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Nearly sixty percent of the area’s forests have been cleared by this point. The land has been cleared to build more homes and more industry.
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Seventy percent of the original forestland in the area has been cleared. Less than thirty percent of it remains.
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Lots of sewage and industrial waste is being dumped into the Bay. The water quality is really bad. People start noticing phytoplankton (algae) growing in the water. This causes a big problem for the underwater grasses and oysters.
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Lots of sewage and industrial waste is being dumped into the Bay. The water quality is really bad. People start noticing phytoplankton (algae) growing in the water. This causes a big problem for the underwater grasses and oysters.
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Automatic guns and better gunpowder make it possible for hunters to kill lots of birds. A lot of the fashionable clothes made during this time use bird feathers. So commercial hunting of birds is very popular.
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ots of sewage and industrial waste is being dumped into the Bay.
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The federal Public Health Service investigates pollution from the canning industry that is getting into the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The waste is causing problems in the fisheries.
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The federal Public Health Service investigates pollution from the canning industry that is getting into the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The waste is causing problems in the fisheries.
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The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is passed. It outlaws the killing of birds that migrate between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Japan. It also protects the birds’ nests and eggs, establishes hunting seasons, and sets bag limits on hunting waterfowl.
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The blue crab population is experiencing a decline. Crabbers are only landing half the amount of blue crabs as they were in previous years.
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An immigration law is passed. It greatly reduces the number of immigrants that can come to this country from Europe. It also bans any immigrants from Asia.
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The Great Depression begins. The economy is in the worst state it’s ever been in. Tens of thousands of people are unemployed and face poverty. Many families and individuals are homeless.
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Aerial photographs of several Chesapeake rivers show that there are many full underwater grass beds
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Hundreds of thousands of people move to the area to work in factories that make guns and munitions for the war. More people means that more houses and buildings have to be constructed.
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Wartime research leads to advances in electronics and jets. Industries in the area start producing these things and selling them to foreign countries. Many European countries are trying to rebuild after the war, and they really want new technology.
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The use of chemicals to fertilize crops becomes a widespread practice. Chemicals replace manure and marl as the fertilizers of choice
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Both Maryland and Virginia have now created water pollution control agencies to help monitor and reduce pollution in the Bay and its rivers.
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The regional population climbs to 7 million. The population boom puts a serious strain on the water quality.
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The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is completed. It connects the western and eastern shores of Maryland.
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he Federal-Aid Highway Act is passed. Larger interstate highways with free access (no traffic lights and higher speed limits) are constructed.
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A new oyster disease hits the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. It is called MSX, and it devastates the oyster populations there.
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There is a severe shortage of oysters. Oysters used to make up the bulk of the Chesapeake Bay seafood industry. But now they only make up 10% of it.
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The Historic Preservation Act is passed. The area is changing so rapidly. The law is made to help protect historic buildings and sites from being destroyed.
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Since trucks took over much of the business the trains used to get, many railroad companies turn their businesses over to the federal government. The government creates Amtrak. Most of Amtrak’s service carries passengers between major northeast cities.
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The Spanish-American War is fought with Spain