Bay Ecosystem

CB_Ecosystem(2)

Art's Hearts East Hardy H.S. / Halterman

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

1:47 PM

Hi! My name is Trixie the Trout. I used to live in Baker Run but due to the construction of Corridor H, my home and habitat were destroyed. I now live in the Chesapeake Bay, but since it is an estuary, I am going to die. Two years ago I was hatched in Baker Run and lived there with my brothers and sisters. We lived a happy life, though occasionally, one of us was caught by a fisherman. I spent my days swimming and eating all the little juicy worms and bugs I could catch. Then one day while I was resting in a shallow part of the river, I felt the water and the river banks shake with a tremendous force I have never felt before.  The riparian buffer zone surrounding my river was destroyed.  I swam as fast as I could down the river to where I thought I would be safe.  But I was mistaken.  It was an explosion from the dynamite the government workers were using to make the road now known as Corridor H.  Most of my family was killed.  My mother and I, and some of my siblings tried to escape, but failed to do so.  That evening we gathered what luggage we could salvage, and headed down stream to my Aunt Reeba's(she's a Rainbow Trout).  When we got there, she was missing, and there was nothing left of her home, it had been destroyed by more explosions.  We did not expect the damage would affect the Lost River also.  But it did.  Then we decided to move on to my Uncle Calvin's(he is a Cat Fish).  But when we got there we discovered his bloated body lying on the bank of the Cacapon River.  We were disgusted by what we saw, and by what happened to the rest of the population of fish.  We had only one choice left, but to go to my Grandma Minnie's(she's a minnow-and three times removed).  We made our way down to the Potomac River, and were astonished by the horrific events that had taken place.  Where my Grandma Minnie used to live, is now a bridge.  We thought we saw her skeleton embedded in the concrete, but we are not sure.  So, we gathered our family and luggage, and headed downstream to the only safe place left; the Chesapeake Bay.  We have been here now for two hours, and it is getting harder and harder to breathe. Woops my mom just died. I have to go. Thanks Government!

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   From:    T.A.L.K About the Bay Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School / Newcomer

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              6:38:00 AM

          Trixie the Trout was a creative way to write the point of view paper, but I have a few

          qestions reguarding Trixie and her lineage.  Where exactly is Baker Run located and is

          the stream a cold water stream with a native Brook Trout population or is the stream

          stocked by local fish hatcheries?  Also, I believe your death will not be attributed to the

          fact that you live in an estuary, but rather because the water is warmer.  In addition, do

          you have any solutions to the problem other than the fact that a problem exists? Finally,

          I am wondering, do trout actually live in the Chesapeake Bay?

         Response from  Arts Hearts East Hardy H.S. / Halterman

                                                                                                                                  3/26/2007

                                                                                                                                 1:09:00 PM

                First of all, Baker Run is in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia. It is a cold water stream

                with native brook trout. And Second,   Of course Trixie dies because a fish that is not used

                to saltwater will quickly die if not cared for properly. And Trixie was not cared for properly.

Bay Ecosystem

Bay Communists United Hampshire H.S. / Moore

Monday, March 05, 2007

2:02 PM

We are important because we speak for the animals who can not speak for themselves. We are the bay, so the problems affect us in many ways. If people keep polluting the bay, it will eventually kill the fish and every other species in the bay. Our number one solution is to get people to stop polluting.

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   From:    Chesapeake Homeowners Association Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              6:37:00 AM

          Representing the animals in the Chesapeake Bay is extremely important, but what are

          your plans for protecting the marine life and wildlife living in the Chesapeake Bay? 

          How are you going to get people to stop polluting the Bay?

   From:    Chesapeake Homeowners Association Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              6:46:00 AM

          We agree that polluting the rivers does kill the fish and wildlife in the bay and it's good

          that you want to stop pollution, but how do you plan on doing this? What ideas do you

          guys have to start the implementation of this "stop pollution" plan?

   From:    Conkreat Jungul Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School / Newcomer

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              6:47:00 AM

          While your argument is clear and opinion is strong, I think it is unfair to say that your

          group is the most important.  Would you not consider that all the groups related to the

          bay (all groups that affect your interest) are important? I think it is essential to realize

          that, in order to better the bay for its creatures, you must work together with ALL other

          contributing factors and groups that make an impact on the bay as a team.  It is also

          unfair to state that “we are the bay”, when in fact you are only a part of this abundant,

          beautiful ecosystem that is the Chesapeake Bay.  Could you please explain on how you

          plan to go about “stopping people from polluting”?  It would be nice to see a little more

          thought and effort put into these strong opinions.          

