The best thing that happended to the Potomac River was Hydrila(sp?) that
green vegitation that everyone thought would clog the river and kill off
everything. They even had Hydrila harvestors that would go up and down the
river and into the bays and harvest the Hydrila and burn it.

But, what they found out is that the Hydrila was a beneficial habitat and
cleanser of the river. Quite a number of fish owe their lives to the
Hydrial.


"John H" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 May 2005 01:44:35 GMT, Gene Kearns
wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2005 06:42:09 -0400, John H
wrote:


We keep waiting for some good news about the Bay, but it doesn't come.
Here's
the latest from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

http://www.cbf.org/site/News2?page=N...m5pu741.app26a

I just looked at the latest National Geographic and it seems to echo
your concerns. However exasperating it seems.... there *has* been some
improvement.

Years ago, my Aunt and Uncle worked for the Department of Agriculture
and I had my run of DC (and the Smithsonian(s)) when the greatest
hazard was an unyielding street car.....then, the Potomac and Tidal
Basin were truly toxic.

Now, the D of A has moved to Beltsville and I still wouldn't want to
swim the Potomac... but what the hey... it *is* marginally cleaner,
even with an explosion in population...

Bottom line is the increase in population. I'm seeing that, and the
ensuing problems in my local area. Sad. Very sad, but as my father
pointed out many years ago...... inevitable.

We'll all have to become better stewards of nature to ensure that our
children and grandchildren enjoy the treasures that our parents and
grand parents left us.....

You're right. The Potomac, at least, is much, much cleaner than when I
first was
assigned to this area in 1967. One of the little 'exercises' we had to
perform
was a nighttime crossing of Pohick Bay (off the Potomac). It was done on
inflatables, with about 10 men per boat (a squad). If someone fell in,
they were
taken to the hospital for a Tetanus shot - no questions asked. The river
was
always lined with dead fish.

Now it is home to many bass fishing contests, held out of the same bay.

--
John H
On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to
resolve it."
Rene Descartes (A true binary thinker!)