Explore the Quiet Corners of the Chesapeake

The unique roles of New York and West Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

When you picture the Chesapeake Bay, you of course imagine blue crabs, a vast estuary, and lively coastal cities like Baltimore and Annapolis. While those are all iconic, there are other, sometimes overlooked areas of the Bay’s expansive watershed, making quiet, but important impacts on the health of the region we call home.

Within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. But even parts of New York and West Virginia contribute to the water flowing into the largest estuary in the United States. Clean upstream waters are vital to a cleaner Bay, so let’s explore as far upstream as we can go.

The Critical Impact From the North

The Susquehanna River flows through Compton Bridge Conservation Area in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Oct. 9, 2020. The area is open to the public as part of the Otsego Land Trust Blueway Trail, a series of protected properties that offer numerous outdoor opportunities like fishing, hiking and paddling. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

There’s more to New York State than the towering skyline of Manhattan and the bustle of Wall Street. It’s a Great Lakes state, and home of the Adirondacks, Finger Lakes, and the Hudson River. But the Chesapeake watershed spreads across the state’s Southern Tier, creeping ever so closely to the Finger Lakes region. New York boasts the headwaters of the mighty Susquehanna River as well. Starting in Cooperstown, it’s the largest source of freshwater to the Chesapeake. Beginning in Otsego Lake, the river flows more than 440 miles through Pennsylvania and Maryland, right into the Bay.

Brookwood Point, a property owned and conserved by the Otsego Land Trust, overlooks Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Oct. 9, 2020. Part of the land trust’s Blueway Trail, Brookwood Point features a soft launch for small vessels and a 100-year-old garden. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

Having had the privilege of working for a conservation organization in Buffalo, NY, I remember driving through the state’s Southern Tier into northcentral Pennsylvania on the way to my shiny new job in the Chesapeake. Rounding a corner and witnessing the magnificence of the Susquehanna headwaters for the first time, I knew it was worth protecting.

So, if you’re reading this from southcentral New York, you can feel proud to be part of the Chesapeake story. While politically and culturally distinct, New York and deepwater ports like Baltimore have always been closely linked by tobacco, grain and textile trades. A more recent commonality is that both regions face rising sea levels, urbanization and water quality issues. Pollution, runoff and land use decisions in southern New York can impact the health of the Bay hundreds of miles away.

Jordan Clements of the Otsego County Soil & Water Conservation District stands with recently planted trees that form part of a riparian forest buffer at Beecher Farm in Morris, N.Y., on Oct. 9, 2020. Clement’s district has partnered with farmer Jim Beecher to obtain funding for projects ranging from manure storage to fencing and stream bank stabilization in order to address issues such as flooding and erosion. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

The good news is, there are plenty of organizations and local governments working to educate residents and shape policies that transcend state borders. After all, environmental systems don’t recognize state lines, and the health of one region depends on the stewardship of another.

Our Stewards to the West

Forested land is seen looking east from Dolly Sods Wilderness, part of Monongahela National Forest in Grant County, W.Va., on Sept. 25, 2019. Dolly Sods includes part of the eastern edge of the Allegheny Plateau, which marks the Allegheny Front and the eastern continental divide—the boundary of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the headwaters of the North Fork of the South Branch Potomac River. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

Although I worked in Western New York, the majority of my life was spent in southeast Ohio, right across the same stretch of the Appalachian Mountains where West Virginia meets the Chesapeake watershed via the upper Potomac River. Nestled upstream, west of the coastal flatlands many of us think of when we picture the Bay watershed, these rolling hills are also a critical part of the ecosystem. About 8% of West Virginia flows into the Bay, primarily from the Eastern Panhandle.

Like the Susquehanna River, the Potomac River is one of the Bay’s major tributaries. Smaller streams and rivers like the Cacapon, Opequon, and Shenandoah meander through West Virginia’s valleys before joining the Potomac to begin the long journey to the Bay.

Harpers Ferry is seen looking toward the confluence of the Potomac River, left, and Shenandoah River on June 26, 2018. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

Here, too, nutrient runoff from agriculture, stormwater runoff from development and other human activities have a profound effect on downstream water quality. West Virginia is not just a bordering state — it’s a contributing factor to cleaner water across large parts of the watershed. Sediment and nutrient runoff can travel hundreds of miles to the brackish waters of the Bay’s mainstem.

Many West Virginians have deep connections to the land. Whether through farming, hunting or simply living closely with the environment, those connections make them natural stewards, even if the Bay might seem distant. Many different organizations and local watershed groups have been integral in bridging this upstream-downstream gap. Clean water starts at home, as they say.

Greg Hulver stands next to his favorite fishing spot for catching brook trout on a restored section of Reed Creek on his property in Baker, W.Va., on June 28, 2022. “As a kid I could catch brook trout in 30 minutes and then as I grew older I could go half a day without catching anything and it just kept getting worse,” said Hulver, who worked with Trout Unlimited (TU) on the restoration project, which was part of TU’s Potomac Headwaters Home Rivers Initiative and also included planting trees and excluding cattle livestock along a 21.9-acre stretch. The restoration was funded in part by a Chesapeake Bay Program Small Watershed Grant awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

Fortunately, schools and community groups have also begun incorporating watershed education into their programs. Ensuring the next generation understands that their actions affect their environment is a huge step in cultural change. These efforts are, in turn, creating cleaner waterways that support fishing, recreation, and tourism for West Virginians and others to enjoy.

Don’t Forget our Upstream Neighbors

To address the immense amount of water flowing into the country’s largest estuary, it’s paramount to work together across state lines and not forget the lesser-known corners of the watershed. The health of the Chesapeake is closely tied to what happens far upstream. How land is used, how forested and streamside areas are managed, and how farms and residents take steps of their own — all affect the health of our 64,000-square-mile Bay watershed.

Farmers, conservationists, educators, local governments and other groups have been recognizing these interconnections. Programs encouraging tree planting, green infrastructure and best management practices are now in the conversation. At the end of the day, every effort, no matter how small, helps the Bay.

From as far upstream as you can get, New Yorkers and West Virginians are a critical part of something bigger. The water around them is on a long journey — through valleys and hollers, past the monuments of our nation’s capital, into the Bay, and finally the wide waters of the Atlantic. The next time you enjoy an oyster, thank the dedicated upstream stewards, both north and west, and remember how important their efforts are to our beloved Bay.

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