   From:    T.A.L.K About the Bay Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School / Newcomer

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              6:50:00 AM

          You are correct in stating that pollution is a large problem in the Chesapeake Bay, but

          you did not address other issues concerning the well being of the bay. Other issues are

          things such as sediment runoff, manure runoff, nitrogen levels and dissolved oxygen

          levels. From your POV, what can your group do to eliminate pollution as well as improve

          other problems in the bay? What solutions do you suggest to these problems that people

          in the bay ecosystem can do to help, other then not throwing trash on the ground?

   From:    Blankenship Development Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School / Newcomer

                                                                                                                               3/19/2007

                                                                                                                              7:05:00 AM

          The Chesapeake Bay does have many problems, including the rapidly reducing wildlife

          populations, and there needs to be a solution.  What solution does your group propose

          and what steps do you plan to take to accomplish this solution?

   From: Anonymous Broadway H.S.

                                                                                                                               3/20/2007

                                                                                                                             12:44:00 PM

          I understand that your position is to speak out for animals, but with this post you are not

          accomplishing anything.  How are the animals affected by the problem?  Is pollution the

          only problem that is present in the Bay?  How do you plan to fix the MANY problems. 

          You mention every other species, so name some others.  Your position cannot be fully

          explained in only 4 sentences... nobody's could be.  You should not have submitted this

          until your thoughts were FULLY developed and your paper had some direction.

  From:    Fishing and Boating Industries (F.B.I.) Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs

                                                                                                                              3/21/2007

                                                                                                                             6:44:00 AM

         You said, "The number one solution is to get people to stop polluting." How are you going

         to get people to stop polluting the bay? What's their incentive?

From: Chesapeake Industrial Corporation Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /

                                                                                                                              3/21/2007

                                                                                                                             6:44:00 AM

         Your statements are correct, except that people cannot altogether stop pollution.  To

         completely stop pollution is econimically unattainable.  Reducing pollution is the goal

         people have to work for.

  From:    Fishing is Good Clean Fun!!!! North Harford H.S. / OLeary

                                                                                                                              3/22/2007

                                                                                                                            11:35:00 AM

         Getting people to stop polluting isnt the only thing that will clean up the bay.  Also, whats

         your plan to PROTECT the bay after it is cleaned? 

  From:    Farmer Friends of the Bay North Harford H.S. / OLeary

                                                                                                                              3/22/2007

                                                                                                                            12:03:00 PM

         What type of ways did you plan to get people to stop polluting? Have you thought of any

         solutions to people polluting the bay such as placing recycling bins around the community?

Bay Ecosystem

Critters James Wood H.S. / Fordyce

                                                                                                                             3/26/2007

                                                                                                                            8:20:00 AM

We are critters of the Chesapeake Bay. We play a very important role in this ecosystem. If the

 bay is not cleaned up and soon, we along with many other species will die. If we die that throws

 off the entire food chain. That food chain then starts to affect the food web of land animals

and even humans. There will always be some losses in the animal life that inhabits the bay due

to the environment changing. The thing is our environment is changing for the worst and is

change is happing so fast that we can not adapt.  We are depending on the Environmentalists to

 help keep us alive. They are trying to reduce the amount of chemical dumping and trash that

enters the bay, also if they add plants around the bay that would help reduce the amount of

pollution or trash that enters the water. Another solution would be enforcing stricter fines on

people that pollute the watershed. The money collected from the fines will then be used to clean

 up the bay. This proposal gives the local community ideas for cleaning up the bay and keeping

the critter safe.

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Bay Ecosystem

soliz Hampshire H.S. / Moore

                                                                                                                             3/26/2007

                                                                                                                           10:37:00 AM

There are simple ways of lessening the pollution in the Chesapeake.  Strips of grass, trees, or

weeds left 15 feet wide along the riverbanks is an effective and safe way to keep the

nutrients/pollution from soaking into the water. And I do think the bay ecosystem is the most

important.  Animals should come first, because they have no other option in life but to adapt or

die, and when we, the human race, are responsible for that unnatural chnge in the balance, it is

up to us to keep things the way they were supposed to be.  We can always find another way to

make a living, to eat, to build a house.  What is so great about building your own house?  Choice

 and control. Not having to conform to what someone else wanted.  There are an abundant other

things to eat, and I'm not saying that we stop fishing altogether(since we have been fishing

these waters for over 300 years, the animals have adapted to being caught) but to ease up.  If

you take a population of fish in say, a pond, and drag nets, and only keep the big ones, then

there will be no big ones to reproduce.  Then, we wonder why the fish are so scrawney.  Hello? 

C my point? 

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Bay Ecosystem

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