically and ecologically distinct river basins. It runs over 383 miles from Fairfax Stone, West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland and drains 14,670 square miles of land area from four states and the District of Columbia. Due to its size, the Potomac is the second largest contributor of fresh water to the Chesapeake Bay. From its headwaters to the Bay the river has eight major tributaries and crosses five spectacular geological provinces representing over 600 million years of natural history that shaped its landscape. Recent centuries of intense use of the land for agriculture and rapidly expanding urban populations have presented challenges for watershed health. Many rivers and streams have been altered or degraded as a result of lands cleared of forests a century ago. Many trees have grown back on abandoned farmlands and once-cleared hillsides. Nearly five million people live in the Potomac River Basin, with 3.5 million of them in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. People and their activities have challenged the river – from acid mine deposition in its headwaters, intensive crop and animal agriculture in the middle tributaries, and growth and development away from the eleven major cities in the basin. Each has brought change and impacts. Aquatic life is inhibited in areas affected by mining drainage and agriculture. Agriculture has degraded habitat in riparian areas and reduced water quality from high nutrient and sediment loading. Development creates sedimentation, flooding and impairment of local streams. Issues in the Potomac River Basin - Resource use demands on the Potomac River Basin are:Commodity Extraction and Production: Agricultural, forestry, and industrial practices Human Population Growth and Sprawl: Water use, recreation activities, land conversion, and wildland/urban interface Ecosystem Stress: Lack of natural fire, gypsy moth outbreaks, disease 
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